"I have eight children and I don't buy them Christmas presents, but they still love the holidays!"
Christmas is the favorite time of year for most children: many of them eagerly await the gifts they requested from Santa Claus (or their parents). A mother of eight revealed the fact that she has stopped buying Christmas gifts for her little ones, however this has not destroyed the magic of the holidays for them. In fact, it seems to have strengthened it. In a video shared on Instagram, Angie said she was "overwhelmed" by shopping for all eight of her children, considering many were born around Christmas time.
via Instagram / calmingthechaotic
"I'm not the best at choosing gifts, so I've decided to stop buying them," she explained. "I used to buy gifts, but I won't be doing so again in the future," she added. Going into detail, Angie has come up with a "game" for her children. Instead of buying expensive gifts, each child pulls a sibling's name out of a hat and then buys a gift for them. “They have to think about what their brother or sister would like and then buy it,” Angie explained.
Since her children are all under 10, it is Angie who provides the money for the gifts: "When they are older they will have to start saving for these gifts. Even now, they can choose to contribute some of their own money," Angie said.
Even if each child only gets one present, they really like this system: "They wonder throughout the year who will get what and from whom. And they even talk about what they would choose for each other. This system took away a lot of my worries during the holidays and it saves me more than $700 dollars a year".
The video received mixed reactions from users: many praised the young mother on the originality of her initiative and its educational value regarding budget management. Others, however, have criticized this method as being "too hands-off". After all, giving gifts is considered one of the five languages of love: it shows generosity and makes people feel special.
What do you think about this unusual gift-giving system of Angie's?
