Saving Money on Christmas Gifts in a Large Family

My family is certainly not the largest family that I have known, but over the years, it has increased in size. My mother is one of three children, and I am one of four children. With spouses, children and now grandchildren, Mom's side of the family is now up to sixteen people. So when Christmas rolls around, the prospect of buying something for each of those family members is a bit daunting.

Holiday shopping for a large family can be done affordably, however, if you're willing to get a bit creative. Here are a few suggestions as to how to control your holiday shopping budget as your list of gift recipients grows longer and longer every year.

Secret Santas
When my middle sister first suggested Secret Santas, I was reminded of the way we did this in high school: everyone in the group drew a name, and then proceeded to try to find ways to sneakily give gifts to their lucky recipient for a few weeks before Christmas. Instead of this, what she intended was for each family member to draw the name of another family member, and then spend between $10-15 on a gift for the person whose name they ended up with. With sixteen people in the extended family, she made two lists of 8 names each. She drew the names for one list, assigning each of us on that list a person on the other list, and then gave the second list to our mom, in order for her to do the same. (This exact procedure allowed her to determine who would buy a gift for our mom, and vice versa.) Even for the largest family unit, my cousin, who has a husband and two sons, their total expenditure for gifts will run somewhere between $40-60, which is much better than the prospect of spending $10 (or more) on each of the other 12 family members. Sure, it means less presents for everyone involved, but I suspect, knowing my family, that it will mean far more thoughtful and appropriate gifts.