Getting Prepared!

The big day is fast approaching...6 days to be exact!  Our budget ended up being tighter than previous thought and the items that we wanted to get the kids had to be cut down.  Thankfully, my kids did not ask for anything that cost over $30....so providing them with numerous gifts was pretty easy this year.  Last year, the boys each got a Nintendo 3DS and several games for it.  They go through phases where they play with it day in and day out...so, we bought them a few more games...on sale at Toys R Us and were able to obtain half of the cost back in gift cards....so it was like getting half of the games for free once we were done getting everything we wanted.  The kids will each have 7 items to open...the most expensive only costing $35 (a gift for my daughter).  Two of the gifts we got the boys came from the Dollar General....not because we couldn't afford another option but because that is exactly what they wanted.  I spent less that $15 a kid and was able to get two gifts each on that!  That, my friends, is pretty exciting...because I can't wait to see their faces when they open them!

New Traditions!!!
Last year was our first Christmas with my fiance.  We introduced him to the way we do things and spent quite a bit of time telling the kids stories of how Christmas was when he was growing up.  Since we got engaged last May, J and I decided to start doing things that were not done with our past lives....something that defines this new life with the kids.  We have added two new traditions!  I am stoked about them both!  

Before I met J, I would get the kids a new set of PJs and they would open them first and run upstairs to change before opening the remainder of their gifts....this year, we are doing something a little different!  Of course, I found the idea in a pin on Pinterest :))  We bought the PJs, but this year we also bought each kiddo their own coffee mug (meant for hot coca), we bought a holiday themed board game and a copy of "The Night Before Christmas."  It is all wrapped in one big box and the kids will be able to open the box on Christmas Eve.  I am pretty stoked about it....and I look forward to this being something they look forward to!

The second new tradition is a "secret Santa" gift giving idea between the kids.  The boys' school does a Holiday Shop and its existence brought light to this new tradition.  Last year, we gave the kids $5 each and they ended up spreading that money over each of their siblings and J and I.  It was super sweet!  This year, we decided to allow to spend more on a gift but that would require we gave them more money...which we do not have....so we brain stormed!  We got their opinions so that this idea was also theirs.  After a vote, we decided that each kid would buy for one sibling and then make Mom and Dad gifts (since those mean more to us).  We chose who was buying for who in secret so that no one knows who the other is giving to.  They get the entire $5 budget to spend on that person.  They also have a choice to shop at the Holiday Shop at school or to take their money to the local Dollar General to shop for their sibling.  Since my daughter does not go to school, she will do her shopping at the Dollar General.  I am excited to see how this goes....mainly because the boys have already said that they will probably just save their money and spend it at Dollar General.  This means that J and I will be going in shifts with each child to go shopping!!


UPDATE:  The cat's out of the bag on who is buying for who...the gifts are all wrapped and we decided to put them under the tree.  Thinking they will be allowed to open them on Christmas Eve right before they open their big box :))

Upcoming Blog Topics:

Teacher Gifts
Classroom Gifts/Activities
New Year's and All It's Glory!