11 Dec Holidays When You’re All Older: Better Stuff For Less Money
My parents used to say “When you were younger, you wanted a thousand things that all cost a dollar. Now that you’re older, you want one or two things that all cost a thousand dollars.”
They weren’t wrong.
Getting older is to naturally want/need gifts that are more expensive. New phone. Gaming system. Fancy purses. Crazy things needed for a newly developed hobby that’ll be over in a year. Utility bills (hey, don’t knock it, the gift of money is one of the greatest gifts of all). Plane tickets for a trip. If we’re honest, we all want expensive crap.
Also, one thing that is important to realize is that most people love to give! I know I do. I get more joy out of people opening the gifts I gave them than opening my own many times. It’s important for me to know I did a good job understanding, researching, and anticipating what that person wanted and that I succeeded (or that I just bought the right color jacket off the list they texted me).
So here’s the problem. As you get older, families tend to get much larger. People get married. Have kids. Christmas gets bigger and so does your shopping list. My immediate family is slightly larger than the average ringing in at seven (2 parents, 5 kids). The majority of us are married. Kids are starting to pop up mysteriously. All my grandparents are living (which is totally awesome…not implying in any way that I’d wish they’d pass on to the ether so I don’t have to spend so much on Christmas…that’s some next level Grinch right there). But yeah, its a lot of presents to buy and I didn’t get a huge raise or anything (did you?) to go along with the recent additions to family. So what do you do? Fill out the application for the most-recently-and-perfectly-timed credit card offer that conveniently came in the mail a few days ago, go super cheap and buy every gift at the Dollar Store, or do Christmas different?
We opted for the 3rd option. There are many different variations I’ve heard of and I don’t think there is a one-size fits all way to do gift-giving due to family dynamics and size, but here’s why my family decided to go with this system that I think could work for a large majority:
- We Secret Santa to make it fun, everyone draws names and is responsible for that adult (we used an online generator that was awesome and let you build a gift registry).
- All kids (since there aren’t too many yet) are a free for all. If you want to get them something you can. No expectations but we put out a wish list for them in case people are curious.
- Grandparents are usually a coordinated gift between everyone
- Parents are either a coordinated gift or everyone agrees on individual gifts for them
There ya go. Not too complicated. And here’s why I like it. Before this, everyone could only spend maybe $30-$50 a person. Bluntly, I have to say there was only a handful of things I really wanted in that price range and I usually ended up getting more crap I didn’t want than anything. I still have a Star Wars dart board in my garage one of my brothers got me. Cool idea, but I’ve got no where to put it so…yeah.
The other big problem was the time it took to shop for everyone. That usually required going to multiple stores, different places online, and a lot more time to research and find what everyone wanted and balance the shopping budget (and extended shopping budget since I LOVE gift-giving and usually go well over if I have the cash).
By going to this simpler route, I could budget $200-$300 for my Secret Santa and get them atleast one really nice item and few other things to go with it. I’m able to buy a quality gift they really want instead of purchasing a bunch of things that cost a low-key date night at Five Guys (burgers, fries and milkshakes add up). And in return, that’s what I get and that makes me much more excited about the glowing mood of Christmas morning.
Money Breakdown:
Individual Gifts – cheaper gifts, more people, and I didn’t even include any nephews or nieces in this!
5 siblings + 2 parents + potentially 5 spouses/girlfriends + 4 grandparents = 16 people x $40/gift = $640
Secret Santa – coordinated parent gifts, grandparents, and one individual
4 grandparents + 2 parents = 6 people x $50/gift = $300 + $250 for my Secret Santa = $550
I’m able to buy better, quality gifts and still spend less money! There’s nothing like getting a cup of eggnog in the morning and bundling up in some comfy pajamas with family all around to open gifts. It’s usually one of maybe two or three times a year we all get together since we live in different cities. Ulimately, that’s what makes it so special.
Again, this way works for our family but the math and logistics may not make sense for yours. What’s important is that you do NOT go into debt for a gift. No one who loves you would want that burden upon your shoulders. What’s also important is to remember that 2-year olds would rather play with tupperware and kitchen spoons than the $50 light-blinking, sound-making toy that toy companies and researchers spent millions of dollars to develop and market…seriously, really young kids don’t care I’ve learned.
So have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, wonderful birthday or whatever else you may be celebrating this holiday season and I hope you spend the time in the company of people who truly annoy you to no end…I mean who love you. Yeah. That’s what I meant to say. You know, family and all that.
