Angle Tree

[marcyinPA]

We do a Giving Tree at church....the tags have a first name/age, gender, and gift suggestions.

We picked a 12 year old boy, and he wanted the newest Harry Potter book, a CD player, and a sheet/comforter set.

I bought him the book and the CD player, and I also bought him the the new CD that our worship team at church just released. So, total, about $40 give or take...

Money is tight for us, but it's something that my family really wants to do, makes us feel blessed to give to a child who may otherwise get nothing this year.

 

[tlbwriter]

So far we for DD12 angle kid a girl age 12 we got an outfit at Areopostal and a CD player (My daughter picked out skinny jeans because that is what she likes but I am second guessing that because I hate them).

I'm not a fan either, but that's what everyone is wearing right now, and she'll be thrilled to get a stylish gift that lets her keep up with her peers.

 

[marcyinPA]

I think I am making this so much harder than it is suppose to be. I love to give gifts I just always want them to be just right.

So far we for DD12 angle kid a girl age 12 we got an outfit at Areopostal and a CD player (My daughter picked out skinny jeans because that is what she likes but I am second guessing that because I hate them).

For my DD9 angle kid a girl age 7 we got roller blades- havent picked out an outfit yet.

My angle kid a girl age 4 we got Baby Alive and a V-tech learning labtop I still have to get an outfit

DHs angle kid is a boy age 9 He wants a remote control car and walkie talkies we haven't got them yet but will.

I think the clothes part is very challenging because I do not know what their favorit color is or if they have one the hate. I think I am letting it stress me out when I thought it would just be fun I just picture kids getting up Christmas morning and hating what they got.

I'm curious as to what kind of CD player you got. Our giving tree boy's tag said "CD player", but it didn't say what kind. I went ahead and bought the "boom box" type, that has an am/fm radio. I wasn't sure though if maybe he wanted a personal CD player. My DS15, God bless him, said that he's sure the boy will be thankful regardless, but I still hope I got the right thing!

 

[tzolkin]

We do ours differently. We set up a "store" with all the clothing and toys donated and let the parents select the items for their children.

This works well because then there are no issues of certain donors being more generous than others and you know the child is going to get something that suits them.

 

[hambirg]

They will love whatever you give them! I always let my kids pick somebody off the Giving Tree at church. For some reason we would always pick a senior and spend about $75. My kids would usually pick things like slippers,blankets, pajamas, grandma jewelry (lol!) and I would always include a big grocery gift card (Fred Meyers that also sells clothes and house ware items.)

I do have to share this though. . .when I separated. . it was November. For those that don't know me, it was a DV situation. .and it was enough. Well, we had a fairly normal middle class lifestyle and I was a SAHM. I was looking at a Christmas with no job and no income. Apparently somebody had turned our names into an Angel giving type program. It was pretty late in the game, but one family wanted to sponsor an entire family. I kid you not! We received about 5 boxes of food. . .and it wasn't just what people give for a food drive. They included candy, Doritos, everything to make a birthday cake. It's like they knew us! My kids got hats, gloves and shoes. . .underwear and a few basics. .AND Christmas outfits! Each one got a small toy. . .my son still plays with his Bucket O Soldiers. They also gave us a few family games like Scrabble. . .and they included gloves for Mom. I will never ever in my life be able to thank that family enough. As I sit here in tears, I wish I could. It was a very wealthy parish and I'm sure that it was probably just a small dent in this family's pocket. .but it meant so much for my kids to be able to go to mass in a new Christmas outfit! Somebody else, God bless their soul, delivered us a Christmas tree that year.

It's funny because the year before, our business had done very well and we took our kids to Build a Bear and spent $100 and let them make bears and took them, along with a new coffee pot, down to the local police precinct for all the kids that were going to have to go through something awful and police involved on Christmas.

You just never know when you are going to be on the receiving end. . .so my rule is to give when you can. It matters.

 

[scrapquitler]

Do you pick out both toys and clothes or just one? About how much do you spend if you don't mind me asking.

My local angel tree has two tags for each child: one contains a clothing item (usually it is a request for a hoodie or a sweatsuit) and the other tag contains a request for a toy/other item.

This year the two tags I chose said "Boy, age 7 Hoodie size 10" and "Baby Boy, 9 months, age appropriate toy" Usually I spend about $20 for each tag I have.
I got a $20 fleece lined hoodie from Old Navy on Friday, and today I picked up a Playskool toy with the buttons for the baby to push and a door opens and something pops out while music plays. I think that was about $16.

In past years I've had requests for specific books, hoop earings for a teenage girl, "classic rock cds", Bakugans. Most years I try to pick a child or children close to at least one of my children's age/sex. This year I grabbed the baby one because I've never noticed a baby tag on the tree before (there were several this year).