How to stop buying christmas presents for nieces and nephews?
My husband and I do not have children however we have 16 nieces and nephews. Needless to say holidays and birthdays get very expensive for us. At Christmas, we buy presents for the children, and our parents, however our brothers and sisters do not exchange presents. Eventhough, we do not have our own children, because our combined families are so large, we are the only ones in our families that have so many children to buy for. We have decided that we are not buying for the nieces and nephews this Christmas. I am having a hard time coming to terms with this decision, but it has been made. Any suggestions on how to approach this with their parents?
Parents, do you buy your nieces and nephews birthday gifts?
That is a sore point with me. My husband and I are the youngest in both of our families, and the last to have children. Our girls are 19 months and 3. We bought birthday presents AND Christmas presents for ALL of our neices and nephews (7 in total) until the oldest was 19!!! We no longer do. NONE of our brothers and sisters buy birthday presents for our children. Up until this Christmas, the adults on his side of the family drew names for Christmas. Everyone bought for the kids, who ranged in age from 6 months to 19 years. THIS year, now that all of their kids are much older, they have decided to put the kids name into the draw too. So now my kids don't get many presents, but get to BUY for other people!!!! It's not the gifts I care about - it's the principle.
When was the last time you sent a postcard?
Probably about 40 years ago. That said, I was just planning to send one next week and I am not even visiting anywhere.The postcard(s) 40 years ago were when I went to Disneyland as a kid. The postcard I'm about to send from my own hometown and after a 40 year hiatus is the first one from a postcard coloring book (yes, it's a thing! - lol) that I've finished coloring.I got the book as a gift from my nephew's wife and am going to send her the first resulting colored postcard!
Can i claim my niece and nephew on my tax returns as dependents? will get in trouble with the IRS if i do so?
I do it all the time. I claim my child and my neice, she's listed as my neice on my return also. I don't lie, if you're taking care of them there is no problem with it. Make sure you have their ss cards and birthdates, also make sure to let their mother know you plan on claiming them because you take care of them. If you claim them first, and then she tries she'll be rejected. This happened to me also, my neice's mother was going to let someone else claim her because they were going to give her $600 of their return (her mother doesn't work), I'd already claimed her, and that person was rejected. Her mother could have put up a fight but she'd have to explainwhy she was selling her daughter off. Just be careful, if it's legitimate you'll be fine.
My Niece is 3 years old and she still cant talk.?
My son was saying few words by 2 1/2 and then stopped completely and i was very worried when he was 3 1/2 and was not saying anything so i saw a speech therapist, pediatrician and then ENT doctor and eventually discovered he had fluid behind his ear drum and some sort of surgery was performed on him which improved his hearing. Thereafter we took him for a few speech therapy session but had to stop because of international relocation, but then I had to engage him in some form of speech lesson myself as instructed by the speech therapist. I will tell him the name of anything that we come across and have him repeat them and if he want anything I give will it to him, but tell him what he is suppose to say. for example if he point at a ball, I will say "Give me the ball please" as I hand the ball to him. Sometimes I will sing a song halfway or say phrase, then say it half way and him complete it. Eg, I will say "Mummy is brushing her hair", and then say "Mummy is.... and he will most times complete it by saying "brushing her hair". I talk to him as much as I can, by always telling him what I am doing."He is 4 1/2 years now, and he can count 1 to 50, read and sound A to Z and will ask for a most things he wants. Amazingly, he can recite the Lord's Prayer. Infact his speech has improved tremendously. But most importantly, I prayed and trusted God to perfect his speech. Am still believing God for the best for my sweet little angel. I give God all the glory.
Are thank you notes a thing of the past? I sent my niece a monetary gift and card for her daughter's 4th birthday. A month later, I have not heard whether she has received it. What is a good solution to this awkward problem?
I still send thank you notes and other occasion notes. I find they are more appreciated because they are so rare. That makes them even more a joy to send for me!I agree that younger generations aren’t being taught thank you etiquette. Maybe we dinosaurs need to revise our expectations but I do think some form of thanks is in order, especially where relatives are concerned.I’ve had success “reminding” loved ones about this with two techniques you might like to try. Hope one of these helps!Call the parent or recipient to inquire if the gift was received and enjoyed. If the parent doesn’t offer to make sure the kid follows up with some kind of thanks, or doesn’t seem to think it’s a problem, don’t send any more gifts. In the case of your niece, ask if she received/enjoyed it. During this call, offer your email address and phone number (if you can text) if it would be easier to communicate that way. Say you’d love to hear from them from time to time although you know how busy they are. Next gift card you send, reinforce this by adding your contact information under your signature on the card. What form thanks comes by isn’t really the point anyway, right? Make it easier for them.Send a different kind of gift next time. This gift should be a really nice box of thank you notes. If you must, enclose the customary money in one of the envelopes in the top of the note box, addressed to the recipient (add a brief sentiment), then wrap that up and mail it.
My 15 year old niece was recently given a VISA card with a high limit. She has advised my kids that our family is “poor” because we ask the kids to do chores for an allowance. Are chores a thing of the past?
No, chores are not a thing of the past.In my house, chores are done by everybody that lives in the house. Each day, I do one of three options(I rotate with my brothers):-Living room: vacuum rug, sweep floor, brush cat, brush dog, cat litter, pick up in general-Dining room: clean table, vacuum chairs, sweep kitchen and dining room, take out recycling, put away shoes-Kitchen: unload and reload dishwasher, wipe down counters, take out trash, clean stove and fridge, vacuum rugOn Saturdays, I do one of the following, depending on which chore above I do-Mop laundry room-Vacuum stairs and upstairs hallway-Clean main floor bathroom to Mom’s satisfactionOn Wednesdays, I clean the kid bathroom, which is sometimes nasty because my brothers can’t aim.We are not given an allowance, we are allowed to live in the house.An allowance is not a marker of being rich, it’s just something parents use to get their kids to be motivated to do chores. If you give your kids and allowance and then take it away, they will stop doing the chores. If your kid hasn’t been doing chores, but suddenly you make them do chores everyday, you might use an allowance to get them to cooperate.
What should i write for my 4 year old niece in her birthday card...?
Ok, so whatever you write, it's going to mean little to your niece at the age of 4/5, but you want her to be moved when she re-reads at the age of 8...and years to come. I have niece this age, so here's what I would write. My beautiful niece, you are leaving toddlerhood and becoming a little girl. With each year that passes, you become sweeter, a better friend, more intelligent and more beautiful that any little girl should, you lucky little girl. I think of you, though far away, and know that you are growing to be sweeter and smarter everyday. Happy 5th Birthday, Princess!
Birthday invitation that says "preferred items include: Gift cards, outfits size 4T and/or cash"?
"No toys please" How do you take that? My SIL is notorious for this kind of crap, but I already bought my nephew's gift when it was on sale. We bought him a really nice blow up water park last year regular $450 and we got it for $125 at a summer clearance last season. I have been waiting all year to give it to him, and we got the invitation in the mail today and it said that. I am sure I will give him an outfit or two, but she won't even let him open gifts in front of people anyways. They take all wrapped gifts home and open them, so the other kids at the party, and the givers will not be offended by over-gifting from family members. He is our nephew and we are his only aunt and uncle, so we like to spoil him at birthday and xmas, since we don't get to see him much. How to deal with this situation since taking that gift back is not an option? Should I give it to him at a later time, and give him clothes at his party?