Done with holiday spending!

Posted on December 21, 2006 4 Comments

OK, folks, I’m done shopping. Sorry it’s been a while since my last post, but I’ve been hauling ass all around the city to find the perfect gifts for…wait for it…39 people! And, sad to say, all are family and co-workers. I don’t even buy gifts for my best girl friends (who really, truly deserve them for putting up with me all year long)! Thankfully, they understand how incredibly ridiculous it can be to buy gifts when your family’s huge. (Um, I only bought for those family members “closest” to me…ha!)

In the end, I spent a total of $763.63 on gifts! That number is enough to make my eyes pop out of my head! (And yes, I do save enough throughout the year so that none of my gifts are bought on credit.) Here’s how it all breaks down:

• $19.58 per average person, total
• I spent $30 on work gifts for 10 people, so when you take that number out of the equation, and only factor in the 29 family members I bought for, I spent about $25 per person
• When you take out three special people from my family (the big gift items), I only truly spent about $13 per person

It’s crazy how things add up! But I’m happy to spend that money on small gifts to share with my family.

As we get older, the getting becomes less important than the giving. (Well, with the exception of gifts from my boyfriend, who actually at first proposed to “buy” me the Uggs boots I already own before I childishly requested that he physically go out and buy me something to open at Christmas. I think he meant it as a joke, but I also think if I said yes, he would have wrapped the boots I already own. LOL!)

But back to my main point…the getting becomes less important than the giving. There’s nothing like seeing a smile light up the face of a loved one, and knowing my thoughtfulness (hopefully!) started that smile. I hope it shows that despite our distance, I’m always still thinking about them. And most importantly, it gives us all a chance to get together again.

Here are some tips I used to keep the cost down when you have a LOT of people to buy for:

• Buy ornaments in bulk. I got mine from Macy’s on sale. They were originally supposed to be $7.00 each, but I bought them at at 50 percent discount because I bought so many of them! $3.50 each and the ornaments all came wrapped in their own box, with tissue paper, too. Good deal.
• Buy spirits at a discount store. I bought several great bottles of Pinot Noir for just $10.00 per bottle. This is a great gift for my 20- and 30-something cousins, and was the “featured wine” of the store! For those of you who like to shop at Whole Foods, they have a “Top 10 Wines” list that I know includes several wines under $10.
• Buy chocolates. I got these great Frango mint mini-packs for $2.50 each that I’m giving to my teams at work. They’re so cute! And so yummy! And I’ve written a card to send along with each to personalize the gift.
• Buy gift cards at book stores. Most books I read cost $6 to $20 for paperback versions. Getting a $10 gift card at Borders can buy a whole book!
• Buy books! If you think you know a person well enough, go out on a limb and buy a book. They can always return it if they don’t like it.
• Do a grab bag. We used to employ this message and it helped… a lot! But my extended family is too complicated now, so it’s hard to do it. But you can save a lot of money by grab bagging it! I actually only buy for my immediate family, and for cousins who are my age.
• Shop at discount stores. Nordstrom Rack, Marshall’s, Filene’s Basement…all are fair game. I also really liked Old Navy this season. If you stick to the sales, you can get a ton of stuff very cheap.

Anyway, that’s it for my soapbox today. I’m all shopped out and now I need to get get snuggly in some flannel pajamas. Tomorrow’s my last day of work before the holidays, during which I will attempt to do laundry, clean my house, bake cookies, wrap presents and potentially string lights in my apartment all in a spirited 48-hour period, followed by another 48-hour period involving no less than five family gatherings. Ah, American holidays.

Happy holidays to you!

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