How to make Christmas special for our 5 kids?

Question

We have 5 kids, ages: boy-16, girl-12, boy-4, boy-2, and girl-2 months. Any ideas of how to give the kids a magical Christmas on a Very small budget? We are outdoorsy, but the middle girl is verry girly. Any ideas for her? Im not really worried about the baby, but I cant afford a ton of gifts per child. How many would be sufficiant?? I appreciate the help.

Thanks everyone for the answers. We (I) already do a ton of baking all year round, and i am hoping for snow so we can go out to play!! We live in the North West. The biggest point i want to make to the kids Is how much we love them and how great it is we all have eachother. Thanks again, guys!

gee wiz lighten up wkp! i dont want a "retail christmas" thats my whole point!! I want the kids to feel the love and togetherness and make our own traditions and have fun!

Answer 1

As a gift from you and your husband, I would take them all out for the afternoon, lunch and ice skating. Most kids just love doing stuff out of the ordinary with their parents. Give them coupons for a "special afternoon with Mom" or a "special afternoon with Dad" that they can use individually for when they really need some time alone with a parent. Other examples could be:

A coupon for a Free pick of what to eat for dinner....limit it to chicken, fish, etc. whatever you usually have on hand and can make, but stuff like meatloaf...my Mom always let one of us pick brown gravey or red sauce. It made it kind of our night.

A coupon for a Free pick of what family sport to play on any Saturday.

A coupon to veto watching any show they don't want to see on tv.

A coupon to stay up an extra 15 minutes past normal bed time to be used any time they want. 15 minutes will not hurt them for school the next morning, so you will be covered there.

A coupon for a special breakfast.

A coupon for a ride home from school from Mom.

You and hour husband can have fun making the coupons and it will be a nice individualized gift for them.

To this day we always follow the same traditions food-wise and there is something very comforting about that as well.

Merry Christmas!

Answer 2

Christmas is a religious holiday.It doesn't call for toys or a lot of gifts.
Try baking dinner and maybe cookies together.
Go to church.
Sing songs
Why not give religious gifts ?
Maybe everyone gets one special thing and one stocking stuffer ? Books are always a great gift idea.
Each child will be responsible to buying a gift for one of their siblings.Keep it simple.
Your older daughter might like a necklace,the youngest boys can have inexpensive toys .Target makes very inexpensive toy sets that are just wonderful.
Maybe your older son would like a new basket ball or base ball ?
If you live in a snowy part of the country, all go sledding together, make snow people together and so on.
So each child gets two from you and one from a sibling.That is more than enough.
Have a happy holiday.

Answer 3

I have three girls and a tight budget as well. I tell my girls to tell me what the one thing that they want from "Santa" usually in August. Then I do my best, within reason, to get that one item for them. Don't be afraid of going to the Goodwill or Salvation Army stores, it is amazing what you can find with a little effort and time! Dollar stores are great as well, espically for those stocking stuffers!

I have always told them that since we have so much, like a home, enough to eat, clothes, and good friends and family, that Santa only brings us one gift so that he can give more to the children that don't have what we have. We also spend part of the holiday with the elderly (who have no family) every year and donate what we can to the toys for tots, and coats for kids programs in our area. We have also worked with the Make a Wish program and the Ronald McDonald's house at our Childrens Hospital through our Girl Scout troop. So you can see I try to take the "getting" out of our Christmas and make it a "giving" thing. What I started years ago out of desperation because I had NO money for Christmas has become, in our family, a very meaningful, special time of year for all of us. Not only (if only for the season) do they seem to appreciate our family more, but they think more of others than themselves. As they get older they are thinking of new things we can do and people that we can help...and they are 15,13 &10. I hope this helps and gives you some ideas...Good luck, best wishes and I hope you have a great holiday!!

Answer 4

Set yourself a "cash" budget and stick to it.. The holidays are stressful enough w/o adding credit card bills to the mix... The older kids will be tough to shop for- give them gift cards to shop for themselves. Stores like Old Navy, Best Buy etc... I work at Kohl's dept. store and I have to say I NEVER shopped there before I worked there ! The prices are very,very good and they always have everything on sale... ! If your children especially the little ones need clothing ! As for toys I have two little boys ages 3 and 1 and I saw nothing in the toy catalogs that seemed appealing. Also, add in that most toys are "made in china" and all the lead scares I'm leaning towards books, wooden american made toys.. LIke Melissa/Doug puzzles/toys.... Which if you need a replacement piece/part you can get a new toy for half price.. Call the 1-800 and a real person answers the phone !

*As for making the holiday magical decorate the tree together- buy each child a special christmas ornament that way when he/she gets married they will have their own set for their family christmas tree.. We do this in my family/husband's family it's very special/nice tradition. My husband has many stories about where each ornament is from and who he got it from. We also do this for our children.
If you are outdoorsy- go for a hike in the snow and take pictures of the children building snowmen, bring hot chocolate and have fun ! The older children might "resent" it now but, in time they will have fond memories. Christmas doesn't have to be about money to have a good time.... It's also good to remember those less fortunate around the holidays by donating to charities. We take donations for sendasoldier which we collect toiletries, small books etc... and send them to military personal in Iraq. They appreciate the thoughts,cards and often respond with a letter/e-mail. Bake cookies/breads and give them as gifts to friends/neighbors/teachers etc.. Most of all have a good time and think of all your blessings... Good luck

Answer 5

Mack is so right. Give the children your time and interest. Stick "Norman Rockwell" in your Internet browser, look at his Christmas pictures and then decorate the house like that. Take them to midnight mass on Christmas Eve or turn the TV off, get round the fire and sing some Carols or camp fire songs together. Tell or read them stories. Bake some simple cakes and serve them with hot chocolate drinks before they go to bed. Meanwhile, involve the older children in planning some party games for Christmas Day and have them rehearse a few conjuring tricks to perform for the younger ones in the evening. Fill the house with the smell of cinnamon. Hire a DVD of "A Christmas Carol" and watch that on Christmas Night. Go to a soccer match on Boxing Day. You deserve a magical time and giving time to your kids is the way, as Mack said.

Answer 6

Maybe, you could have the kids help make some cookies and take them to a few of your older neighbors or go to a nursing home. Rehearse a couple of Christmas carols to sing.Make hot chocolate when you get home. Teach your children that it is better to give than receive.Maybe you can spend a night with each child helping them to make a gift for the rest of the family. Then, it you are on limited funds, get the child only one or two things on their list. Being a family is what the holidays are all about. Merry Christmas.

Answer 7

Take them all out and find a tree toghether,make it an all day affair with hot coco, and cookies. You can rent a nice christmas movie and all cuddle up by the TV and watch it together, and then read them christmas stories. You can get one big gift for all of the children and make it a family present like a new puppy or get each one a gift that they each really want. You sound like a wonderful mother and I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season, GOD Bless! The key is to be together and let them know how much you love them.

Answer 8

Hard facts. Good to know.
1) There are many happy children in the world without knowledge of Christmas.
2) Outdoorsy and girly are not mutually exclusive.
3) I would have gained more happiness if my folks provided me with more education, more answers in my curious years instead of saying, in embarrassment, that I'll find out when I grow up.
Don't let the Christmas gift culture depreciate the love you give your family. The loudest proponents of the "giving season" do not believe in magic. They just rake in the profits.

Answer 9

Have each child make a list of 5 things they would want from "Santa". Number one being the most wanted thing. Buy one or two from each list that you can afford. Getting a bunch of cheap toys instead of getting that very one thing or close enough to it was always so disappointing. We didn't have much money when I was a child. My most enjoyed memories were driving around looking at the decorated homes and yards, baking and eating cookies, watching holiday movies on tv, making decorations out of paper, stringing popcorn and getting exactly what I wanted even if it was only one or two things. One year we even cut down the spindly fir tree in our yard. We called it our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. Christmas is about making memories. It's not about what you get, but what you get from it. :)

Answer 10

Try to do two or three gifts for each of them that you know they really want and will love. Make things magical by also making it a great family day. Do things together like everyone helping with breakfast and doing something that all of you will remember. Make the day not only about the gifts, but about your family and how special your time together is. It will be magical through your love and closeness.