Secret present buying? Yes.

For the last three years our family has tried to cut down on present buying.  I'll admit, we used to go bonkers at this time of the year - purchasing $100+ gifts for each person, and well that quite frankly adds up when you have sisters with partners, kids and sister in laws etc.

So we all decided that we'd only purchase for the little ones, and just do a secret santa gift of a $100 voucher.  (Everyone would write down their name on a piece of paper with the name of a shop we'd like our voucher at, and then we'd all draw one out from some type of festive hat/bowl).

This year, we decided that we wouldn't even do that.  We'd just buy for the kids, and seeing as we're older, and our whole family is spending Christmas together holidaying at the beach, we figured that would be a beautiful enough present.

This is what I thought, until, yesterday - yes, yesterday one week before Christmas - I had this conversation with several people in my family.

Mum: Don't go into the spare room, Meghan.

Me: Why not?

Mum: Because there are things in there I don't want you to see.

Me: Did you buy us Christmas gifts?

Mum: I'm your mother, if I want to buy gifts for my daughters I will.

(Then, mum continued to show me all the gifts she bought for my other sisters, whilst hiding mine underneath a towel).

***

Sophie: I'm really looking forward to Christmas, I can't wait to just relax at the beach.

Me: Me too, I'll be kaftan-ing it up. Ah, did you realise that mum bought us all gifts?

Sophie: I knew she would, she always does.

Me: What happened to the no-gift-buying-rule? Everyone does this every year. We get to Christmas morning and there are all these little 'secret' gifts under the tree. I feel so bad if I haven't bought anything.

Sophie: Well, I may have bought you and Sarah something really small each.

Me: What? Sophie, we said we weren't buying gifts. We are ridiculous....luckily I  bought you all something small last weekend.

***

Me: Sophie and Mum have both bought everyone gifts for Christmas.

Sarah: I know.

Me: Have you?

Sarah: Yes - just small ones though.  $30 each tops.

Me: Did you buy everyone something?

Sarah: Yes - but they're all really small. I got Justin and Jake really little things, nothing over the top.

***

Oh, sheesh kapeesh. We'll never learn.

Does your family do this?