I love giving gifts at Christmas. Sometimes, I feel like I ought to be sorry about that. I know Christmas is about Jesus coming to earth. We do a lot to keep that focus there and not have it be all “me me me” (for us or for the kids). But still?
I have friends who do the four gift method (something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read) and I love that it works for them. I probably hit all those categories in my shopping, but well…
I love giving Christmas presents.
The more, the merrier.
Which means that this year, as seems to be the case every year, I have gone completely overboard.
Oh well. :)
How do you do gifts at Christmas?
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Last Week on Inspy Romance
On Monday, Narelle Atkins celebrated the season for Christmas romance books
On Tuesday, Heather Gray encouraged us to keep walking together.
On Wednesday, Tara Grace Ericson took us on a Blind Date with the Hero.
On Thursday, Toni Shiloh celebrated the release of Her Christmas Redemption.
On Friday, Elizabeth Maddrey said, “Hello, December.”
On Saturday, Shannon Taylor Vannatter talked about the wedding going off without a hitch (not)
Next Week on Inspy Romance
Monday: Valerie Bodden
Tuesday: Sarah Monzon
Wednesday: Milla Holt
Thursday: Lindi Peterson
Friday: Amy Anguish
Saturday: Meghann Whistler
New Releases
December 2022
Blind Date with the Hero by Tara Grace Ericson
Roadtrip for Two (Roadtrip Romance 2) by Amy R Anguish
Refining Josie (Independence Islands 30) by Carolyn Miller
A Sea Glass Christmas (Sea Glass Inn 5) by Julie Carobini
November 2022
Trust Me With Your Heart, Cowboy (Cavanagh Cowboys 6) by Valerie Comer
Muskoka Christmas by Carolyn Miller
Within the Storm (Seasons of Faith 3) by Milla Holt
Puppy Love and Christmas Cookies (Happiness in Hallburg 3) by Merrillee Whren
Her Christmas Redemption by Toni Shiloh
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Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
I think for some me people gift giving is a really important part of how they express love. I’m like that, and I think I’ve got it from my dad, who would die of embarrassment rather than say they words ‘I love you’ but who will often suprise people he cares about with a lovely thoughtful gift. I’m not quite as bad as him but I do end up on the over-the-top side at Christmas – I don’t mind what people give me but I love getting gifts for others. I buy things through the year and keep them in a big cupboard under the stairs, at the moment I can barely get in, I need to sort through it and start wrapping!
I hope your family enjoy your gifts, have a lovely holiday.
I love to give actual gifts that I hope will delight the recipient, and I also went a bit crazy when my children were young. My husband, on the other hand, takes great pleasure in giving money. I am not a fan of giving money, but he argues that some people need it, others will save it for the future, and others will enjoy shopping for themselves. So, now we compromise. I buy one small gift for each person on our list, and he hands over an envelope.
Happy Third Advent Elizabeth, Inspy Romance Authors and Readers. This Oma loves giving gifts not just at Christmas, but all year around for St. Nikolaus Day (December 6) birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and JUST Because. I love giving gifts to my two granddaughters because for years I only purchased male gifts. Now in retirement, gifts vary from year to year. Sometimes we purchase experiences – theater tickets, year membership to museums, computers. This year for two sons we are paying for a year subscription to a streaming service, since I realize gaming and movies (which I purchased in the past) are now all on line.
I usually purchase small gifts for stockings, a big gift, and a card with money. I also enjoy gifting the General Mills Holiday Box which includes new flavored cereals and food, plus a cookbook and a kitchen utensil. Always fun when I am shopping to see what new idea I will have. Best wishes. Merry Christmas.
I don’t do a lot of Christmas gifts any more. I have ten nieces and nephews, from age 44 to 24, and great nieces and nephews from 24 to 2. It’s really hard to buy for so many!!
My dad’s love language is absolutely gift giving as well. I probably got it from him, myself.
What a great compromise! I will definitely admit that for some people I am happy to give money or a gift card. It just depends.
Love this! I have been looking at experiences to add to my gift giving this year now that everyone is older and can understand/enjoy them more.
Ooh. That’s a lot to buy for. I probably would scale back myself at that point.
With the six in our family, we used to do a Secret Angel and do one gift. Kids got older and they want to give gifts to everyone, makes my life harder lol
It’s definitely trickier with big families!
When my own kids, as well as my nieces and nephews were growing up I definitely went overboard. I must’ve bought 75 gifts for kids, as well as all our parents and several other adults. It started out magical and then evolved into stressful and expensive. Finding something they’ll like, keeping the piles of gifts even, not to mention meeting the timeline! Now it’s much simpler. I buy for my two parents, my mother-in-law, my three kids, my grandson and one sister in law. Cue big sigh of relief! 😄🎁🎄
I just have my two to buy for (we don’t do extended family gifts) so that definitely helps keep it simpler.
I find purchasing gifts stressful! Our kids have very small homes, as do we, so there isn’t room for more STUFF that no one actually needs. The grandkids range in age from 1 to almost 13 (gulp). Everyone has everything they need. and plenty of what they want. We have started shifting to giving experiences, but that had its own struggles the past couple of years! Hopefully this year it will make sense again. I would rather feed people and enjoy time together.
I love to give gifts as well. Big items. Little items. And everything in between. I also like to make gifts. I wrapped 63 presents so far. I have 1 more to wrap as soon as I finish it. I have been crocheting Barbie doll clothes for my 5-year old granddaughter. A couple more outfits and I am done.
The past couple of years have made everything weird. :)
Oh wow. How fun to make doll clothes!
My parent are passed, my siblings live away and none exchange gifts. My grandkids are so picky I just give them money.
Aw. Hugs.
Happy Sunday. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
fun to give gifts
So late replying been a long day and dealing with a stressful issue which has really drained me.
I don’t have a lot I buy for, family its favourite snacks. I have a few others who live away that this year I have given a voucher (One friend has moved into a newly built house and she bought a large pot plant trolley that she is using for their outside unbrella which is quite heavy but can now use it to move it around. I think the wheels have breaks to keep it in place) Another I got a cat calendar that she can colour sent from Amazon direct to her. I have sent a couple of thinner packs and I won a book for US only which the author has wrapped and sent to my friend in the states (postage here makes to just too expensive). I will be making some cookies and slices to give away next week but think I am basically done. I also always get a few gifts to put under the gift tree for charity. this year one of the banks is collecting and I dropped them off today.
:)
Yes
That all sounds so lovely. I think baked goods make amazing gifts!
I don’t think giving a lot of gifts is going overboard if you’re staying within your means, you and your husband are in agreement, and your kids are not showing signs of expecting more and more as time goes by. We give a lot of gifts at Christmas, and I used to feel a little guilty because so many friends limited their gift giving to 3-4 gifts per child, but then I realized that what works for our family is what we should do without guilt or embarrassment. We don’t buy a lot of ‘just because’ gifts during the year and really save gift giving for Christmas and birthdays. We also give a lot of practical gifts at Christmas time, so it’s not all fun stuff, but everything is more exciting if you wrap it up first. Hope you have a merry Christmas!
Best -I received a cute book charm for my charm bracelet from my daughter.
I love to watch my 4 children and now my 6 grandchildren adopt my love of books.