I just read the "Christmas Shopping A new Tradition - A great idea". While I love the idea of buying from locals/American, this is my problem. I cant buy local gift certificate when I live three hours away from where we hold Christmas??? Here is what we do.
We have a Christmas tradition when all the family gathers up. Were scattered across Texas. When we get together at one location we do a Chinese Gift Exchange.
Its every year and spend about forty dollars (sometimes fifty but this yr is fourty).
We have one for my side. 2 gifts, one from hubby one from me) and one on my husbands side. Again two gifts. So that is four gifts at 40 bucks each.
They need to be gender neutral and fit the styles of age range from 20-87. I am a terrible gift giver so I want ideas. Sometimes tools seem to be great. Gift baskets are a dud no one wants! !! Gift certificates seem to be like eh ok??? Kitchen appliances seem to do well? 40 bucks in a box seems ok but again thats kinda cheating.
THE CHINESE GIFT EXCHANGE RULES:
For those of you who dont know the game is played with all adult memebers (yes you can bring liquor as a gift ) . After the head count is taken and little numbers folded on papers we draw. Each person draws a number from a basket ranging from 1 to about 20. (this is for my side, hubbys side is at the most like eight ppl )
If your number one you get any gift that has been wrapped from the center of the room open it and show everyone. Person number two gets to either seal your gift (scrooge ) or gets to take from the pile. If person number two steals number ones gift ...number one takes another from the pile. Number three can choose number one, two or the pile. And so on through all the numbers. We actually limit the number of steals to three for one gift!
Once everyone has gotten there gift number one can steal what ever they like from all the open gifts! They just trade the person for what they have. Then the "game" is over and any trading after the game is allowed but kind on the down low? idk y though?? SOOO IDEAS???
Lottery tickets/sparkling wine I know, but each time we have done the White Elephant game, mine always gets stolen at least once.
When I go to a gift exchange, I like to bring the liquor! Always gets stolen at least once. So far as buying american.....How about Kentucky Burbon! A little Jack Daniels will get the party started.
You can still buy American.
www.stillmadeinusa.com
One year i got a tiny tree (from the dollar store) i am sure that you can find one made here. I put 10 five dollar bills hung with paper clips. The "money tree" was a huge hit!! I was trying to think of what i would like and it worked :)
We dont do the chinese pollyanna anymore. Too many gifts that people did not want to steal... no fun!
A nice blanket
photo albums
candles
knife set
hand/wand mixer
crock pot
popcorn popper and bowl set
2 new movies
board games
Set of pyrex bowls with lids - everyone I know loves these!
If you can swap and steal then perhaps you shouldn't limit it to gender neutral gifts. Perhaps the girls could buy girl OR neutral gifts, boys buy boy or neutral gifts. It would be really funny if a guy ended up with a lingerie set, or something else clearly meant for a female. Just a thought!
I do the chinese gift thing every year......but we don't call it that,its either called naughty santa or white elephant
It really is a blast, we keep the gift under 20 dollars and the best gifts are stolen. Last year mine was an obama chia head.
Do you have a local craft store where people sell their homemade crafts? I think a nice bottle of USA wine, a handmade wine scarf, homemade wine charms, maybe a glass or two would be great.
movies
liquor is definitely great too
but if you want to do a gift card, just pick a resaurant/place that every town seems to have - Sonic, Chilis, Taco Cabana .....
The gifts that do great on our exchanges are fleece tie blankets. Our club price is $20. So you would have to make two for $40.00. Towels are also a good gift and you can get them in neutral colors. The other must steal is homemade desserts. A lot of times I make Pies or Cakes and they are always fought over and gone in a jiffy.
We did this at a work party, too. One rule variation was that a gift could only be stolen 2 times. The third "owner" got to keep it. That encouraged more trading of different gifts.
