Advent is a time of spiritual preparation for the birth of our Savior. For Mothers, it is also a time of intense preparation of a practical nature. I prepare our gifts for Christmas in the same order every year. The first gifts I think about are for my extended family and friends. I then do my Godchildren, my adult children and their spouses, my grandchildren and then my children at home. Since Larry and I buy our own gifts, mine are pretty close to the top of the list as well!
Meg and I made another afternoon of assembling our extended family and friends' gifts. I
had purchased 30 kitchen towels on clearance at Target for 2 dollars apiece. The Palmolive was 1 dollar per bottle. Starting in early October, I was able to crochet 35 "dish cloths" which I thoroughly enjoyed doing in the evenings.
Meg and I had the pleasure of choosing a dish cloth, a towel and a soapsuds bottle in colors that matched, and tied the three together with Christmas ribbon. We consulted the list and picked colors to suit each recipient. All of my brothers' and sisters' families and the married young adult couples received a gift as well as our good friends. After my towels were gone, I simply purchased some more Palmolive and wrapped a dishcloth around it to give to some of our "bachelor" friends.
I LOVE how my extended family celebrates Christmas. Each family prepares about 10 identical gifts that are modest in price, (mine were only three dollars plus a little time), which are usually fun, useful or whimsical. One gift goes to the entire family! We also give a gift to our individual Godchild(ren) which helps to cement that relationship and show that particular child how much they are loved! This simple method has really worked for us because it is not expensive and requires only one "choice" to be made in gift selection. For us, it is always about being together and the "stuff", although a delightful treat, secondary.
