An Amazing Holiday

On top of my two children, N&N who are now 3.5 and 2 years of age, I also have a 5 nieces and nephews (and counting), who at Christmas this year were all 4 and under. Needless to say, it could get to be an expensive holiday. Now, I know we are a very fortunate family, where our Christmas tree is overloaded with presents during the holiday season, but knowing that I haven't blown a bundle on these presents makes my accountant brain and heart very happy.

My plan for all gift giving occasions for this group of young people, is to never spend more than $25 per child, because I think that is a realistic number that I can accommodate. I also like to give gifts with the rule of thumb that there is one article of clothing, one book and one toy. I keep track of all my purchases in an excel spreadsheet I have for gift giving for the entire year. Each tab separates a different occasion, and I keep track of what I've purchased, who it is going to, how much I paid, and what the retail value of the present was (just because that's the part that makes me smile). I also keep track of the method of payment, because I will try to shop sales when I have gift cards to maximize the money out of my pocket. The spreadsheet is usually created a year in advance, because I do tend to shop over the course of the year so at Christmas time, my Visa bill isn't extreme.

This year, each child received a new winter coat (a $45 coat that I paid $12 for), a book (cost $3, retails for $10), and a barbie ($11 retail value of $22). All of my numbers of what I actually paid include taxes and shipping because that money needs to get allocated somewhere. So for $26 each kid received approximately $77 worth of presents, not too shabby in my books.

So, what were some of my ways of getting such awesome deals? I bought the coats at Old Navy (online) in January of the same year. I bought sizes that were 1-2 sizes larger than the age they would be at Christmas based on their specific growing patterns. The books I get from Chapters (online), I always buy boxed sets and then separate the books out amongst the group. The Barbie's I got at the Toys R Us Black Friday sale and I actually went to the store to get them, but that was just because the shipping costs seemed outrageous, and the store opened before I had to go to the office.

Now, whenever I'm shopping online or in store, I always google the store name and coupon code and can usually get another $5 or more in savings. Through my work, I get awarded when I go above and beyond my job duties with "acclaim points." This system allows me to get gift cards, etc. for my points. Whenever, shopping at Chapters, I can immediately transfer my points into an emailed gift card, therefore, costing nothing out of my pocket. I can also say I'm a gift card hoarder, and will only use them when the price is truly right. Therefore, the purchases above for 7 kids only took $84 cash out of my pocket and retailed around $539.

I have tons more I can share about what I think are awesome spending habits, later, but for now, my kids are vying for my attention to go play blocks, and as a working mom, I take all the block playing I can get on the weekends, because come Monday it's routine as usual.