I have a very large family. I am one of 11 children. Most of my siblings have kids so it can be a bit costly come Christmas time. Every year I have to walk the line of getting something awesome for them and not spending a lot of money for my husband. This year I decided to get everyone their own gumball machines!

I got 6 of the small gumball banks from candymachines.com in both colors, red and silver with jr. gumballs of course. When my nieces and nephews, ranging in ages from 6 – 10 years old, opened up their gifts, the expressions on their little faces were priceless! They screamed with delight and immediately put the quarter I had taped to the box in the machine for their first piece of gum. I also got a Tim Mee toy gumball machine for my 2 year old nephew so that he could join in the fun. He put his penny in and of course had so much fun making it work he started looking for other pennies.

I didn’t want to leave my kids out but they are teenagers and gumball banks maybe a little too young for them so I got them their very own gumball vending machine for the family room. They were so excited to see it. For one quarter, they get a 1” gumball . We get to keep the quarters and replenish the stock of gumballs when it runs out.

The really great thing about all of these gifts is that they can also dispense candy, like M&M’s , Skittles or even Runts . The banks need no modifications at all and the vending machine only needs a spare candy wheel. It is like getting 2 great presents in one. As a parent I keep thinking of all the great things I can do to get my kids to earn their quarters.

I think I may have won the Best Gift Giver title at Christmas this year in the eyes of all the kids!