How Kate Gosselin Buys Holiday Gifts for Her Eight Kids

Kate Gosselin has a method for organizing holiday gifts for her eight children.

“Years back, when my kids were teenagers, I started asking them around Thanksgiving … to create a list for me,” Gosselin, 50, shared in a video on TikTok on Wednesday, November 12. “I always advise them to number the list and begin with the most desired item at the top and continue downwards.”

Kate has asked her children, who she shares with ex-husband Jon Gosselin, to include an online sales link, size, color, and price for each item on the list.

“They provide all that information, and I store it in the notes on my phone. I will always write something like ‘Mady’s Christmas List’ along with the year,” she explained. “I even use little Christmas emojis to help me easily find the lists on my phone.”

Once the Gosselin kids—twins Mady and Cara, 25, and sextuplets Hannah, Alexis, Leah, Joel, Aaden, and Collin, 21—submit their lists, Kate starts shopping.

“As for the budget, the kids are aware that some years are better than others,” Kate clarified. “In good years, I can usually get through their lists and even add a few extra gifts. In lean years, I do my best to fulfill their requests, but they really enjoy when I throw in some surprises too. It makes them very happy.”

Kate believes that adding surprises to the kids’ lists enhances her holiday shopping experience.

“Otherwise, it’s just ‘click, order, click, order.’ It doesn’t feel heartfelt,” she noted. “I love adding little extras. Sometimes they’re funny things; for instance, Aaden is really into hot sauce, so one year, I got him a pack of hundreds of small hot sauce packets he could take in his lunch for school. He loved it.”

Regarding her annual budget, Kate determines an amount per child based on the total cost of the first submitted list.

“When I believe the list would make for great Christmas gifts, I stop there and then customize the others accordingly,” the Kate Plus 8 alum explained. “However, if I’m shopping and hit my budget for Cara, but then go slightly over for Leah, which happens, I adjust everyone else’s list accordingly.”

To ensure gift amounts are balanced, Kate follows her mother’s traditions by giving each child an envelope of cash “down to the pennies” to guarantee equal value in gifts.

“Fairness is extremely important, and it was clearly significant to my mom,” Kate continued. “I write, ‘To Joel, $109,’ and every year, I just place a new label on top of [the same gift box]. They know that at the very end, when they receive all their gifts, they will get their square box. Sometimes, not everyone will get their square box, which means I’ve completely finished their list. Some might receive $10, while others may get $150, depending on their requests.”

Alongside individual gifts, Kate also plans to obtain “one family gift” for all her children.

“This year, it’s a game I learned in New Zealand, and I want to teach it to my kids,” Kate revealed. “We’re getting that, but we also do a cup game, which is definitely the highlight of our Christmas.”