I agree. To put x-tra stress on your time and money at that time of year is crazy.
In my family what we decided to do is to buy birthday gifts. We have one birthday getogether each month.
We go out. So someone else does the cooking and cleanup and they wait on us. Everyone pitches in for the birthday persons dinners and we give gifts.
No cleaning the house before and after. No cooking all day.
We get to see our aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters and all their kids more often. Makes it easy to keep up with everyone.
Then for the Holidays we have pitchins at someone house. We combine any birthdays that month with this party. Then some times we all go to a movie or the zoo or something like that. We take turns hosting, so each family just has one party maybe once every two years or so. No spending days shopping for gifts, hours standing in lines. No staying up past midnite wraping and have more rest while everyone else is busy going crazy. Oh, have more money in your pocket.
Every fall we rent a campground with little cabins and a kitchen lounge/dinning room building. We have a big clan outing. We go on friday night and come home Sunday afternoon.
We have puzzle, craft, game, tables. There is a hayride, hiking and swimming. We have a family meeting to talk about all the upcoming family events, the use of the family fund and show and tell of any genealogy finds.
Each family prepares one meal for everyone else. On Sunday morning we have leftover brunch.
It's always a great time.

Go to www.butterick.com. In the upper right hand corner is a cream box that says FREE PROJECT in red. You click on that. Halfway down the page is the cross-shaped organizer. You have to submit your email address to have access to the projects. They send me info on their 2.99 pattern sale each week, but it goes in the spam bin. If you don't mind a little junk mail, they have several projects available.

The pattern is on bucktesgonewild.com. You can download the pattern for $10.00--too much $$$ for me, but they are sooo cute! There is a similar pattern from Simplicity #2450.

I need to make stockings. A houseful of kids and 4 stockings? I am finnishing up the second of two twin quilts for christmas gifts. I also plan to make purses, maybe bow tuck, and humbug bags.

I just finished a stocking for my second grandson born in May and pieced two table runners for co-workers. I think that will be about it for Christmas sewing. We are cutting back this year because we all have too much stuff. The two grands will get some toys and so clothes and the rest of us will pull a name from a hat! Sounds good to me!

I understand about getting too wrapped up in gift giving, but to me gift giving is part of the season. That is why I make things for people instead of buying stuff. My gifts are practical and usually inexpensive and I thoroughly enjoy making them, so far, and I will be 70 in November. Those who receive my gifts enjoy them and the uniqueness of them. Gifts can be made rather inexpensive if you are on a tight budget. Use Freecycle for obtaining fabric, or throughout the year buy only really good sales, shop at garage sales, resale shops, etc. We need to give of our time. My take on the whole thing. We only allocate $15 to each grandchild (18) for Christmas and that doesn't go very far if you shop at a store (other than gift certificates for iTunes that sometimes we give) so I try to be inventive. Love all you guys do and share.

I live in So.Cal. and so do most of my kids and Gkids, so all the girls are getting a pair of flipflops with the fabric soles and straps that I saw at Long Beach International Quilt Festival. I bought all the flip flops on clearence. Also, I will make a skirt or blouse to go along.
Today it is raining but it isn't cold and I am wearing capris and sandles. My kids will love their flipflops and my even wear them on Christmas day.

I also made pillowcases, they have such cute novelty prints,
and I make for people in my office, which happens to be two
nurses, I made them out of this cute material that has nurses hats and the other has, thermometer, and nurse stuff.
I think they will really like that. I have been making coasters, too, and a mug to go with it, with a gift card
or coffee, tea, inside. And last year did Christmas material tablerunners, they liked them too.
This year we are having a ornament exchange, does anyone have an idea, for a non-tacky ornament?

My best and favorite gift last year was from my SIL she gave me a recipe box with lots of recipes from her side of the family . So i got to thinking my family has recpies too. So I called all of them and asked for the favorite recipes. it took several months but i got them all together and printed and gave every one a copy of all the recipes. they loved it.

What are humbug bags?