Saving Money on Christmas Gifts in a Large Family

My family is certainly not the largest family that I have known, but over the years, it has increased in size. My mother is one of three children, and I am one of four children. With spouses, children and now grandchildren, Mom's side of the family is now up to sixteen people. So when Christmas rolls around, the prospect of buying something for each of those family members is a bit daunting.

Holiday shopping for a large family can be done affordably, however, if you're willing to get a bit creative. Here are a few suggestions as to how to control your holiday shopping budget as your list of gift recipients grows longer and longer every year.

Secret Santas
When my middle sister first suggested Secret Santas, I was reminded of the way we did this in high school: everyone in the group drew a name, and then proceeded to try to find ways to sneakily give gifts to their lucky recipient for a few weeks before Christmas. Instead of this, what she intended was for each family member to draw the name of another family member, and then spend between $10-15 on a gift for the person whose name they ended up with. With sixteen people in the extended family, she made two lists of 8 names each. She drew the names for one list, assigning each of us on that list a person on the other list, and then gave the second list to our mom, in order for her to do the same. (This exact procedure allowed her to determine who would buy a gift for our mom, and vice versa.) Even for the largest family unit, my cousin, who has a husband and two sons, their total expenditure for gifts will run somewhere between $40-60, which is much better than the prospect of spending $10 (or more) on each of the other 12 family members. Sure, it means less presents for everyone involved, but I suspect, knowing my family, that it will mean far more thoughtful and appropriate gifts.

Shop Off-Season
Though it seems like recently, we've had a new addition to the family every year, it is generally safe to say that we will know the approximate number of family members far in advance of Christmas. Sometimes, while out shopping during the spring or summer, I will see something in a sale, at a going out of business sale, or on clearance that would be perfect for a Christmas gift. If it's small enough that I will have room to put it away for several months, I might as well start my Christmas shopping early! Taking advantage of sales and other bargains is a great idea, provided that you have the storage space and are sure that the recipient will like it when Christmas rolls around. For family members with established tastes, this is easy; for those whose tastes shift on a regular basis, it may not be as productive or thrifty.

Homemade Gifts
Over the past few years, as our family has grown, we have seen more and more homemade gifts passed out during our gift exchange. My cousin and my youngest sister have both made great cookies and other edible gifts. I have given out several crocheted and sewn gifts. Generally speaking, though it will require an investment of time, homemade gifts can be given for less money than storebought gifts. On top of the monetary savings, there is always the idea that giving a homemade gift is like giving a little of yourself as well, which is always a nice sentiment.

Bartering
I will be the first to acknowledge that there are only so many years that you can give homemade gifts before it starts to get a bit old. I think I've pretty much covered the bulk of my family for their hat and scarf needs for years to come. Though I do make other crocheted items, there really does come a point where everyone has everything they could possibly need that I can make. This is a good time to turn to barter. If you are skilled at crafts and have friends who are similarly skilled, though in different mediums, talk to them about swapping some of your respective work. For example, one of my friends makes jewelry. As we both sell our crafts at craft fairs, we know the price we would ask for our creations, and thus could swap equal dollar amounts worth of crafts. That way, both our families could get new hand-crafted items, and they wouldn't already have more of those items than they know what to do with. Barter might work differently for those without crafty friends, but it still is a valid possibility.