Originally Posted by Dawn Hendrix
I feel your pain with UNAPPRECIATIVE family members. That is a call only you can make... will they even say thanks I got the package.
Good Luck with that decision.
Personally I say NO... I gots to much sh to do to be wasteing time on people who won't appreciate it.
But hey that is just my opinion!
We experienced a similar situation in our ILs. The thing was, that each family "sent" family gifts to each other. It got to where we were beginning to duplicate gifts. It just got to be too much. One year, we just stopped altogether. But I made baked goodies and delivered to their homes. The following year, no gift. Just a visit. It was a little uncomfortable at first to receive, but not to give. But they finally got the idea. If the gift-giving becomes a chore or a hassle, it loses the true meaning of the season.
That kind of sentiment ruins the spirit of the season. So, I say, let your gift be a visit, a personal call, or a special letter.
I know that some families are scattered far away from home. Our family members live in close proximity. We are so blessed.
Even in our immediate family, we don't give gifts to everyone. The adults do what we call Cajun Christmas. On Christmas Eve, each person brings one gift and during the gathering, we play a game where each person gets to choose a gift in turn. Then the gift can be "stolen", etc. It's a fun game that can really get spirited. Each year there is always at least one gift that is the hit and causes much competition. I'm sure there are many variations to this game, but it has solved the problem of "what to get". It has also helped the budget. This year we have decided to think back and try to repeat items that have been hits at other Christmases. Last year the gift that caused the most stir was the paper shredder. I'll bet there will be another one this year.