| Christmas Gifts and Frugal Confessions |
I don't like homemade gifts. I was going to write a post about it, but decided it sounded a bit snarky/snobby. So I'm just going to give my gift giving philosophy and what gifts I am giving this year.
Gift Giving Philosophy
Gifts are my love language. I show my appreciation/love for people through gifts. I can't help it. I enjoy holidays, birthdays and other celebrations not for what I get, but because of what I can give. It gets me all ooey gooey inside! That said, I don't buy gifts for someone unless I want to and can find something for them. I'll give gift certificates if I think that will fit the person. Simply put I never give because I have to.
Who was on my list?
I babysit a lot. I have been so blessed by babysitting jobs and wanted to show my two 'main' families my appreciation. So I have two families and three children that I needed to give gifts for. I also needed gifts for my mom, dad, niece, roommate, my supervisor, angel tree child, friend at work and my three friends at bible study.
That's a lot of people for someone who's anti-homemade gifts and is on a low budget. So I make a shop early, have a general idea of what I want to get and check out black Friday ads to see if there's anything worth me getting up for. I don't have a total budget or a budget per person...I just know how much extra money I have and don't spend over (it helps that I don't have a credit card and only a debit). When the money is gone-it's gone!
What I got:
Babysitting family 1 (15 month old boy): a free night of babysitting and 4 Sesame Beginning books. The baby LOVES the Sesame Beginning DVDs and I was ecstatic to find them at the dollar tree! Total cost: $4 (plus one evening)
Babysitting family 2 (2 year old and 4 year old boys): free night of babysitting, hat with my school's name for 4 year old ($11), long sleeve shirt with a trolley on it from Gymboree ($10--clearance), and Duck Duck Goose board game for both ($7, clearance). Total: $28 and one evening
Mom-National Lampoon Vacation box collection ($40..split w/ my dad so my part was only $20), Bath and Body Works set ($13--clearance! A few days ago they put all of their Christmas sets 50% off), book on CD-- she wants to start listening to books, so I found one on the holy land ($7-clearance at Barnes and Noble). Total:$40
Dad- Fantastic Four Monopoly Game ($10), ornament with my school's mascot ($10--75% off at the campus bookstore). Total: $20. I know this sounds horrible, but I NEVER know what to get my dad. He works all the time and on his hobby is playing xbox 360. So my mom gets him games and between my other brothers and sisters... he gets a good amount of stuff :)
Angel Tree- The girl I picked off the angel tree this year was 7 years old and wanted a Barbie styling head ($15- Toys R Us Black Friday special) and a play purse. I couldn't find the play purse, so I improvised and got her a toy cosmetic kit ($5) and a tote bag with scripture on it from the dollar tree ($1). From the dollar tree, I also got her a make your own merry go round kit ($1) and bible stories on CD ($1). I also gave her Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume ($5) and a make your own teddy bear kit ($10?). Total: $38
Supervisor- I LOVE my boss. He's absolutely hilarious and doesn't mind if we slightly goof off at work. He always seems to be eating, so for Christmas I got him a mug from World Market ($4), A brownie from Starbucks ($2) and a Starbucks gift card ($5). Total: $11
Friend at work- I don't know her that well, but work a lot together and study some too. She also helps keep me sane when we encounter crazy people through our job. She's going abroad in the spring, so I gave her a goody bag with different English treats (she's going to London) from World Market ($4) and a $5 starbucks gift card. Total: $9
Roommate- My roommate is a saint. He deals with my moodiness, cleaning rants and my late night singing. He probably deserves a less hormonal roommate, but since I can't do that- I gave him: an espresso kit from World Market that he has looked at often ($10-sale!), a hard-backed novel set in New York--where he wants to move to after graduation ($1..Dollar Tree), New York Times mug ($5) and a sleep mask-don't ask! ($3). Total: $19
Niece- Okay, my niece is my budget buster. She's my only one and we have a very special relationship. Because of this I tend to buy stuff that I'll know she'll love all year long and hold them until Christmas. This is where after-Christmas specials are handy. I will be giving her- a light up stage thingy ($15, Toys R Us black Friday sale), Bitty Baby-American Girl doll ($50), large Castle you can color ($12-clearance with HSN), Books ($14..a mixture of Disney Store and Goodwill picture books that are in new condition), three DVDS ($5..Goodwill). total: $96
Bible study Girls- I attend bible study/church with three girls. They are AMAZING and call me early on Sunday to make sure I get to church and really keep me in line. I gave them a huge lifesavers ornament that has candy inside ($1 each), a Christmas mug ($1 each..Dollar Tree), and an individual serving of hot chocolate ($1 each). This was a good pick me up during our hectic exam time! Total: $9
TOTAL: $274
I also gave took my niece shopping for the people on her list (She's three). For my mom, dad and sister (her mom) she spent $17. Movie gift certificate ($10), Bath and Body works set ($7..LOVE the clearance).
Grand Total:$291
Final thoughts
The wonderful thing about Christmas is that everyone celebrates it in their own way. This is just how I do my gift giving. Gifts aren't the center or end-all-be all of my Christmas. However, they are a part of it. My grand total was close to the amount I make in one month. However for the first half of the year I was working full time. I also get babysitting jobs out of the blue and that extra money is what I use to get gifts, etc with. Divided out among the year, I spend about $25 a month on Christmas gifts. I just wanted to show that you can give the gifts you want at the prices you can afford. You don't have to go into debt or use a lot of time making gifts people will never use.
Merry Christmas!
Labels: Christmas |
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Name: Renee
Home: United States
About Me: I'm 22
I like to read non fiction
I love politics
I like good beer
I pay too much for purses
Being happy is the only goal in my life!
See my profile...
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Background by EM
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posted by Renee at 
