Holiday Frugality

First, for those who were interested in browsing my eBay auctions, they're now up:

My eBay Auctions

I'm doing an experiment with the Butterfly Island Adventure play set and My Little Pony lot, because that set is discontinued and seems to have very high resale value on eBay, especially when it's complete, as ours is. If it doesn't sell on Buy it Now or Best Offer by Sunday, I'll relist it in auction format. I'm hoping to get as much money as possible for Bee, who has already "estimated her earnings" (her words):


My little money mogul. Maybe someday she'll have a job on CNN, advising people on consumer issues or something, like Clark Howard.

She's back at school today and I'm glad, because she was getting bored, and I was tired of listening to her bicker with Cakes. They did go outside yesterday afternoon, but they didn't last long:


Of course, after I bundled Cakes up until she looked like a tick about to pop, she was back at the door after only 5 minutes, wanting to come in. Bee lasted about a half hour. It was just so cold. This morning, temps are below zero, but no more snowfall is expected, thank goodness!

Now, with Christmas rapidly approaching (only 2 weeks away!), I wanted to answer this question from Amy:

"How about how you do your girls' and your husband's Christmas stockings. I am looking for some more frugal ideas for this since stockings can get expensive very quickly. This year my son's will be filled with Mega Blocks I got from a garage sale this summer. He'll be 11 months old this Christmas and I think he's going to have more fun with the boxes and wrapping paper than anything else."

Because Amy's son is so little, her idea to fill his stocking with garage sale-purchased Mega blocks is a great one! He's not going to know the difference anyway. However, even for older children, garage sales can be a great source of stocking fillers. Which brings me to a subject that I've long wanted to address in regard to gift giving - used versus new.

Many people think that gifts must always be new, and this is something I don't understand. A couple of years ago, I actually heard on our local Christian radio station that "regifting," even if you have something that someone else genuinely wants or needs, is a "sin." But why? It was never explained. My husband and I were so shocked that we actually called the radio station to complain. Apparently we weren't the only ones, because that little message didn't even last the holiday season, and we've never heard it since.

Now, I'm not advocating that you just pawn off any old thing you have laying around and are tired of. All gift giving should be done with care and real thought as to who the recipient is, and what they enjoy. If not, then why bother? What's the point? Also, I agree that some things are truly better new (underwear and bras come to mind), but most things, particularly toys and books, are just as good if purchased used. For example, I bought a set of 4 Hannah Montana paperback books at a consignment store for Bee's birthday. I got all 4 for the price of one new one, and they were in excellent condition. Bee loved them! But when I mentioned this to an acquaintance, who believes that everything must be all new, bigger and better, she expressed shock that I would give my child used books as a gift.

I didn't say anything at the time, but I'm shocked that she would pay $15.96 for something she could buy used for $3.19. But whatever. I'm shocked at most of her spending, to be perfectly honest.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is that I've given my children many used items as gifts, usually because they wanted an expensive toy, and I was able to find a good quality used one for significantly less money. They've never noticed or cared, because my husband and I have never given them the impression that used equals bad. In the summer, we regularly take them garage-saling, and we give them a small allowance to spend (a couple bucks). They're thrilled with how much great stuff they can buy for so little money, and the fact that it once belonged to someone else is irrelevant to them. Children follow their parents' example.

I also want to talk a little bit about how my husband and I exchange gifts. Often, we don't. We exchange cards on our anniversary and Valentine's Day (and usually chocolate, because we're both addicted), but we rarely buy each other elaborate gifts, and sometimes we agree to purchase no gifts for each other. We don't do this simply because we're frugal (though that's part of it), but honestly, it's usually because we just can't think of anything we want or need. We're content just as we are.

We always feel like an anomaly, because we aren't interested in owning a Wii, a smart phone, a huge, flat screen, LCD television or any of the other expensive adult "toys" being so aggressively marketed this holiday season. For so many years, we had too much stuff, and after working for 7 years to achieve a simple life, stuff doesn't hold much appeal for us anymore.

Like all parents, we enjoy giving our children gifts, but as I've mentioned previously, we do so on a limited scale, because we want our kids to remember that Christmas is a holiday because of Christ - not presents. To fill their stockings, I often buy things the previous year on clearance, and store them in my gift box under the basement stairs. I do this for Valentine's Day and Easter also. Last year I bought small Christmas ornaments (Hannah Montana for Bee, Disney Princess for Cakes), Christmas-patterned socks, and Christmas stickers and pencils - all at 75% off. I'll supplement these items with a new "character" toothbrush (purchased with coupon), and some Christmas candy.

This year, I'm also going to give my girls homemade "coupons" for a special outing, or just for "Mom Time." I've made these for my husband several times, and he enjoyed "redeeming" them throughout the year. Especially the, er....saucy ones. One of the best things about men is that they're really very simple creatures. It doesn't take much to make them happy.

Many parents don't realize that children are much the same way. Often time, love and attention are better than any other gift you can give them.