Who in the heck can afford a $250 White Elephant gift and still do gifts for family? Greedy mom and not thinking of others. That higher $ amount makes it impossible for most people to participate. Way to ruin a fun tradition…
When family guilts you about money write an expense list subtracted from your income. Show them how tight you are on money. Then ask them which bill they will pay so you can afford a $250 gift
Every white elephant gift exchange I've ever been to, the gift didn't cost a dime. You bring something from home that you don't use anymore, usually something nice, but sometimes something really goofy, all gift wrapped as a present. I once brought an overhead projector which I thought would be funny, but everyone fought over it ! LoL! It's supposed to be fun, not serious!!
A gift limit is supposed to mean the maximum spent. Our family usually does $25. Some gifts are worth more than that because the gift giver made them theirselves but kept the materials used under the twentfive dollars. One year an uncle made an amethyst necklace. He had found the stone while camping that summer.he cut, set, an polished the stone himself and the chain and setting were less than $25 for him. Another year a cousin who is a deer hunter killed three deer during his fall hunt he saved and made a beautiful hanging lamp. One year another aunt embroidered a set of queen size sheets.
Once my brothers and sisters were all of age and starting their own families we as a family decided to not give Christmas gifts anymore hello we celebrate individual birthdays as we see fit the Christmas is more about bringing the family together then a bunch of wrapped up crap
Our white elephant is to bring something from your home you don't like or that is really quirky. One item has been making the rounds for years. All gifts,are put in the middle and people throw dice to pick gifts or take them from someone else. It's a hoot with laughing all around.
S1: $250. for a gag gift is ludicrous. Sounds like someone might be thinking of returning all the gifts for cash. 10 x $250. pays for a nice vacation and op says they’re 18 ! Oh yeah mom and dad are devious. Being a grandmother, I’ve always downplayed holiday gifts for adults. I didn’t want my children wasting money on us. The only gift I’ve asked for every year is their family photo and if they feel the need to spend, I’d like it in a picture frame ready to display. I gotta question what kind of evil parent demands that their suffering child spends what they don’t have. They’re demons
My family made rules that the white elephant gifts should be no more than $5. This meant that it could cost nothing. I was only able to participate in 1 when we started this tradition because I ended up moving a couple of states away, and it's too difficult to plan to travel during the winter. Anyways, that one I bought a cheap bar of green soap and carved it into a snowman. Took some cardboard and made a winter scene to place the snowman in front of. It was a lot of fun and we had a lot of good laughs.
Then tell them you won't be coming for the Christmas gathering. Start your own Christmas tradition by going on a trip or having a bunch of friend's over!
I bet there are other family members who would be willing to ditch the high price tag. Make the gifts something you already own. Lower everyone's expectations.
No your not being unreasonable your mother and anybody that agrees with your mother is being unreasonable. This is a ridicules amount of money for a white elephant gift exchange.
Overreacting? Ha! 1. Tell everyone that you DO NOT HAVE the money. 2. If it's spending time wiith family, then what does the dollar limit have to do with it. 3. Show up and BLATANTLY and obviously show how you are NOT participating. 4. If $250 limit is nothing, then how about giving me $250 for my rent. 5. Nicer gifts? Re: parents. Greedy much? 6. This would have come up eventually. What happens when they decide to raise the amount to $1K? Hmmm, are your parents deliberately tagetting you? 7. Show up with a $2.50 gift. "Oh, two hundred? Sorry, i must have misread the announcement." 8. What kind of family thinks that $250 is ok or even has that kind of money?
The limit is $250, doesn't that mean it's the upper limit? so you can still buy a $50 gift saying "wasn't that new limit the upper limit?" And call them selfish after they get upset getting a $50 gift
So from what I'm understanding your parents want better gifts. What I would do is I get the $250 white elephant gift and then get your parents crayons and coloring book cuz they're acting like a child.
Is OP's mom a Choleric/Lion/Type A personality? 'Cos she's ticking all those boxes--need for control, unwilling to compromise or admit they were wrong, blaming and acusing others, guilt-trips.... UGH. I was rooting for OP and all family members who were opposed to the outrageous gift price to have a separate Christmas party away from the toxic mom--so glad they did!
I don't care if the mom is the one organizing Christmas. The host doesn't have the authority to arbitrarily set ir change a gift giving limit or on this case minimum. That should have been brought before the whole family to decide and it was unfair of her to do so on her own. Also she accused op of making it about money when she was the one who made it about money when she put a price on it.
If it's not about the gift, why $250? Your dad just contradicted himself. Dig a little deeper and there's someone with a superior attitude at the source
Definitely a work of fiction. Who does that? The very essence of White Elephant is to get something cheap. It's all about the laughs. I don't know if this includes the fact that you can steal from others. I have had the gifts I brought stolen from others and I consider that a win
I just had a great idea for you guys. Everyone that doesn't like the idea should all show up for the Christmas party. When it comes time for the exchange, you all should leave and go to the sister's house that is struggling financially with the gift exchange. She shouldn't show up, and they all should make a statement of support by leaving when it starts.
If $250. is the limit, its at the top so anything under that is acceptable. $1 to $250. The key word is LIMIT. You cant print your own money 'to suck it up'.
Who says you have to participate in the gift giving? Tell them not to include you in that part due to financial issues. Go and enjoy time with your family.
You opt into a white elephant by bringing a gift to exchange. If you don’t bring a gift you have opted out of the exchange. Arrive (gift less) and announce that you had to opt out this year.
No problem: Let the people who want to spend $250 exchange with EACH OTHER . Theeennn , let the people who want to spend $50 exchange with each other . # problem solved # next case 😂 I bet more people will partake in the $50 exchange. 😌😁
S 1 OP should have taped a penny to a white sheet and said "here's my Cachivache. Salud! Not making a joke about the Spanish language OR Mexicans. But about OP's family.
anyy sensible personw ould have picked that up. It's a shame you have to clarify it because there are folks who will come on here to judge everything.. Your idea is golden!!!
HiHey mom and dad, If it's not about the money and more about the spirit of the tradition then why does the gift have to be so expensive. So 250 is that the limit?Or is that the suggestion or how does that work?What happens if somebody brings in a two hundred dollar gift and somebody else swaps for a two hundred and fifty dollar gift is that gonna cause problems. The higher the amount of money , the more stress you're given to everybody in the more chance at some Body feeling they are getting short changed. Now let's think about Those with more than one person In the household. So now you're talking about $500 or $750 Or more. If you want to elevate the gifts , why don't you just say no gag gifts
Pt 2. Oh. Since parents said it doesn't matter the gift. Tell them to put it in writing. Then with a little creativity go to to dollar tree get anything that rocks ya boat and create a dying white elephant gift yourself. It is a 1 of a kind art work you made and thus you can set the price at $250. And since the parents said it doesn't matter the gift is well everyone can see they stepped in it themselves.
White elephant gift 250? Seriously? Spending that much on a stupid junk gift? This must be rich people problems.
This year my family has had hard times, so we decided to have family game night instead of gifts. I think it will be a better time
Who in the heck can afford a $250 White Elephant gift and still do gifts for family? Greedy mom and not thinking of others. That higher $ amount makes it impossible for most people to participate. Way to ruin a fun tradition…
When family guilts you about money write an expense list subtracted from your income. Show them how tight you are on money. Then ask them which bill they will pay so you can afford a $250 gift
If her parents don't want to compromise, then they should give her the $250 if it's not that big of a deal. Why do they not care about her finances?
Elitists parents
Every white elephant gift exchange I've ever been to, the gift didn't cost a dime. You bring something from home that you don't use anymore, usually something nice, but sometimes something really goofy, all gift wrapped as a present. I once brought an overhead projector which I thought would be funny, but everyone fought over it ! LoL! It's supposed to be fun, not serious!!
We do 5 bucks or less.
A gift limit is supposed to mean the maximum spent. Our family usually does $25. Some gifts are worth more than that because the gift giver made them theirselves but kept the materials used under the twentfive dollars. One year an uncle made an amethyst necklace. He had found the stone while camping that summer.he cut, set, an polished the stone himself and the chain and setting were less than $25 for him. Another year a cousin who is a deer hunter killed three deer during his fall hunt he saved and made a beautiful hanging lamp. One year another aunt embroidered a set of queen size sheets.
Once my brothers and sisters were all of age and starting their own families we as a family decided to not give Christmas gifts anymore hello we celebrate individual birthdays as we see fit the Christmas is more about bringing the family together then a bunch of wrapped up crap
Our white elephant is to bring something from your home you don't like or that is really quirky. One item has been making the rounds for years. All gifts,are put in the middle and people throw dice to pick gifts or take them from someone else. It's a hoot with laughing all around.
S1: $250. for a gag gift is ludicrous. Sounds like someone might be thinking of returning all the gifts for cash. 10 x $250. pays for a nice vacation and op says they’re 18 ! Oh yeah mom and dad are devious. Being a grandmother, I’ve always downplayed holiday gifts for adults. I didn’t want my children wasting money on us. The only gift I’ve asked for every year is their family photo and if they feel the need to spend, I’d like it in a picture frame ready to display. I gotta question what kind of evil parent demands that their suffering child spends what they don’t have. They’re demons
Originally, the white elephant idea was that you chose something you already have but don't want for a gift, d
so it was virtually free.
8 agree with m9st here. I would backboutxandcrefuse, t oovthatv8scinconsiderate IMHO😮
If OP's mother wants him or her to participate than maybe they should give their child the $250 dollars to participate.
The whole point of a white elephant gift is that they are relatively inexpensive.
And FUN
My family made rules that the white elephant gifts should be no more than $5. This meant that it could cost nothing. I was only able to participate in 1 when we started this tradition because I ended up moving a couple of states away, and it's too difficult to plan to travel during the winter. Anyways, that one I bought a cheap bar of green soap and carved it into a snowman. Took some cardboard and made a winter scene to place the snowman in front of. It was a lot of fun and we had a lot of good laughs.
Its not a limit. Its a MINIMUM.
Then tell them you won't be coming for the Christmas gathering. Start your own Christmas tradition by going on a trip or having a bunch of friend's over!
I can "suck up" (tolerate) anything. What I can't do is crap out money. If I don't have it that means I DONT HAVE IT. Jesus, what are you, TWO?!
A limit, is MAX amount, not even an issue. Spend what you can and whoever ends up ends up with $20 in scratch off lottery tickets…you’re welcome
They say limit, but it sounds like they mean minimum.
4:58 And if OP joins in with only spending what he/she can afford then OP will still get yelled at.
Perfect solution once people actually stood up for themselves.
I bet there are other family members who would be willing to ditch the high price tag. Make the gifts something you already own. Lower everyone's expectations.
So the mother is being greedy and materialistic, how to ruin The tradition, and gaslight the others into feeling and being like they are at fault
No your not being unreasonable your mother and anybody that agrees with your mother is being unreasonable. This is a ridicules amount of money for a white elephant gift exchange.
Stop dithering. Tell your parents they’re a holes for insisting on not understanding the situation.
Overreacting? Ha!
1. Tell everyone that you DO NOT HAVE the money.
2. If it's spending time wiith family, then what does the dollar limit have to do with it.
3. Show up and BLATANTLY and obviously show how you are NOT participating.
4. If $250 limit is nothing, then how about giving me $250 for my rent.
5. Nicer gifts? Re: parents. Greedy much?
6. This would have come up eventually. What happens when they decide to raise the amount to $1K? Hmmm, are your parents deliberately tagetting you?
7. Show up with a $2.50 gift. "Oh, two hundred? Sorry, i must have misread the announcement."
8. What kind of family thinks that $250 is ok or even has that kind of money?
The limit is $250, doesn't that mean it's the upper limit? so you can still buy a $50 gift saying "wasn't that new limit the upper limit?" And call them selfish after they get upset getting a $50 gift
I wouldn't be able to afford $250 either. That's ridiculous. I'd have to bow out.
Me, too.
Take an empty plate with a note that says it’s a virtual gourmet meal!
So from what I'm understanding your parents want better gifts. What I would do is I get the $250 white elephant gift and then get your parents crayons and coloring book cuz they're acting like a child.
Who spends two fifty on a white elephant? That's a bougie gift
I thought a price limit meant not to spend more. Not a minimum.
Is OP's mom a Choleric/Lion/Type A personality? 'Cos she's ticking all those boxes--need for control, unwilling to compromise or admit they were wrong, blaming and acusing others, guilt-trips.... UGH.
I was rooting for OP and all family members who were opposed to the outrageous gift price to have a separate Christmas party away from the toxic mom--so glad they did!
I don't care if the mom is the one organizing Christmas. The host doesn't have the authority to arbitrarily set ir change a gift giving limit or on this case minimum. That should have been brought before the whole family to decide and it was unfair of her to do so on her own. Also she accused op of making it about money when she was the one who made it about money when she put a price on it.
If it's not about the gift, why $250? Your dad just contradicted himself. Dig a little deeper and there's someone with a superior attitude at the source
If your parents cared about you they'd give you the difference of what you can afford and the $250. Ask them what would Jesus do.
Definitely a work of fiction. Who does that? The very essence of White Elephant is to get something cheap. It's all about the laughs.
I don't know if this includes the fact that you can steal from others. I have had the gifts I brought stolen from others and I consider that a win
I just had a great idea for you guys. Everyone that doesn't like the idea should all show up for the Christmas party. When it comes time for the exchange, you all should leave and go to the sister's house that is struggling financially with the gift exchange. She shouldn't show up, and they all should make a statement of support by leaving when it starts.
If $250. is the limit, its at the top so anything under that is acceptable. $1 to $250. The key word is LIMIT. You cant print your own money 'to suck it up'.
Yeah. If OP’s mother meant no lower than $250 then she should’ve phrased it as “minimum of $250”.
The two $50 women is a max not a minimum I just stick with buying whatever you want and screw the price
This is why I celebrate Jesus. Not stuff
10:31 “… if I care about being part of the family.” Excuse me?
Who says you have to participate in the gift giving? Tell them not to include you in that part due to financial issues. Go and enjoy time with your family.
That's what I would do.
I figured someone wanted to bring the white elephant to a classier level. I choose to not participate.
Go but leave before the white elephant gift exchange pleading another engagement.
You opt into a white elephant by bringing a gift to exchange. If you don’t bring a gift you have opted out of the exchange. Arrive (gift less) and announce that you had to opt out this year.
The people who agree with OP should just skip the gathering and have their own party.
Do you disagree with the OP?
@MrRedditTales no, her mother is clearly a nutcase.
@@MrRedditTalesno, I think her mother is nuts.
No problem: Let the people who want to spend $250 exchange with EACH OTHER . Theeennn , let the people who want to spend $50 exchange with each other . # problem solved # next case
😂 I bet more people will partake in the $50 exchange. 😌😁
I vote for the rebel alliance
Her mother is definitely a elitist
Attend but bring 250 Pennie’s or 250 pieces of candy. Let all who don’t agree with new limit do the same.
S 1 OP should have taped a penny to a white sheet and said "here's my Cachivache. Salud!
Not making a joke about the Spanish language OR Mexicans. But about OP's family.
anyy sensible personw ould have picked that up. It's a shame you have to clarify it because there are folks who will come on here to judge everything.. Your idea is golden!!!
sounds like mom and dad forgot what the real meaning of Christmas is....
HiHey mom and dad, If it's not about the money and more about the spirit of the tradition then why does the gift have to be so expensive.
So 250 is that the limit?Or is that the suggestion or how does that work?What happens if somebody brings in a two hundred dollar gift and somebody else swaps for a two hundred and fifty dollar gift is that gonna cause problems. The higher the amount of money , the more stress you're given to everybody in the more chance at some Body feeling they are getting short changed.
Now let's think about Those with more than one person In the household.
So now you're talking about $500 or $750 Or more.
If you want to elevate the gifts , why don't you just say no gag gifts
No just say no thanks. $250 for a stupid gift is ridiculous. Use money on something better and skip the drama.
Pt 2. Oh. Since parents said it doesn't matter the gift. Tell them to put it in writing.
Then with a little creativity go to to dollar tree get anything that rocks ya boat and create a dying white elephant gift yourself. It is a 1 of a kind art work you made and thus you can set the price at $250. And since the parents said it doesn't matter the gift is well everyone can see they stepped in it themselves.
If i were Op i would gift kohle for the gathering .
The two $50 women is a max not a minimum I just stick with buying whatever you want and screw the price