I’m amazed at how much money is spent at Christmas time.
Can I have your attention please??? Really, I need your attention!
Listen carefully!
You do NOT, I repeat, do NOT have to spend a HUGE amount of money to have a GREAT Christmas!
I’m NOT talking about buying toys at the Dollar store either.
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| Barbie House for 1/2 the price |
[button align=”” color=”” size=”” link=””](Sometimes the toys there are more expensive and break too easy – which in my opinion is not worth buying.)[/button]
My girls loved their Barbie house that we were able to buy when Amazon had a huge markdowns and free shipping.
Update: When they outgrew it they sold it to a friend for the same price I paid for it. They used that $ to buy something they wanted for their room.
Want to know the secret???
Here it is …
- You just have to have a plan!
- Write down everyone you have to get a gift for!
I have 28 people this year. (Don’t forget teachers and family members.) This makes it so much simpler to remember when you are out and about. - Draw Names.
If you come from a big family, think about drawing names. Both my hubby and my family draw names for each sibling and spouse. Instead of 16 people, we only give to 4 people. - START EARLY!
(YES – THIS IS IN ALL CAPS FOR A PURPOSE!!!)
Again, I say – START EARLY and DON’T wait until the last minute!!! I look at shopping for gifts as a game. Finding the right gift for each person for MY price. If I find it, then I win! - Set up a limit for each gift.
(This is where my family needs to stop reading. I mean it – Go somewhere else!) I only try to spend $5.00 a gift – ever! (However, I do spend more on my kids.) Most of the time, this works great! Having a cash gift envelope makes it more fun to stay on budget. - Let the gifts have meaning and a theme!
When I give a gift, it usually has a meaning and a lot of thought has gone into it. I also loves themes. I’ll share some of my gifts that I’m giving soon. (Yes, almost all my shopping is completed.)
{One of my most fave gifts I ever received was a ceiling fan and it had nothing to do with the fan itself. I’ll write a post about it soon, to explain why!} - Don’t clutter someone’s home! (This one is not really a true $ saver but just a special word to hopefully make someone wiser.)
I know I just said let the gift have meaning but if the thought doesn’t extend to the receiver, let it go! Get a second opinion, if you question if an item is going to make a person happy! I truly don’t want more “junk” in my casa so sometimes even though I think it is cute ~ I need to “really” think of the other person and their tastes, to make sure it is not considered “junk” in their home.
- Shop all year round!
I’m on constant alert for deals and sweet buys. I try never to buy retail price ~ Really, look at those clearance items ~ you might be shocked to see some of the finds!
Look at my 77 ways to save money all year long!
(A sweet find last year ~ it was totally in our budget.)
Places I like to shop at for some great deals!
- Kirkland’s ~ They send out a weekly coupon.
- Hobby Lobby ~ They also have GREAT deals and a weekly coupon.
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Amazon
~ I love that they have free shipping and it comes to your door. NO fighting crowds!
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| Batman and his Big Sister |
(My sister bought a mask and made a cape last year for my little guy. He still wears it.)
Okay, BLOGS are the best source to know where to find the deals!
I do NOT have time to actually go to every store
but I consider BLOGS are in my personal shopping team.
I use them to score big bucks!
These are some of my fave ~wheeling and dealing~ blogs!
(They have no idea I’ve listed them.)
“Deal”icious Mom
Money Saving Mom
Coupon Geek
and of course,
The Happy Housewife
Just a few gift ideas…
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- Start a meaningful ornament collection! (Hallmark ornaments are found best after season.)
- ETSY!!!This site is so cool! Everything is handmade and you can find basically ANYTHING in ANY COLOR! I know most of you bloggers know about this site but there are so many who don’t.
- Old Fashion Bartering
Don’t assume EVERY price is the bottom price. - TRADE Services
Teach piano for free babysitting.
If you can’t stand the teacher’s kids– cook meals for the teacher on a weekly basis.
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| Trains mean a lot to my Hubby from his childhood |
Theme Ideas
Monogram Basket
(Monograms are so inexpensive especially at Kirkland’s and Michaels.)
(Monograms are so inexpensive especially at Kirkland’s and Michaels.)
Just a God Themed Basket
Everything in a basket has to have a meaning. I gave something like this to my sister for one of her bridal showers.
Everything in a basket has to have a meaning. I gave something like this to my sister for one of her bridal showers.
- Dove Soap – to remind her that the Holy Spirit is in her marriage.
- All Detergent – because God is our All in All.
- Matches – To keep the fires burning at home at all times.
- Pillowcase Cover – That the marriage is honorable and the bed is undefiled – it needs to be protected.
There are so many possibilities that one could come up with for themes.
Dinner Basket
Make a basket with all the goodies for a romantic meal.
A friend did something like this for my family. We were out of town for a couple of weeks and they were watching our home for us. When we came home, they had bought cereal, milk, spaghetti sauce and noodles. I’ll never forget that feeling of not having to rush to the store the next morning. That was one of the biggest blessings ever!
(Hobby Lobby usually marks down their goodies 1/2 off during the entire year.)
Last but not least… Look for FREE shipping! GOOGLE it!
I hope this encourages someone to have fun while shopping for this Christmas Season. You truly do not have to spend an arm or a leg.
Blessings to you!!! You are loved!!!
[callout]Luke 6:38 (NIV)
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.[/callout]
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.[/callout]
Nice post and great ideas! I love the God-themed basket — creative, sweet, and oh so meaningful 🙂
i am a year-round shopper too – love it! love the themed gift idea – will have to give that a try sometime
I do what you do – don’t you love it when you get through the holidays and still have money in the bank! I have done monkey pajamas and monkey books for a bed time theme, bathing suits (on clearance after summer) and beach books, for guess what – a beach theme, and this year, I did a snoopy snow cone machine/Peanuts Tshirts! (Oh, and I did your dinner basket one too!)
Got more ideas? PLEASE send em my way! I have 7 kids I buy for each year – ages 3-7. 🙂 Cheers!
[email protected]
Great post! I love doing themed gifts. The God themed gift ideas are great!
I have three gifts to buy this year. I know what I’m getting for two of the people, and I plan on getting it off of Amazon. I’ll be buying a couple of books for sure, I like spreading the love of reading.
AH, a girl after my own heart. We stick to 3 gifts for each child…then we are tempted to overspend. Generally I buy practical gifts…this year they are getting 2 toys each and more practical gift…I dont usually do 2 toys though. LOL. NO reason, I just don’t.
My favorite gift for family is a calendar from snapfish…this year i made photo stamps and am pretty excited about them. (Great online deal…it’s posted on my blog, if you are interested.) I plan to give them with some cards to the great grandparetns. Consumable for them is the way to go.
Great idea! We also make some of our gifts and buy some things second-hand.
Also, last year I started reducing the amount of wrapping paper we use, so we didn’t buy any last year. I put all of Hubby’s gifts in cloth gift bags, in reusable gift bags (with minimal tissue paper or taped shut), or reusable gift boxes. This year I’m also going to get my daughter to help me decorate plain newsprint for recyclable wrapping.
Good tips. One thing I do before EVER ordering anything on-line is visit retailmenot.com and/or naughtycodes.com. They have coupon codes for just about every retailer you can imagine.
First thank you for stopping by my blog and checking it out and saying hello. I greatly appreciate it. My mom is home(Thank God) and now I am “on” fulltime caretaker now. I am used to that so I just have to get back into the swing of things.
However, I was skimming your looong christmas post (LOL) and came across the “Amazon” link.. OMG… Great deal.. and such other great deals at the other places. Thank you so much for sharing.
Now.. I must get to bed so I can be somewhat rested for tomorrow.
Have a great one.
Ahhh, I love your blog 🙂 I’m the oldest of seven and we always draw names. This year, I’m in the midst of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace Univ and have budgeted just a little cash for my family. It’s fun to start Christmas shopping in November 😀
excellent and timely post. I shop all year too…and try to be done by October. I have a group of friends that I exchange with…and as we get older there are fewer and fewer items we want or need. I give edible gifts, and it has become a welcomed tradition. Many of my friends use the goodies in their Christmas morning buffet. I actually got a call this summer from one friend making sure I was making cherry jam this year for Christmas and that she was on the list!
Awesome ideas! I also try to look for gifts all year. I have an excel spreadsheet where I keep my budget, what I’ve actually spent and the items that I’ve bought.
Often times, I have been able to find some great deals and save myself some money! It’s always great to come in under budget.
Thanks for the heads up on the Christmas cards. I’m off to check that out.
some great ideas and tips here…i better get busy!
This is a fabulous article!!!! 🙂 I do my best to shop all year long. I have just about everything for my girls with the exception of maybe some stocking candy. Yes, I have to store in the closet, but I don’t have to spend a huge chunk of cash this month and next month. I am making some gifts too this year…I need to budget my TIME for that. 🙂
Wow, there are some great ideas here! One thing I do is shop all year round. There are some amazing deals, but not always at Christmas (for example the good White sales are in January here). Plus I hate battling the crowds.
Every year I say i am going to shop all year and every year I don’t.. but Ebay also offers some wonderful deals make sure you buy from a reputable Ebay seller ( they have their own little tags to let ya know Ebay loves them) I just bought my son a 12 string acoustic and an acoustic electric brand new for les then 1 would have cost from an outside store and I got free shipping.. One was the wrong thing sent to me and the guy is sending the correct one AND paying for the return shipping himself to ensure I get the right one..
I couldn’t have said it better myself. The is a great post. There are just so many ways to save money at Christmas and actually, every day. And it is not very time consuming. Just takes a little planning and coupon matching and you see SUCH a different. I’m with you. …I can never pay retail.