Christmas Spending - PASS week six

I just realized that Christmas is like a month away! We have just over a month to get ready! Eek! Thinking about Christmas shopping got me wondering how you handle this with your teens? Are your teens responsible for buying gifts for family members? Do you give them money to use? Do they use their own money? Do you exchange gifts with multiple family members or do you draw names and have only one person to buy for?

In years past, I've done all the shopping for everyone. This year, being a newly single mom to six kids in this economy, things are going to be different. This year, I'm stressing the meaning of the season. We're talking about the joy of spending time with family. We're remembering that the thought behind the gift is what is important.

I've enlisted my teens to help me come up with gift ideas for our family and friends that won't cost a lot of money and will be fun to put together. I've also asked my teens to help talk the little kids out of their I NEED Everything I See on TV attitudes. And finally, I keeping making sure that everyone in my family remembers those less fortunate. We recently got together with friends and packed shoeboxes full of gifts for Operation Christmas Child. The kids had fun picking out toys and items that will benefit children who have nothing. And hopefully, the lesson that we don't need to spend tons of money that we don't have in order to have a nice Christmas sunk in.

What do you do to keep holiday spending in check? How do you install this in your teens? Share your thoughts here!

I am working with American Express on this project. As always, I'm writing my honest accounts and opinions.

photo from alancleaver_2000's photostream