I guess because we also have birthdays close to Christmas, my kids already get plenty of gifts. And let's face it - even as lower middle class citizens, we are richer than something like 90% of the world already. So mix Birthday and Christmas and we have plenty!
We are also very cautious to keep gifts to a minimum. Christmas is not about gifts. It's about Jesus. We give gifts to show that we love someone, and we point out to the kids that someone gave them gifts because they are loved by that person. As I've said before, we only give our kids 3 gifts on Christmas.
Anyway, I digress. I am all about being cheap. I buy things second hand or on a super good sale. Earlier this year, someone gave me an unopened Barbie - her child was not interested in them. Viola! Gift! Someone else was selling a table-top air hockey game super cheap - gift! A stack of books from the consignment store? Gift!
In all I spent under $40 for each of my children for Christmas. I am so proud of myself. It is a personal goal to be as cheap as possible for Christmas - especially with us going to Disney in January!
