Son_of_Perdition
Senior Member
In my childhood it was a mad dash to the tree and rip into the your presents. Utter chaos! My wife tried to control our kids a little more but was still a grab for gifts. We finally managed to get them under control when they became adults. My wife was a Headstart teacher and we decided to start a tradition to help a needy family each year. It was hard selecting just one but she was in position to identify the most needy.
She would talk to the mother (usually single) and ask if it was okay for us to do Christmas as a secret Santa. She would get all her children's sizes and wants. We limited them to 3 gifts each and within reason along with coats and outfits. We also bought the fixings for dinner, turkey/ham and all the side dishes. We shopped for case goods and basic necessities for them. All was delivered late Christmas eve.
At first we tried to have Christmas for our children and our grandchildren, a little costly first couple of years. Over time my three children wanted to participate and together we decided not to gift to each other. We pooled the money for the tradition. We did it each year and as our grandchildren became young adults, they wanted to participate.
We kept up the tradition for the 15 years my wife taught and after her retirement we stopped but the memories were still there of seeing the faces of the parent or parents when we made the deliveries.
Our tradition was to have a late brunch with the whole family and then watch our younger grandchildren open their gifts.
She would talk to the mother (usually single) and ask if it was okay for us to do Christmas as a secret Santa. She would get all her children's sizes and wants. We limited them to 3 gifts each and within reason along with coats and outfits. We also bought the fixings for dinner, turkey/ham and all the side dishes. We shopped for case goods and basic necessities for them. All was delivered late Christmas eve.
At first we tried to have Christmas for our children and our grandchildren, a little costly first couple of years. Over time my three children wanted to participate and together we decided not to gift to each other. We pooled the money for the tradition. We did it each year and as our grandchildren became young adults, they wanted to participate.
We kept up the tradition for the 15 years my wife taught and after her retirement we stopped but the memories were still there of seeing the faces of the parent or parents when we made the deliveries.
Our tradition was to have a late brunch with the whole family and then watch our younger grandchildren open their gifts.