Rhonda

One year my youngest son was about 12 and he loved to bake. so I bought a doz cake mixes and frostings and boxed them up as one of his gifts. He loved it! He had a good time making cakes for everyone for quite awhile.

When my middle child Nathan was about 12 I worked in a book store. The kids would come and hang out after school til after I closed the store so they could ride home with me. That Christmas Nathan and his friend went to a tv store a couple of blocks from where I worked and got alarge empty box a floor model tv came in. They took it to the second hand book store around the corner from where I worked and made a deal with the owner. They filled that box with Harlequin books(which I read lots of!) and then they partially wrapped it with Christmas paper. This box was about 4 foot square! They used their skateboards under it and Jamie leaned on it to steady it and keep it on the skateboards and between them they pushed it down the street and around the corner to the bookstore. I had to help them put it in our van but I didn't know what was in it at the time!! When we got it home and on Christmas morning when Nathan let me open it I found all these books!! I counted over 300 books!! He was so proud of himself! It was definately a one of a kind gift!

lass

Our holiday exchange got started with a little monkey with a drum. My parents wrote a poem for it - I can recite the whole poem by heart whenever. We pass it around among the family in a box with small gifts either crazy or useful. It is up to the giver.
"Little monkey with a drum, can you guess who I am from? Care for me the whole year through. I will bring good luck to you."

Last year, I was the recipient. I get to pass it on this year to a family member.

spooky

My husband bought a bunch of silly inexpensive gifts for my sister and me, hid them around the house, then made a list of clues as to where to find them. We had a Christmas "savenger hunt" for our gifts and it was one of the best Christmases we have ever had.