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12-08-2012 at 9:15 PM
pammieface
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Joined on 03-01-2007
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
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pammieface is not online. Last active: 06-13-2013, 10:12 PMBronze

"adopted" family gifts

my department at school "adopted" a family in the district to buy christmas presents for (every department is doing this--we were each assigned an anonymous family within our district that is in pretty dire need).  our family has a mom, a dad and four sons, ages 8, 12, 14 and 16.  that is all the information i have about the family except that they do have a car and they do not need clothing.  i asked the school social worker, who knows who the family is, whether they have any type of video gaming system, and she says she is pretty sure they don't, as they have very, very little.  

our department consists of 10 people, and we agreed on a base amount of $20 each; we can give more if we'd like.  i'm in charge of the project.  i know i have at least $200 to work with, and i will need to buy a gas card and a grocery card with some of that money.  i am pretty sure a few members of the department will be giving more than that.  (i know for sure that i will be giving more than that and my department chair told me she will be contributing $50.)  with no further information about any of the individuals in the family, what would you do with the money you had to make it stretch as far as possible and buy the best possible gifts?


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12-09-2012 at 9:59 AM
hesakeeper
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Joined on 07-19-2012
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hesakeeper is not online. Last active: 06-15-2013, 9:22 AMBronze
Is there anyway you could find out what else they have? 

- If they own a TV, you could find a cheap DVD player and cheap DVDs. 
- sports equipment: a football and soccer ball are great because they don't need any accessories
- I know you're buying a gas card and grocery card but could you buy a $10-$15 for each son? maybe one for the parents, too? 
- movie tickets, if there is a theater somewhere fairly close (that's why DVDs could be better to save them money, but it IS nice to get out of the house)
- could you pay one of their bills? 
- board games, or playing cards
- school supplies... which is boring, but since you work at the school you may know what they could really benefit from
- Even though they don't need clothes, could they use any winter clothes? gloves, snow pants, hats?
 
12-09-2012 at 11:22 AM
Jan8
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Joined on 12-18-2003
Akron, Ohio
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Jan8 is not online. Last active: 02-25-2013, 7:45 PMSilver

You may be able to find a wii for $100.  Do the items have to be new?  If not, try craigslist and used game stores.  I also agree that a football and soccer ball will be ideal.  Do you have a ice cream place near you?  A $25 gift card there would be nice for a family outing.  Some body stuff may be a nice treat for the mom.  I adopted a family and looked really hard for deals.  I was able to get a lot for $200.

I would stalk groupon and slickdeals if you can to keep an eye for good stuff for cheap.   Honestly, the ages are pretty hard in terms of gifts for you.  Is there a teen hangout spot that lots of the kids go to?  Maybe a gift card there so that they can go with friends?



 
12-09-2012 at 7:36 PM
Wulfgar
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Wulfgar is online. Last active: 06-18-2013, 8:44 PMNewbie

Usually they give you more of a hint then that on what they want.  Since they are not giving any hints I would just get everyone a gift card to wal-mart or some where so that they can buy what they want.

 Our company did a giving tree through a local charity this year and you would grab a tag for someone that had their age and suggestions.  I have never heard of no hints.  Also, these charity drives should all be new items not used like the one person was suggesting.

 
12-09-2012 at 8:36 PM
pammieface
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Joined on 03-01-2007
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
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pammieface is not online. Last active: 06-13-2013, 10:12 PMBronze
i'm actually not surprised that there are not hints--we can't know who these kids are.  they are enrolled in our district.  as a teacher in the high school, i could have had two of them in class already.  i think it would be weird for them to know that their teachers are buying them christmas presents, you know?  i don't know that they will find out where the gifts came from.  their parents may possibly find out, but i don't even know if that will happen.  the school social worker is going to be delivering all of the presents.

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12-09-2012 at 9:12 PM
ash273uk
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Joined on 09-05-2011
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ash273uk is not online. Last active: 06-17-2013, 5:00 PMNewbie

You could get a Walmart or Target gift card for each son? 


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12-10-2012 at 11:12 AM
vjcjenn1
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Joined on 04-04-2006
Baltimore
2,122 Points
vjcjenn1 is not online. Last active: 05-23-2013, 2:51 PMSilver
I would break it down like this: 100 for family, 100 for individuals and try to get one gift around 15.00 for each person based on their ages and then one family game/dvd for about 10.00
 
12-10-2012 at 11:49 AM
Erikan73
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Erikan73 is not online. Last active: 05-29-2013, 5:49 PMNewbie

We do stuff like this at my company too, here are some ideas of things that we've gotten

-Board games the family can play together. Nothing like a fun family night together which will create timeless memories. (Plus no additional cost to it) You can also get them things like popcorn or other snacks that hold for them to enjoy while playing the games

-Hats, gloves & scarfs. Despite being ok on clothes, those are small items that everyone can always use, including the parents

-With it being all boys you can't go wrong either getting them things like football, basketball, soccerball or other things they can do outside together. Again, no additional costs for stuff and the boys/family can spend time together playing with each other again, adding to good quality family time & time with friends too.

 
12-10-2012 at 1:31 PM
LS45
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Joined on 03-22-2012
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LS45 is not online. Last active: 06-16-2013, 6:13 PMNewbie

I would do a $100 gas card, $50 food gift card, and then try to get some individual gifts for each member of the family, if money allowed: 

-Sporting goods (football, basketball, soccer ball)

-Axe giftsets for the teenagers

-Books (young adult titles)

-Plush throw for Mom

-Hickory Farms giftset for Dad


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