Our Breakfast Bags were a great hit again, our 7th year of doing this.
In early October we decide on 4x £5 categories and 4x £10 categories.
We then each pick one out from each category, as a lucky dip.
We buy a present for each of us (including yourself) in the category picked out,
wrap it in identical paper and pop it in the named bags.
When it comes to Christmas day, someone chooses a gift from their bag and we all find the gift from our bags in the corresponding paper, and unwrap it as a round.
So for example in the £5 category, I got ' a jar of', so I bought Jeff chewing gum, me a candle in a jar, Sophie a jar of coffee and Sam a jar of Biscoff spread. I wrap those four gifts in the same design of paper and pop each gift into each persons bag. Jeff had sweet snacks, Sophie had savoury snacks and Sam had accessories.
In the £10 round I got vessels. So I bought Jeff a diet coke glass, me a water bottle, Sophie a vase and Sam a new mug. Jeff got shower gel but it became toiletries, Sophie got hobbies and entertainment and Sam got 'a pair of'.
In total the 2 rounds equal just a £60 spend per person. (You can choose to spend more if you wish)
It still involves a bit of thought and effort but the categories we come up with should mean we get things we will eat, need, use.
So from the £5 and £10 rounds this is what I received.
Two things from Jeff - the shower gel and sweet snacks.
Two things from Sophie - the Benson Boone CD's and the savoury snacks.
Two things from Sam - the spoon holder/tags and the socks (apparently I'm really hard to buy for)
and I bought myself the water bottle and the candle in a jar!
The kids still get money as their main gift but get something fun to open on the day. Plus they don't have to agonise over what to buy for mum and dad or each other, and waste money in the process.
As we neither want or need anything!!
I do a few extra rounds, nothing huge and only if I think it
involves things people, need, want or will use!!
And Jeff does a book round, with Sophie buying a book for him.
This year I did a Traitors round,
a pigeon round,
Family joke, as I hate pigeons!!
Sam got some extra Lego, and the we played the Pigeon game together.
a bag round,
holiday/travel round
Italian round
Easter egg round!!!
Forest Feast bags
And a couple of main gifts that were specifically asked for!!
Sophie, a new kettle and some new towels
Sam, some socks and Lego!!
I bought Jeff a pair of shorts for summer (very Harry Styles!!)
and treated myself to these ornamental figs!!
I hide everything away and then in early December lay everything out and
decide what is missing, what is not needed, what would work as a round and then get wrapping!!
They're called Breakfast Bags because Sam was always impatient to open presents,
so we start on the bags at breakfast!!
I received this lovely selection of gifts.
Everything is wanted, needed or will be eaten or used.
It hasn't cost loads of money.
It hasn't meant someone has agonised over what to buy.
It works for us, we're already debating next years categories!!
