Christmas gifts and prices....

I don't exchange gifts. At least I haven't been able for several years now. I don't have any extra money by this time of year. All of it goes to paying bills because George isn't making enough to help me. So its gone before I see it. Three days until christmas and what's in my checking account has to stay until newyears day. lucky me. I just hope I get my goveronment check, because without it I can't make my rent.

I think the most that I spent was on my husband, I got him a new xbox controller, a faceplate for it, and some xbox live points. But otherwise the most expensive item I got was probably the jungle ball toy that I got for my son. It was on sale for $39 but was normally $65. I waited 3 hrs in line on black friday for that toy! But I havent really spent less this year on anyone's present, I just bought less and less for me to be able to buy more or the same for everyone else. Having my son to buy for was a major add on to my budget. I got him alot of presents but they were are $30 or less each.

That would be the wii and all three children have to share it!

Each of my kids are getting a video game system this year. The twins are getting a Nintendo DS each, my oldest is getting a PSP. Even the 3 year old is getting a V-Smile!

My good friend starts in July and gets some really good buys and is able to buy so much more and for so many more people than she would have been able to otherwise. I wish I would do this also. I just never seem to get started early like her. She sees something on sale and gets and sets it aside. It seems so easy to do too.

Our 18 year old got the most expensive gift this year, we bought him a new television for his room, he has had a small one for years and it was really the only thing he wanted this year. It was a little under 300.00. We waited unil right before Christmas hoping that electronics would be the big last minute sale alot of stores would have, our patience paid off, the same tv, a week before Christmas was over 500.00 so we got a good deal and he was a happy kid with his new flat screen on Christmas morning.

My husband wanted some magazine subscriptions this year, so combined I spent about $80 on thm. A friend of mine published a book this year, and it's a good one. I had some gift cards for Amazon, so the entire family each got copies of his books (one per household) as a combined gift to everyone, and since it's a rather adult book (his memoir of living in the Bosnian war) I got little things for the kids, as reading that book at their age would probably scare the crap out of them. LOL

my grandson knows he is not getting a christmas gift because we don't have the money but for his birthday which is in February he will get an XBox with the hard drive and maybe a game to go with it. So that is pretty pricey and so he is happy about that.

I'm not able to get out & do much shopping & the grandkids were the only ones i brought presents for. Everybody will get a card w/money in it. I also started my grandkids a saving account awhile ago so i always put some money in their savings for them.

I think the most expensive thing I brought this year was 35.00 dollars for a King set of sheets with a thread count of 500. I remember the year before when I was doing good buying a 200 dollar karaoke machine for my daughter. This year things will be alot different. I just hope everyone will be happy regardless.

Okay, this is really, really sad for me to admit. I think the most expensive gift that I bought this year for Christmas was the new winter coats that I bought for my children. They've both outgrown the coats that they had last year so we decided to go with a lot of practical things for them this year. These were about $40 each. However, they have a ton of smaller things that they are going to be getting. They are each getting a total of 13 gifts between what we are giving to them with our own name and also the things that Santa is going to be giving them.