Gift Ideas???

When kids are that little, they are much easier to please! Have you checked out your local Dollar Store or Family Dollar? The one here seems to have a lot of the "in" toys for half the price. I think Christmas is gonna be tight everywhere this year!:frown:

Last year I cut down a lot - 1 outfit (they'd need it anyway), 1 book (tradition), 1 game (can be really cheap, there are lots of games under $10), 1 pair of PJ for them to wear to open stockings, and 1 toy (playdoh is great cheap gift!)

What about a mason jar cookie recipe. Do you know what I mean? You put ingredients in a mason jar to make layers (hardly crafty :P) and then you add on the recipe, and then after christmas you can spend time making the cookies with your kids!

http://www.pastorswife.net/jars3.htm

Check out this website for plenty of recipe ideas.

garage sales are good, you can buy alot of good toys.

I know i just had one and people racked up because i had tons of toys for sale that had never been opened! That just goes to show you that kids get way too much! lol
Also, I look on craigslist, people put alot of good stuff on there for sale. At that age they don't know if it is brand new or not and they really don't care!

Good luck!

Ya know, Kristal, I was still thinking about your family today while I was at work (Kadence's package is in the mail by the way), and it occured to me that because of financial circumstances, you have an awesome opportunity to start a tradition of making holidays in your household about more than presents and toys. My brother and I were always spoiled rotten as kids although I know money was tight for my mom being a single mother...she put herself into debt over Christmas some years I'd bet...and the Christmas tree was always overflowing with gifts...and now that we're older and there's not as much that we want that we don't just buy throughout the year with our own money, it's really taken the magic out of the holidays, because all it's ever been about is gifts.

Sometimes I wonder what the holidays would be like now if they had been less about presents and more about what really matters when we were younger...what if we had made a whole day of decorating the tree as a family together...stringing popcorn and making paper garland and ornaments...drinking hot chocolate and baking cookies together...what if on Christmas morning we got up early and went to church together instead of tearing into the presents? what if we had gone caroling and had driven around looking at the Christmas lights in the neighborhood rather than sitting around making endless lists of toys that, once we had them, we would quickly forget?

I know I probably sound very "Little House on the Prairie" right now, but I think it'd be great if you could use this Christmas where money is a little tight to show your kids what Christmas is really about...start traditions with them that they will remember all their lives and share with their children someday...

Do you have a website that people can sell their stuff on in your area?? Here in Utah it's KSL.com, it's the only place I shop! It's great, used stuff! See if their is one in your area. I have found some awsome stuff for my son at great prices?
Good luck