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2014 Christmas Gift Exchange

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The drawing of the names has been done, and the results are below. I’ve done the draw so that no one is buying for someone that they’ve had in the last few years.

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

Note: Please look it over and let me know if there are any mistakes. We don’t want people buying for each other as part of the gift exchange. We also don’t want spouses buying for each other as part of the gift exchange.

Here are some guidelines:

  • The amount this year will be the same as last year… $60. There is no rule about spending exactly $60 to the penny (or nickel if you are paying cash) and no rule about whether it is $60 including tax or $60 plus tax. Just get something nice for the person that is close to $60.

The Christmas Eve party will either be at 77 or 69. We’ll send around another email later with the details of where it will be and who is bringing what.

2012 Christmas Gift Exchange

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I’m later than normal getting this out, but there is still 6 weeks until Christmas, so there is still lots of time.

The drawing of the names has been done, and the results are below. Most people are buying for people they haven’t bought for before. Three people are buying for people they bought for before, with the most recent being 3 years ago.

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

Note: Please look it over and let me know if there are any mistakes. We don’t want people buying for each other as part of the gift exchange. We also don’t want spouses buying for each other as part of the gift exchange.

Here are some guidelines:

  • Five of us talked about it, and we decided to up the limit to $60. We’ve had it at $50 for the 10 years we’ve been doing it, and it’s time to increase it.  There is no rule about spending exactly $60 to the penny, and no rule about whether it is $60 including tax or $60 plus tax. Just get something nice for the person that is close to $60.
  • Try not to get a gift card for the person (or give cash, or equivalent) unless that is what they specifically ask for
  • It would be good if people could provide a list (more than just a couple of items) to the person who is buying for them. That way the person receiving will be getting something they want, but if the list is long enough, they won’t know which it is.

We’ll be hosting the Christmas Eve party and Christmas Day dinner. We’ll send around another email later with the details of who is bringing what.

In case anyone is wondering, we are definitely getting in the Christmas spirit. It looks like we’ll be putting up our Christmas trees (we have 2) on Nov 19 as part of Family Home Evening.

Lastly, this is the kids favourite song/video at Christmas:

2011 Christmas Gift Exchange

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At the request of several people, the drawing was done early this year. Last year, the drawing took place November 6, and today is October 24, so we’re about 2 weeks early…

The drawing of the names has been done, and the results are below. I believe that no one is buying for anyone that they’ve bought for in the last 5 years or more.

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

Note: Please look it over and let me know if there are any mistakes. We don’t want people buying for each other as part of the gift exchange. We also don’t want spouses buying for each other as part of the gift exchange.

Here are some guidelines:

  • As far as I know, we will continue with the $50 amount. 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.
  • Try not to get a gift card for the person (or give cash, or equivalent) unless that is what they specifically ask for
  • It would be good if people could provide a list (more than just a couple of items) to the person who is buying for them. That way the person receiving will be getting something they want, but if the list is long enough, they won’t know which it is.

I assume we’ll be hosting the traditional Christmas Eve party at our house again.

2010 Christmas Gift Exchange

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Last year, the drawing took place November 5, and today is Nov 6, so I’m only 1 day late…

The drawing of the names has been done, and the results are below. I believe that no one is buying for anyone that they’ve bought for in the last 5 years or more.

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

Note: Last year there was a mistake and it took us a few weeks to notice it. Please look it over and let me know if you see any problems.

Here are some guidelines:

  • We will continue with the $50 amount. 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.
  • Don’t get a gift card for the person (or give cash, or equivalent) unless that is what they specifically ask for
  • It would be good if people could provide a list (more than just a couple of items) to the person who is buying for them. That way the person receiving will be getting something they want, but if the list is long enough, they won’t know which it is.

We’ll be hosting the traditional Christmas Eve party at our house again. Nanny has also mentioned to us that she’ll have some games ready. We’re also open to discuss anything new you’d like to try/do that night when we’re together. We’ll send more details out as we get closer to December.

2009 Christmas Gift Exchange

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After the initial request for comments I sent out and the limited response, I have gone ahead and done the drawing for the 2009 Christmas Gift Exchange. I do have to confess that I did get one request to rig the election, but my high moral values wouldn’t let this happen (or the person didn’t offer me enough to make it worth my while!). I did this about 3 weeks earlier this year than last.

I’m pretty sure that once again no one is buying for anyone that they have bought for since we started this. This will be the last year this will happen so next year some people will need to buy for someone they’ve already purchased for.

So, here are the arrangements:

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

We will continue with the $50 amount. 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.

I assume we will be hosting the traditional Christmas Eve party at our house again, but Lisa can send more details about that later.

2008 Christmas Gift Exchange

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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…