Christmas - San Jose,CA

ETA~ Sorry, mine is not so meaningful. Just a family fun time.

If there is a larger group, do a game format like Melanie suggested! It can be a blast!

In my husbands side we did this a few years in a row when some of his Dad and Step Moms families both joined in (so random uncles, aunts and cousins). It was a BIG group! Everyone was instructed to get something no more than a $10 value. Anything would do. Go funny/ gag gift (just no naughty)...useful (like a $10 gas gift card or I think there was a Big bath sheet towel a few of the young adults out on their own fought over!)...or just ODD!

We had a can of "fish balls" in the gag category....I think I still have them in my Christmas box...LOL! Some people bought goofy things that people passed around and they had no idea what the hell it was! LOL

We played with kids age 10+. Younger could assist their parents.

We did the "Dice game" like is often played at wedding or baby showers here abouts (we had 2 sets going)...roll doubles, get a gift. Once all gone from the pile, open them up, do the timed round, again roll doubles, get to STEAL a gift. Thats when it got fun!

It was a blast seeing what people brought and what got recycled from earlier years. We did it about 5 years in a row!

Give gifts of time or service such as free babysitting, housecleaning, cooking, etc., to those on your gift list. Look for ways to give meaningfully instead of materially.

Have a family ornament exchange! Each person brings a wrapped ornament- it can be one that you purchased or one that you made- and then we put all the wrapped packages in the middle of the table. You can draw numbers to see who gets to pick their ornament first and then all take turns picking a package until everyone has an ornament. It's a fun way to have lots of unique and special ornaments on your tree each year. You can change the rules to whatever will work best for your family.

You could pick a charity as a family and donate or "adopt" a family and give them gifts. One year at school one of my classes adopted a family and donated a tree, decorations, food, gift etc.

OK, I love love the idea of adopting a family but I am going on a different approach.....Maybe you can do both! :)
At my big extended family christmas party we do the "gift swap" game where everyone brings a wrapped gift that costs $5 to $10 and then we all chose a number from a hat and #1 picks a gift from the table and opens it, and then #2 can either pick from the table and open OR they can "steal" the gift from #1. Then #3 can pick from table or from 1 or 2. this goes on and on to the end where it goes back to #1 and they can pick anyones gift. Its really not about the gifts though, we have SO much fun doing this. It gets everyone in one room together, interacting and having fun. We normally have 30-40 people for christmas so the game goes on for a while. There is usually 1 or 2 favorite things that get "stolen" back and forth and it really gets everyone laughing (brother steals from mom to give to wife, then sister takes from SIL to give back to mom - its hilarous). We used to do the gift exchange too but that got kind of stale, and this is a whole lot more fun. Again its not about the gifts, its getting the whole family to laugh and play together on christmas day.

Adopt at family for Thanksgiving and then let them know you also want to adopt them for Christmas.

Let everyone know you are doing this and would like for them to help.

We used to do this a neighborhood also.

Collect for a large family.

We would make up suggestions (some people do not know what to give) some people would give us checks and we would get gift cards or specific items that had been requested.

We have decided to go skiing this year as an extended family (my side). I dropped the bomb to my in-laws last weekend (only because it came up) and they are cool with it. Yay!
also, we are staying home for Christmas day instead of trecking 400 miles to their home for the holiday (also Yay!)
OOPs Totally misread the question. . .
Yes, I would have your kiddos start saving or doing chores now to support a family during the holidays or do a "pay it forward" kind of project where they start volunteering now and you can present them with some sort of recognition for their time once the holidays come:)

You could pick a charity and have everyone bring a gift or donation for that. Maybe Adopt A Family as a group and have the kids help deliver or at least prepare the gifts.

Have you ever heard of Compassion International? You can look them up and get more information but they partner w/ churches in areas of extreme poverty. They help to lift families out of poverty rather than just get through it. They have several programs that you can help with or just simply make a donation to. They also have a program where you can sponsor a child (they have a new mission in Zozocolco Mexico so there are a lot of kids still waiting). In this way, you could get the kids involved too because they can help with correspondence to that child.

Find a place to volunteer. Or instead of purchased gifts, do handmade instead. Even food, teach the kids to cook and give at the same time. Good luck!

Why not adopt a needy family and provide dinner, gifts and money for that family at Christmas? We do that and it really feels nice knowing we've made a difference in someone's holiday celebration.

Hi! We've done a number of things... When they were little we went toy shopping and gave them to our parish priest to distribute. He would let me know if there was something special wanted but mostly we just let the kids buy what they would want and filled in to get a good mix. When Father died we moved on to adopt a family from the Mobile Food Bank. The lady there matched us with a family with kids the same age and sex as ours. Again, the kids were in charge of choosing gifts. The first year we did this we were in Costco and my kids had the realization that the family needed food too. Having already spent all our money I told them the only money we had left was for food for Christmas dinner. They decided we didn't need dinner, got another cart and loaded up on food. We haven't had Christmas dinner in 7 years. My kids completely embraced helping Santa when they were very little and still embrace the idea today. They know Santa exists and we are supposed to help him by helping others, it isn't just a Christmas time thing either. My girlfriend has adopted a small home for the aged (11 residents) and has involved the kids. This year my Sarah made them each their own personalized pillowcase to stuff their gifts in. Santa leaves them gifts all year round. A few weeks ago we baked cookies. Flowers and veggie plants appeared on the deck this spring with a Christmas bow. These people have no idea who we are. We think a couple of the staff know but gratefully they aren't telling. There are so many people out there that can use a smile but I can guarantee your kids will get more out of it than you can possibly imagine. We don't have a lot of money (I'm desperately seeking $500 as I type) but this is so important. My kids (16 and 19) can't imagine not helping out. They may be obnoxious teens but they are great people. Find something, involve your kids, better yet let your kids be in charge! Have fun---

Oh--- We don't do gifts for family, friends, the mailman, etc... They don't need them, they don't appreciate them. We bake and make chocolates as gifts, way more fun anyway.

My sister and I have celebrated Christmas with our families gathered together on Christmas Eve where we make cookies and treats and make some yummy drinks (hot cocoa and egg nog) and no gifts. Honestly, I'm tired of how Christmas brings the expectation of gift giving. I'm content with celebrating the holiday with family over dinner and good conversation. I know this is difficult where children are involved because kids "expect" to get something...but the dollar store is great for that.

Guess it would depend a bit on the ages of your children, but a few suggestions: As a family, or even extended family, spend a day volunteering as a team at a Giving Tree type of organization that gathers, sorts and sets up holiday gifts to needy families. Or a day at a local shelter/soup kitchen. We "adopt" a family each year thru a Giving Tree program thru our church. We try to add extras beyond the suggested gifts for the kids, including a gift card for a local grocery store. The money used is "instead" of some of money for the kids - they understand they don't need that much stuff when others have so little.

Volunteer at a soup kitchen or as a bell ringer or something along those lines. My DD is only 3 but I want to start being a bell ringer this year because it's something she can help with and gain a better appreciation for the spirit of Christmas.

In our family, if you are over 18, you aren't on the gift list with extended family. Only the little guys.

What you might want to float is that you'd rather get together than exchange gifts with the adults, and maybe your family could instead adopt a family or make a donation as a group. There are a ton of charities. Maybe pick a few that mean something to you. I have long pulled a few names off the church Angel Tree and bought something for a kid that had something in common with my family. I taught the kids about giving (esp. once they were past the Santa phase) by asking them what was "in" and what they would want if they were this child. They understood that thought went into the gift and it was about giving, not receiving.

Or do a pot luck dinner where everyone pitches in, then does stuff like socialize and play games. Ask people to bring old videos or pictures and talk about "the time that Uncle Joe went to get the tree and couldn't get it through the door".

Even if the in-laws keep the one gift tradition, you can still do other things with the kids throughout the season.

Our family has switched form the gift hat method to a gift basket method...

Every separate home makes _____ amount of something, and each basket gets one. So everyone gets something small and homemade from everyone else, and it's all the same thing.

Last year,our baskets had 2 jars of jam, a loaf of banana bread, some fancy crocheted dish towels, baked potato microwave bags, knitted gloves, cookies, some beaded critters (courtesy of my 7-year old little cousin. lol) , 'brownies in a jar', and other things like that.

We really like this method, because it gets the family making things together, cuts back on the hurt feelings because 'his gift is better than mine', cuts back on costs, and takes the focus off the gifts. :)