My family is huge, so as long as I can remember, we have had the best (in my opinion) tradition ever.
Each year at Christmas, we would all draw a name of another family member. For the next year, we had to make a gift for them. The most important part was that it was supposed to be a secret up until the moment you gave them the gift. It was fun to make something that the person would really love, and it makes it so much more meaningful. Of course, some people are more creative than other's, so some people would try to find out who had their name. I sometimes found out, but I liked the surprise, too.
After the loss of one family member, we started having less and less people put their names in. Eventually, one year almost everyone made one of those fleece blankets that you cut and tie. We stopped doing the exchange that year, but this year, I decided to start it up again, on a much smaller scale.
I decided to make almost all my gifts this year and I feel 100 times more excited for Christmas Day! My gift may not have cost much, but the sentiment attached is worth much more than anything money can buy. I made wreaths with just some tulle, a cute ornament and a wood wreath from the dollar store. We made ornaments with hand prints and I painted my Mother a beautiful cross on glass. I made scarves and backpacks, but more than anything I made memories with my family and kept old memories alive!
I can not wait to pass out my gifts on Christmas day! This is going to be the best Christmas yet!
@rambo @charmaine
