What I often found under the tree when I was a kid

I remember when I was a kid, my list for Santa was minimal, if it even existed. I knew my parents were poor, (though they weren’t as poor as they implied). Filling the Christmas lists of four kids would have taken a lot of money that they didn’t have. So I didn’t ask for or expect a lot. Socks, underwear, new pajamas, a bag of army men, a can of Lincoln logs and I was happy. To order a new bike or a microscope or anything that cost over ten bucks would never have happened. But kids today, wanting the latest in video games and players, or snowboards and boots, personal phones and services, would scoff at the presents I received as a kid, even for stocking stuffers. With our large family our Christmas order filling has always been pretty modest. I remember one really broke Christmas, when I had been without a job for over a year, that the older kids chipped in together to play Santa Claus for the little ones. That Christmas, despite being broke, is one that really stands in my list of memorable holidays. Like many families this year, our purse strings are a little slack. So how are we going to tackle gifts this Christmas? The kids always draw names for each other and they will probably do that again. But grandma and grandpa always buy for everybody, kids and grand kids alike. My wife has always been a smart shopper and she shines at Christmas time. We used to buy heavily at a local over runs store, but the place has gone out of business. We have been on a desperate search for other bargain spots. We know a few in our neck of the woods, but that doesn’t translate to where you live. Ross Department stores have pretty good deals. If you are over 55, Tuesday club gives you an automatic 10% off. Take some time to do some online searching, using the words, close-out stores, liquidation stores, and overstock. Whether you end up buying directly off the web, or you can find a physical store in your area, closeouts are a great way to trim your Christmas budget. Another great way to find bargains at Christmas time is to shop the ads. Traditionally Black Friday always has good deals, but I avoid shopping that day like the plague. As the season rolls on, shopping the weekly ads may help you find the same bargains that came out on Black Friday, but without the headaches and crowds. Making gifts is another way to save money and still enjoy gift exchanges. Make sure however that you don’t spend more for materials than you could buy the item ready made. Look at all the supplies you have lying around and see what you can make from them. Thrift and second hand stores have bikes and other outdoor play things that may just need a little bit of restoration to make them almost new. Look on Craigslist and other online classifieds to find slightly used items. Sometimes you can get them for free.With a little cleaning and fixing these things may be almost good as new. If you are looking for ideas for homemade Christmas gift ideas, try www.homemadeforchristmas.com. This is my wife’s site and it has lots of unique and interesting homemade gift ideas. Service is another good gift to give. Offer to baby-sit weekly for your son or daughter so they can go out and not have to pay a sitter. If your wife is anything like mine, volunteering for a month’s worth of dishes might be the best present you could ever give her. The most important thing to remember with this gift buying and giving is to make a budget and stick with it. Try to make your gifts full of thought, and short on cash. Given in the right way, nobody will really care how much you spend on a gift, except maybe your teenagers and they’ll grow out of it someday.

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