for 14 adults. Although she wanted to make everyone happy, she dreaded the amount of work involved.
The woman began to realize that the family’s gift exchange had expanded gradually over the years.
When there were only a handful of adults, buying something for everyone had seemed reasonable. As children grew up, relatives married, and new family members joined, the number of people on the list increased.
Eventually, what had once been a manageable tradition became an expensive annual obligation.
Nobody had deliberately created a difficult situation. The arrangement had
