Ok, so here is my dilemma. My sister is married to a guy who is a head coach in the NBA. Needless to say, they have everything they could possibly want and so do their 4 kids (who range from pre-teens to teens). My husband and I are on a TIGHT budget this year....like we are not buying gifts for each other tight, though Santa will have stocking for us and the kids and there will plenty for the kids to open. My sister is sooooo generous. She spoils our girls and us every Christmas as well as birthdays etc. We can't afford to come close to what she does so we are left with just trying to be original. What could we make or do to show them that we love them and appreciate them even if we can afford to buy big gifts?
My sis is not local. She lives in FL. We saw her and her fam this winter in FL when she flew all of us down for a surprise 70th b-day party for our dad. All 5 of his kids were there. It was incredible and it wouldn't have happened without her. She also had a professional photographer there to document the occasion. All 6 of them also made a trip to Boulder to visit me and my younger sis. Younger sis and I both have babies and toddlers and the older cousins and younger cousins LOVE each other.
I am asking my mom and dad to send me old pics from when we were ALL a lot younger and I will scan them, mix them up with the many recent get togethers and I will throw together some calendars on Kodak Gallery.
I don't like to tell her directly how tight things are because it makes her want to send money...which we would love BUT we would feel tacky about accepting it. We love their family and just want to something special. Thanks!
P
Not as crafty or thoughtful as the other posters, but you could always get a family board game or wii game.
Are you crafty in any way? My families favorite gift from me is when I do things like knit them a hat and scarf. A skein of yarn for $5 and some time doing something I like to do and they're the happiest. I've made all sorts of other things as I just love crafting in general..Michael's is a dangerous place for me LOL
Gifts should come from the heart more than the pocketbook IMO
When I got married my sister gave me a picture of my mom and dad at a party: framed beautifully and professionally. The best part of this pic was that my teetotaling Mom had a glass of beer in her hand. I laughed until I was sick. The pic was from when I was about 1 year old. It was actually the best gift I got and trust me, I had a zillion gifts. Give her something she cannot get anywhere else. My other sister (who is the gift guru) gave that sister the best gift ever when she got married. She recorded the song they planned to dance to and when they got up to do their dance it was the greatest thing in the world to see her face as she realized it was Margaret singing. It is all about personal things. Trust me. Maybe a great pic (one she does not have) framed, or a memory of a storybook read by mom or anything like that. Good luck.
Last Christmas I discovered a wonderful way to give something to someone who makes a TON more money than we do. If you can, compile a ton of family pictures of them with their kids, upload them to Snapfish.com, and assemble a beautiful wall calendar for them (you can also make one for hubby's office so he always has his beautiful family to look at in the midst of his busiest times.) They are very high quality and so customizable and were a HUGE hit last Christmas with all for whom we made them. And, they're like $28, less if you Google a Snapfish coupon code.
I can't tell you how much appreciated they were. I did these for my hubby's parents, my parents, my siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins and my grandmother.
**Added - you can put pictures on the special dates, like if July 1st is a wedding anniversary, you can put a little pic from the couple's wedding. I also included extended family's birthdates for easy references.**
Another thing I did last year for some other family members was to assemble beautiful fruit, chocolate and wine baskets. I got party (beverage) buckets on sale at Target, a couple of festive kitchen towels for each, and went to the dollar store for ribbon and cheap ornaments for decoration, and filled it up with some Costco wine, Lindt truffles, fresh strawberries and grapes which I put on kabob skewers so they'd stand erect, a pineapple, grape bunches, clementine oranges, red and green apples, and pomegranates. Once I filled them then I shrink wrapped them.
We have family like your sister. I usually just get something that might go nicely with her decor, like a candle and a candle topper, etc. Sometimes holiday related, sometimes not. I know for my sil, she loves being able to do for our kids what we cannot, and it's just a joy for her, without thought of our being able to equal her gifts. We have done the family board game type idea, as well. I know it's hard sometimes, because you feel like your always on the receiving end, but I'd be surprised if your sister had any hard feelings about it. GL!
Do you see her & her family often? If so do you take pictures? Why not make a slide show with music of pix of your families together?
Don't think that their gifts must = your gifts.
I think in a case like this, it really IS the thought and sentiment that matters most.
I have a very wealthy friend and, believe me, there is nothing she needs or even wants, b/c if she wants something, she gets it.
I always try something from our childhood--old pictures enlarged & framed, O. year I found all of our fave penny candies from childhood--she loves stuff like that. When she turned 30, I made her a book of my "Top 30 Memories of our Childhood" she loved it.
Why do we feel burdened to always give stuff?
SH is on the right track, in my opinion. My in laws have everything they need and can certainly afford whatever they want. We CAN afford to give them a present, but I just think it's nuts how we've all gotten do tied up in 'stuff!"
OK, off the soapbox, sorry. I think there is a difference between presents and GIFTS. Give your sister and her family a gift by writing a letter telling them how much you appreciate her as a person and what she does for you.
A few years ago I did that for my in laws. Told them how much I loved and appreciated them. And how much it meant for me the love and guidance they gave their son, my husband, to be the man he has become. They are not overly 'gushy' people but commented over and over how much that meant to them!
Can you just talk with your sister???
I am sure, she does not want you to feel burdened that way nor to feel "bad" about it????
What I have done in the past and which was well received... was writing a poem with my kids.... and in their own handwriting or mine... write out the final draft on paper. Then frame it. And putting the date on it.
The poem can be about how you appreciate them etc....
This is something that is 'original' and cannot be 'bought' in a store...
and it is from the heart. And the great thing about it is... it does NOT have to be all perfect nor a "professional" Poem. That is the treasure in it... that it came from the heart and is made... by you and the kids....
Your sister seems like a kind person. I am sure... anything heartfelt and 'handmade'... with really be appreciated by her and her family.
I have a sibling on the other hand... that is 'rich'... and gives a ton of high- end gifts... and then 'expects' the same type of gifts, in return. THAT is real hard... to please that kind of person. Because, money does not grow on tress... for everyone.
all the best,
Susan
I think a picture of your family and a very warm card telling how much you love them and appreciate them. She knows your financial situation and I'm sure all you have to do is show the "love" and that will be all that is necessary. That's what Christmas is really all about anyway ;)
I like to make craft items, like ornaments, to give away b/c we're basically scraping the barrel when it comes to buying our needs but giving a home made gift is personal, sentimental & ppl tend to appreciate the homemade gifts too. Hope this helps. Good luck.
Can you ask them to visit for a weekend of good food, hikes in Colorado and fun?
Have your kids make them personal gifts. Send them a homemade goodie basket of all of your sisters fave family foods. Believe me, they know you don't have their kind of money, and would probably appreciate something from the heart.
YOu have gotten some really good ideas.
I have actually been on the giving end with my sister. At one point all she had in her house was a loaf of bread and peanut butter. So we bought her groceries. I know it made her feel bad but I said to her that one day she will return in kind to someone. That was 15 years ago and she since has been able to.
It made us and our son feel so good at the time to get them what they really needed. We also got them "stuff" because we could.
I'm sure she knows your situation. I never expected anything from my sister but she always had some little cross stitch or project she had scraped up, I cherish every one of those gifts to this day and I have every one of them on display.
Here's one
She took mom's buttons and sewed them into a blue felt backround in the shape of a star. Put some padding on the back, and framed it in a 5x7 frame from mom's basement. Mom got a button Christmas Tree that year on green felt. Priceless
I agree with the pix idea, is she local? Can you get your kids and her kids together for a picture, blow it up and frame it?
I would absolutely go with something intimate. Ornaments made with family pictures, blanket made with family pictures... that kind of thing. There is a pottery place that make crocks for your kitchen and engraves names and dates. I use mine to hold all of my utensils on the counter. I can read the name of the company if you are interested.
Another idea is to donate in their name. I am partial to the Sunshine Foundation. They sent my family to disney world when my sister was sick.
I think anything personal would be better than something that you could buy. I hope i helped a little :)
The calendar sounds like a great idea. I would throw in one of those cards that you can record your own message & tell them how much you love & appreciate them. Its great that ya'll are so close...
How about a charitable donation?
I just saw that "Groupon" has a link to a charity that you can buy a gift card that will allow you to select someone in a 3rd world country for a small business loan.
How awesome would it be to have the gift to change a life for someone just needing a little money to get their business going?
If you give them the gift card through Groupon, they will match a certain amount.
(:
