Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

My family would like to start one of these this year since we are getting so large! Can you let me know what your parameters are if you do this? For example, how much do you spend, do you list stores you shop in etc. I know we are making this more confusing then it should be!

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

I think we gave a limit of around $50. We didnt give a list of stores b/c everyone knows where we shop/what we like, etc.

I dont see anything wrong with putting a few stores or a few things on a piece of paper, to help the person buying it.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

We set a $100 limit b/c there are several people involved who have big expenses coming up - college, buying houses, retirement, etc. Kids in school or younger are not included, everyone still buys for them. Couples are allowed to go in by themselves or together, if they go in together they only pick 1 person to shop for instead of 2.

We all come up with a list of ideas of things we need or want to help our secret santa out, but you can go off the list too. No gift cards.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

we do 2 -

my extended family - there's a lot of us so we just pick names and do a limit of $25-30, kids under 18 still get gifts from everyone.

then everyone mentions a few things they would like - pjs, giftcards, earrings, etc

on DH's side - we pick names and have a much higher limit (usually close to $200) and again we try to say what we want, need, etc.
we usually get his aunt & uncle so it's been easy to buy them a gift certificate to their favorite restuarant and they love it!

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

In my family. we pick a name out of a hat and set a limit of $100 for the person you pick. You only buy a gift for the person you pick. I usually make gifts for everyone else.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

We've done this with the adults, mainly because it's getting harder and harder to find gifts any of us really need, an we felt we were wasting money.

We draw names and set an amount (I think it was $50 last year).

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

DH's side does this. We do $150 limit for immediate family which is siblings and his parents. No other parameters.

They used to also do an extended family one which included his aunt and uncle and their kids (his first cousins) which had a $75 limit but then in the past 3 years or so everyone started having babies so we decided to get rid of this one and just buy presents for the kiddies instead.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

We have it set up 2 ways.

Anyone not in college is part of the yound adult group (so it can go from age 1 month to about 16/17). Don't buy anything more than $25.

Anyone older than 16/17, we split into 2 adult groups. One female, one male. We did this cause my uncles would buy silly gifts for the woman or gag gifts, so it was split. Don't buy anything more than $40.

Everyone picks a name from their respective group. One person keeps track of all the names picked in case someone loses their name. So, it isn't a surprise for one person, but it's a surprise for everyone else.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

we limit it to $25 per gift

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

my parents do it on my mom's side with her brothers and their wives.
they just put names in a hat, and each pick a name. i think the limit is $50. they talk to either the person or their husband/wife to get ideas of what to buy.
us "kids" haven't quite gotten organized about ours. my sister and i are out college and married, but for some reason my mom doesn't want us to be part of their secret santa ( i think she likes it just being with her brothers). so the passed few years my sister and i haven't gotten anything from our aunts/uncles.
my one cousin jsut graduated from college in may, so not sure what she'll do this year, and the other cousins are all younger so they still get gifts from everybody.

** we also do a "white elephant" thing as a joke thats really funny, too. everybody wraps something up that they don't want anymore--- its hilarious the stuff that people come up with!! we put all of the gifts in a pile, and we pick numbers. we go in number order and just choose whatever one from the pile and open it. we always CRACK UP at what the gift is! theres some rule about trading, too... but i forget

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

Our spending limit is $100. Each person writes their name on a piece of paper with a few gift suggestions, that they would like to receive. All the names are put in a hat and we all choose randomly and exchange on xmas day.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

We exchange with anyone in the family who graduated college and has a job You can't get your spouse in the grab bag.. because you still have to get them presents. It is a 75$ limit and what we do is this... A big group email goes around and you give a list of 2 or 3 things you would like. Then each person takes thier person's list and gets them that item. So even though you are only getting one gift.. it is a gift you really like. We are pretty specific too.. catalog, item, page number...

Depending on the year and the finances my brothers and sisters will discuss a 15$ limit on getting presents for each other. We didnt' do it last year and we won't do it this year. The economy sucks and we are going on huge family vacay the day after Christmas wtih all my cousins, aunts, uncles etc.

Also, we still get my parents gifts and they still get us gifts. That's only fair

ETA: My mom and my aunt fix it every year so that they get each other.. They are twins.. They also fix it all other ways too.. It is kind of ridiculous.. and we all have to pretend we don't know they do it.

Message edited 10/20/2008 10:34:01 AM.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

We exchange with anyone in the family who graduated college and has a job. You can't get your spouse or people who live in the same house as you in the grab bag.. because you still have to get them presents. It is a $100 limit and what we do is this... At Thanksgiving we all write on a post it 3 things 3 things you would like. Then each person takes their person's list and gets them that item. It is a gift you really like. Sometimes the person gets one big gift or 2 or 3 medium gifts. We do this among my parents and brothers and sisters and their siblings.

It is a lot of fun and has helped curbed our spending and getting things we don't like.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

We have a $25 limit. We hand out a slip on Thanksgiving and have everyone list their name and stores they like, items they might need, etc. It gets put into a hat and everyone then draws a name. Spouses can't get spouses, siblings can't get siblings, SO's can't get SO's, etc...

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

We've done $30, no gift cards/money.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

DH is one of 6 and his family does a steal a Santa. Anyone over the age of 16 participates. There is a limit of $25-$30 and the gift is something that either a woman or man can use. We bring our wrapped gifts on Christmas Eve and put them on a table. We count up the number of gifts, write numbers, put them in a hat and everyone gets to pick a number. The person who has # 1 picks their gift, the person who has # 2 can either pick a gift from the pile or steal the first gift and the # 1 person gets to pick from the pile. There is a limit of 2 steals per pick and when the last person has picked their gift, the first person has the option to either keep their gift or steal from anyone else. Some of the gifts have been scratch off lottery tickets, a DD travel mug with a DD gift card, games and gift cards to either Border's, B&N or I-Tunes.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

We do it as well. We have a $30 limit and no Gift Cards. We just put everything into the middle of the floor and we all draw numbers. We all pick a gift in number order and if someone has a gift we like, we can steal it. So the higher the number, the better pickins'!

It's very funny and we have a great time.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

$50 ... no other guidelines.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

In my family "the sisters" (there are 4 of us) and their spouses do this.

We have only one basic rule: You can not pick your name or your spouse's name.

There are 8 of us that do this, and every year we have to re-pick names because at least one person gets themselves or thier spouse!! Without fail, it happens every year.

We spend a maximum of $75. We'll give hints to things that we may want, or we ask their spouse what would be good to get them.


**We all buy gifts for the kids and our parents.

Message edited 10/20/2008 3:45:49 PM.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

We all agree on an amount (this year, probably $75). Then, we all write on a slip of paper the stores we like, things we'd like, what we DON'T WANT OR NEED. Then we throw them in a bowl and pick.

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?

My family started this last year. We set the dollar amount at $150 because it's the only gift that we need to buy for my side of the family. (I use to have to buy 6). We still buy for all of the kids.

We pick Thanksgiving night. It's fun and makes the holidays much less stressful!

Re: Question for those of you who do gift exchanges like secret santa with family?