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As I sit here on what the media is calling “Super Saturday” (?!?), I can’t help but wonder, am I the boring aunt? My husband and I are childfree by choice but we are blessed with five awesome nieces and nephews, consisting of 21 month old twins through 7 years old. I love the Christmas season but as a society, we’ve lost something with all the commercialism and commoditization of this great holiday. Thus, we give the kids money for birthdays and holidays. I remember as a kid getting a card with money in it or even worse, a package with clothes (yikes!), and even though I was grateful to get a gift I preferred the fun stuff like toys.
Of course, as I grew up, I realized the gift of “the future” these generous relatives and friends were sharing with me. They were fine with being the “boring ones” because they knew I would appreciate their gifts as time went on.
I’m going to continue playing the long game with my little people and sticking with the cash. I did decide to give each of them a special book to read but I also want to instill in them my love of reading so I’m ok with those purchases.
I had a dear aunt and uncle that always sent a check for Christmas. My mother would make me put it into a savings account at the bank earning 5.14%. This started me on a lifetime of saving and investing. So I really got two gifts.
I can only remember any gift was welcome, and overall I think I liked cash! Also I was thought to say thank you and give a hug for any gift, and if the giver was not present, then write a thank you note. Thanks Mom & Dad
Did you give your nieces and nephews gift cards or real cash? A stack of dollar bills is more impressive than a card. When my nieces and nephews were little I gave them cash equal to their age. They didn’t seem to consider gift cards money. Having actual cash money in their hand seemed to make them feel important. I remember one birthday my niece proudly announced to everyone, “My Uncle gave me money for my birthday”.
I think the cash and books are great gifts, but small children definitely like brightly wrapped presents. The gift doesn’t need to be expensive — maybe just a coloring book — but something for now as well as the future.
As an older friend of ours used to say, “Cash may not always be the right size, but it’s always the right color!”
Maya Angelou: “People may not remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel”. I believe this quote may be viewed in a similar context to gifting. I have great memories of my aunts always managing to assure that they stealthily slipped 50 cents or, later, a dollar, into our coat pockets with a wink of the eye when we were giving hugs and kisses goodbye after leaving the family feast. None of them were well to do financially but always found a way to whip up an amazing and delicious ethnic buffet for maybe 15-30 people each year for Christmas and Easter, with tons of love to go around. They always made sure you felt special. And hey, that 50 cents was enough for 3 packs of baseball cards from the corner store whose owner sometimes threw in a fourth pack for a nickel.
We never had an X-Box, of course, we had lots of fun being creative with a cardboard box – the bigger, the better.
Note: Please do not add “well-to-do” as a third category of the “rich/wealthy” debate! Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Comfort and Joy to all!
Thanks Laurianne. We’ve given books and cash. We break the cash into a number of smaller denominations, and “hide” the bills in the pages. We tell the kids to make sure they read every page! The nieces, nephews, and grandkids love the hunt.
Apparently I’m in the boring club with you. Seems to me that the big kids prefer the cash. We still try to make it fun. Last year we put the money in a maze/puzzle box. The younger kids solved the maze before the big kids did. this year the money comes with stockings stuffed with misc things like candy and lottery tickets. Our youngest is 6, she still gets cool presents.
We wrapped toys for our 10 grandkids until they were in high school, then we gifted cash for Christmas and birthdays. I love the idea of a book!
When I graduated and started my first real job, I was burnt out and wouldn’t open a book. My best friend gave me a James Herriot book “All Creatures Great and Small” – loved it.
Gifts are fun and it’s exciting to open a gift wrapped present but remember—cash is a one-size-fits-all gift.
When I was about eight-years-old, my older aunt once gave me a beautiful leather belt for Christmas, but it’s size was about 40 inches long. My thank-you note, which my parents always made me write, was a total fabrication. 🙂
John…your parents raised you right.
We got into a pattern of giving a slip of paper nicely decorated for birthdays saying we were making an extra contribution to the grandchild’s 529 plan. That is until one grandson said he didn’t want any “coupons” for a present.
Thanks for your comment Ben. I’m hoping my love of reading and especially my love for the library sticks!
Even if you are it doesn’t seem like you care and it’s not clear that you should. You seem clear on your values and you’re living them out.