Monthly Archives: November 2008

2008 Christmas Gift Exchange

This morning I used an advanced algebraic formula along with a secret combinatorial factor supplied by NASA and I figured out who should buy for who (or it is whom?). No one is buy for their spouse, and no one is buying for anyone that they have bought for since we started this.

  • Alisa buys for Julia
  • Andrea buys for Graham
  • Brianna buys for Lisa
  • Dad buys for Andrea
  • Graham buys for Dad
  • Jason buys for Mom
  • Julia buys for Nanny
  • Lisa buys for Jason
  • Mom buys for Brianna
  • Nanny buys for Alisa

Just like last year, the gift is to be approximately $50. Just to be clear (in case anyone asks), there is no rule about spending exactly $50 to the penny, and no rule about whether it is $50 including tax or $50 plus tax. Just get something nice for the person that is close to $50. For the record, it wasn’t until I typed up this posting that I actually paid attention to the fact that Andrea was buying for me and could use her discount. Honestly!

We will be hosting the traditional Christmas Eve party at our house again. Lisa has a couple of new additions to the snacks. She’ll be contacting the various households soon with food/refreshment assignments. Nanny will provide a game again. And of course there will be singing 🙂

With regards to the take-away gift exchange game, there was some small debate as to whether it should continue, what the price should be, how it should be run, etc. One thought was that it was more fun when the gifts were cheaper. Another thought was that the game hasn’t been very fun for a while, and maybe we should do something else. After talking it over, here’s what we are going to do:

  • We’re going to do the gift exchange game one more time this year
  • The price needs to be no more than $10 including tax
  • Everyone needs to purchase something. No baking, giving away freebies that are worth a lot, etc.
  • Remember, the point of the game is buy a gift that someone would want to “steal” from someone else

The point of the rules obviously isn’t to take away from the fun. It’s to make sure we are all doing the same thing so things are fair. If the game is a dud this year, then maybe we’ll come up with something else next year.

I think that’s it. If you have any questions, email Lisa or me and we’ll get back to you…