Christmas Presents 2022 Plans!

 I am super happy that it is finally time to celebrate Christmas! The girls and I have jumped right in since Thanksgiving ended and are already having a blast. I am an early-Christmas-present-planner, so I also already have gifts for our kids all picked out and mostly wrapped (I do have a few left to wrap).  

I use our budget for Christmas as a way to keep myself from buying too many gifts, especially since I buy early and then in December, I see things to spontaneous-buy. We budget $50 per child for one big gift and then do one $50 gift for all the kids combined. This year (since we're really trying to pay off the house), we're doing $35 for stockings per person and we decided to only do a Christmas Eve gift for the three girls. Ben and I are planning 3 dates each, to do throughout 2023, as our gift to each other. 

Ashtyn 

Ashtyn's main gift this year is an "Alive Pet" Guinea Pig Mama. She saw it in the Amazon catalogue and really wanted it. The girls had a lot of things they liked from the catalogue, so I let them add things to a wishlist on Amazon, so they could save up for some of them later if they still want it. Ashtyn kept talking about the Guinea Pig toy, and talking about wanting to ask for it from Santa. It was over $60, which is well over Santa's budget and also over the budget that we have for her gift from us. 

As she kept talking about it, I explained that Mom and Dad's budget for gifts was $50. She could choose to pay the extra $15 and get it for Christmas, understanding that her gift wouldn't be a surprise (that is how Ben's family did gifts growing up, though mine was always a surprise). Ashtyn immediately agreed to this plan. I went on Amazon to buy it and ... it was out of stock! Other sellers had them available for over $100, which of course was ridiculous. I checked our Wal Mart and they had it in stock! I considered going over right then, but the day was busy, so I did a pickup order for the next day. The next morning, Wal Mart informed me that they were out of stock. 

Ashtyn was super upset. I went online to see if I could find it anywhere else, but everywhere was either out of stock, or sellers on places like eBay had 10 brand new ones that they were selling for $140. I was so mad, and also so confused as to why this toy was being scalped like this. 

I went into Ben's office to rant to him about how frustrated I was with the situation and how mad I was at people who buy stuff to then turn around and sell at a higher price. It literally makes me so mad. He was wanting to see the toy, wondering why it was being scalped, so we found it on Amazon and ... it was in stock! For the $65 price tag! I was ecstatic and had him buy it immediately. 

When I was telling Ashtyn about it a couple hours later, we looked it up and it was already out of stock on Amazon again (unless you wanted to pay $120). It was such a stroke of luck, especially considering I had checked Amazon literally 5 minutes before Ben did. It took a while to ship, which was stressful (I was worried they would end up telling us that they didn't have one to ship us after all), but now it is safely at our house waiting to be wrapped. I'm really happy for Ashtyn. 

(I checked online now. You can't even find it on Amazon anymore, on Walmart, they are now $150).

From Santa, she is asking for crochet materials. As her main "extra" goal in school the few months after Christmas, she wants to learn to crochet. 

Parker 

Parker has been into Aladdin since she was two, and still loves it. As Christmas was approaching, she told me she really wanted an Aladdin and Jasmine barbie. She specifically mentioned that she wanted a "thief Aladdin" dressed like the movie. We don't have a lot of Barbies, but we're not against getting them as our girls want them. My mom gave us my old Aladdin doll and I found a Jasmine and some extra clothes for the Aladdin doll. I think Parker is really going to like them! 

From Santa, Parker is asking for a makeup kit. This is something she has wanted since June and I think she will have a lot of fun with it. 

Rylee 

Earlier this year, Rylee's cousin got some fancy shoes and a fancy dress. Rylee had just spent her birthday money on a Barbie, but she decided to start saving up for it. She doesn't make a lot of money yet, so I decided to get this for her for Christmas. I think she is going to love it and will be so excited. 

From Santa, Rylee is asking for a Kitty-Corn stuffy. There was one at the library that got left behind there and Rylee loved playing with it every week during story time. Then one day, the person who owned it took it home and she's wanted her own ever since. She's also very excited for the candy Santa brings. 

Oliver 

Oliver is at an age where it was hard to decide what to get him. For his birthday, his aunt gave him a car magnet block set and he (and his sisters) love it. I decided to get another set to add to the one we have. I know it will get played with a lot over the years! 

From Santa, Oliver is asking for a big ball. He loves all things balls and cars (and anything that rolls). He's also asking for a dog stuffy. 

Combined Gift 

For their combined gift this year, I got them a big set of magnet blocks. The kids love magnet blocks and use the small set (that Oliver got for his birthday) all the time. I think they will all be really excited, and I know they will play with the blocks a ton. 

Christmas Eve 

The last few years, we've gotten the girls a blanket and Ben and I got a queen-sized blanket. The girls love to steal our bigger blanket and fight over it, so this year, I decided to get them their own queen-sized blanket. It'll be fun! 

Gifts are not the focus of Christmas, but they are a really fun part. This is especially true for me as I've had kids. I love the anticipation of the season as I look forward to the excitement, they'll feel opening and enjoying their presents! 

“Maybe Christmas (he thought) doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.” — The Grinch