Here's How The Duggar Family Handles Christmas Presents Each Year

Christmas is the season of giving. It's the time of year when families and loved ones come together to show their love and appreciation for one another — mainly through gifts. But when you're one of 19 kids in your family, like the Duggar family, buying gifts is likely to get just a little difficult. So this begs the question, do the Duggars buy Christmas presents for one another?

The answer might be just a little surprising, considering how many people are in the family. On TLC's 19 Kids & Counting and Counting On, the religious and conservative family showed off they have many unique traditions and rules in their household. But TLC's cameras were also able to capture the Duggars celebrating milestones and holidays on the show, like Christmas and all of the traditions they have surrounding the holiday.

The Duggars do celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25 and they also exchange gifts that morning, according to Focus on the Family. But instead of buying 19 individual gifts for their siblings, plus parents, and other family members (and you thought shopping for your older sister's boyfriend was tough), they've gotten gift exchanging down to a science.

Mom Michelle Duggar explained to Focus on the Family that the Duggar siblings exchange names — with the older kids getting the names of older siblings (and vice versa) — so they only have one present to buy. Jim Bob and Michelle also buy gifts for the children, as well.

Additionally, each Duggar child gets their own unique gift bag — filled with pickles, chips, and beef jerky — from Michelle and dad Jim Bob on Christmas Eve. Michelle explained to Focus on the Family:

Almost all of us like pickles, but each one likes a different kind. Same with the pringles and the beef jerky. Christmas is the one time of year when every child gets their favorite flavor of each treat.

The Duggar family is definitely not opposed to giving others gifts either. In a video taken on Christmas Eve in 2014, Jinger Duggar explained that they give baskets filled with mugs, fruit, candy, and a Bible to their neighbors as a way to spread Christmas cheer.

But just because they do exchange presents doesn't mean that they will be opening the presents up around a Christmas tree. In the same video, Michelle explained that Jesus is the reason for celebrating the holiday. "The fun part about it is we make precious memories together and just getting to sit down with all of us in one room...we look forward to it the whole month of December," Michelle said. In addition to not having a tree, the Duggar siblings don't focus on Santa, either. Michelle wrote in a blog penned for TLC in 2013:

Early in our marriage, Jim Bob and I really wanted to focus on the real meaning of Christmas. And so, we didn't focus on Santa. We kept that idea out of the whole celebration, we explained to the children who Santa was historically, but focused on his good deeds and his ministering to children. We tell them about the true person of Saint Nicholas, but don't sensationalize him.

But now that the older Duggar girls have families of their own, they could start their own traditions — but they still choose to celebrate with their siblings. A video, taken by Jessa Duggar and shared to her Instagram account shows just how hectic Christmas morning at the Duggar household can get.

You can see the jars of pickles sitting on the counters, the bags of presents lying on the ground, and the Duggar siblings who slept on the couch in anticipation for the big day. While the Duggars might have more brothers and sisters than the average person, their Christmas day is just like anyone else's. They buy each other gifts and open them — it just might take a little longer than your own family.

Check out Romper's new video series, Romper's Doula Diaries:

Watch full episodes of Romper's Doula Diaries on Facebook Watch.