Re: Adult Children

Sakuya · ‎02-15-2011

@Mom2Dogs - Well it sounds like you have a lovely festive atmosphere to welcome all guests. It may feel like a relief to pass along the hosting to a grandchild and then Yay! You get to be a guest!

Maybe this year will be the one that the conversation flows without effort.

Or pick up one of those Christmas card decks for conversation starters.

everyone has a card and there's a question on it and everyone chimes in and then onto the next card.

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@Sakuya Hope springs eternal!!

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

We don't do gift cards in my family unless the person specifically requests a gift card. Teens usually like gift cards. I have adult daughters and their spouses and nephews and nieces and their spouses. They all do well so I think giving them gift cards would be like giving them cash that they don't need. When I was working, I enjoyed giving them all expensive gifts. I continued that for two Christmases after I retired but this Christmas I'm scaling back on the gifts for adults. It's time. I'll give nice, thoughtful gifts that I think they'll like but within my budget. I'm going to do the same with my four grandkids. I give them gifts and experiences throughout the year. We're all going to the movies next weekend. So I'm scaling back on how much I spend on Christmas and their birthdays. Speaking of gifts. I bought my 5 girlfriends lounge sets from HSN. All on deep clearance. I chose a different set for each and they were all less than $20. I even got a petite xs for one of them. We always do a gift exchange and get together for a holiday lunch. In past years, I sent overboard on that too. Not this year. I have all give gifts for under $100. Everyone wears lounge sets/pajamas and they did cost much more than what I paid. I'm happy that next week I'll have those gifts in my ready to be wrapped.

lynnie61 · ‎04-28-2010

@Sakuya Hmmm, we've done this at office work parties, but never did dice. Just number of guests, pick numbers and highest number goes first. We did say gifts can't be stolen more than 3 times. It's been fun, and some good laughs. One year, the last gift chosen ended up being great! We had a $25 limit. It was a $50 bill in a poor Christmas wrapping job. It wasn't chosen for its looks.

panda1234 · ‎04-27-2015

For the adults and adult children we do a Pollyanna with a $100 limit . We draw names on Thanksgiving day, along with the persons list .
Just a comment on the children, not socializing and engaging in conversation .. Could it be all the time they spend on their phones not interacting face-to-face with real people ? Just an observation I made at a recent party.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@panda1234 You are correct. With the obsession with cell phones, communication skills are lacking in much of the younger population.

Don't even get me started about communication with only texting , not being able to spell or construct a sentence or knowledge of proper English and use of punctuation.

bargainsgirl · ‎01-13-2012

I have 3 adult children and we stopped exchanging gifts quite awhile ago. Only buy for my 2 little grandkids. Instead, we participate as a family and buy gifts for needy familiies through our local food bank. Works great for all of us and it helps those in need to have a special holiday.

panda1234 · ‎04-27-2015

@Enufstuff wrote:
@panda1234 You are correct. With the obsession with cell phones, communication skills are lacking in much of the younger population.

Don't even get me started about communication with only texting , not being able to spell or construct a sentence or knowledge of proper English and use of punctuation.

@Enufstuff @I totally agree with you. I was in shock yesterday when I received a handwritten thank you note from a 30 year old. This was for a wedding gift from one month ago. I hate those preprinted generic thank you notes.

Wobin · ‎03-18-2010

I took a cue from my own grandparents and give birthday gifts to the grandchildren until they reach 18. Christmas we fund something for the family as determined by the parents, we set a budget for it. We like to be able to give them an experience together and it doesn't have to be expensive. After age 18 there maybe special occasion gifts like a wedding or college graduation but Christmas is really for children.