When I was growing up, I had a very close-knit family. Christmastime was always one of my favorite times of year because we would all get together, have a big noisy dinner, and then adjourn to our den to commence the festival of greed.
In addition to my mom, dad, brother, and sister, I would also buy gifts for my aunt, uncle, and four cousins.
As we all grew up, spouses and children were added to the mix, making our "close-knit family" more like a pack of elephants that always stampeded together. Last year, I bought gifts for 20 members of my family - and that's only the family that I see on a regular basis.
Fortunately, someone in my family had the brilliant idea to start a name-draw gift exchange. Now, instead of buying 20 gifts of relatively small value, I can buy only a few, thoughtful gifts of greater value.
My family still gets all the benefit of the holiday merriment when we get together to exchange gifts, but no one has to break the bank doing their shopping. Plus we get the added bonus of not stressing about what to get that person who is so hard to shop for. After all, there's only so many times that I can buy a pretty scarf for Aunt Sarah before she catches on that I just don't know what to get for the woman who not only already has it all, but doesn't need any more stuff cluttering up her house anyway.
What creative ways has your family found for celebrating the holiday in this economy?
Elizabeth Berman
KING 5 News
Story: What's your secret?

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