I am sorry, I wrote it wrong. I have one family joining us, The other family has been with us for over a year, and it has been awesome! There is more than enough, and my biggest problem is not getting everyone to pitch in, it is getting everyone to take what is their's! We share in expense, but I get more of everything because everything is mine. The land, the tools,the water, everything. It is not really a democracy. Parking is not an issue. They call before they come. We can't wait to see them, our kids all go to school together, so they help us, then they play or swim, the adults visit and catch up while we work. In the summer we make pizza with our produce and bake it in the pizza oven we built. The three families also use the oven for a few days after that to bake bread, meat and casseroles in. My friend and I can and preserve together, our husbands do the heavy lifting and repairs. We don't log hours or tabulate who did what. We all do the best we can, and we review how things are going every couple of months, just to check in and make any adjustments we need to.Never had one single problem, and I stipulate at the beginning that if for some reason it doesn't work for me, I pull the plug, no questions asked, no hard feelings. I designed the garden to be exactly what it is, a small farm on my property that will produce more than my family can use, it was designed to be shared with others and to also have enough to donate to the local food bank. But is is MY garden, MY design, and since I am the only one who knows anything about gardening, it works really well. My garden is my heart and soul, and a reflection of me and everything that I believe in. Maybe 100 plants.

Betty, I LOVE the pink tablecloth in your tea setting. If you hadn't told us, I wouldn't have known it was plastic. It is such a pretty colour and goes so well with your beautiful dishes. What I find particularly appealing (besides sweet Hanna and the yummy food!) are the candlestick holders you used...I love candles of all sorts and those are great. Are they crystal? Thanks for keeping this post going, it's a good one! DD

Just reading this now and enjoying ALL the ideas. My husband's family used to do the pull a name out of the hat at some summer get-together. Not everyone has to be there...his mom would send out the names to all. So my side started trying this too. It works out fine since we all get along so well. But in some families it might be tough if you get someone's name with whom you don't get along that well. It can be a good opportunity, or just a problem. I love the idea of making things - we tried that too but for everyone (or at least a family gives to another family something they made). In the end, you probably need to consider all ideas and customize. One thing is certain - only a handful of well-off family members who LOVE to shop and give will not be happy with any suggestion. Most of the time, I hear over and over that everyone found it to be much less stressful - financial and time wise. One thought is to talk the idea over with a single sibling, or parent, and see what they think. Coming up with a plan as a family is a good thing though. So if you suggest the idea, leaving part of how to go about it might be a good thing. Suggesting adults draw names, and kids still get something from the adults is one way to go. College aged "kids" can be adults, or they can concentrate on the little kids. But you might get more cooperation/interest if you give them some say in how to go about this. Good luck - hope to hear how it went!

"What exactly are Cheetos?" Cheetos were invented to torture health food nuts past the brink of insanity. Try as they might to block the craving for useless cheezy temptations Cheetos invades their pleasure cells causing a serotonin/dopamine cascade resulting in total addiction from just one orange dusted nibble. Even causual addicts can be spotted by the tell-tale orange coloring of their thumb and forefinger. Hopeless hardcore addicts may even sport an orange ring around their lips. ; ) lyra Here is a link that might be useful: the cheezy facts