How to Save on Christmas

It is coming … Christmas!  I love Christmas-time.  I enjoy spending time with the entire family, laughing and playing games, cooking and eating together, and exchanging gifts!  I could do without receiving any gifts, but I love to give gifts.

 I’m not sure how I would feel about gift giving if I were rushed and choosing from bare isles the day before Christmas.

 I start my Christmas shopping January 1^st of every year.  At this time, there are so many items that are on sale for 75% + off.  For instance, my mom adores Celine Dion.  So, as a gift, she is getting Celine Dion perfume from WalMart that was marked down 75%.  My father-in-law is difficult to buy for because he wants for nothing and has it all.  Well, because I have been keeping an eye out for everyone, I found the perfect gift for him! If I didn’t have 12 months to look around and prepare, I’d be stressed around the holidays.

 I love clearance and sales.  If there is an item on sale that I want, I try to determine who I could give it to as a gift.  This way, I get a good deal but it doesn’t clutter the house!

 This only works well if you have a designated spot to hide all of these items throughout the year. It also only works if you remember what you bought for everyone or have it written down to refer to. Because I am so stocked up on gifts, I don’t have to worry about shopping for birthdays.  I pick something out of the stash and whatever is left, they get for Christmas.

 My favorite stores to shop for sales the first two weeks of January:
WalMart
Bath & Body (lotions & body wash are $4/each the 2^nd week of January, I think it is! I stock up and give as gifts throughout the year)
Kirklands
Big Lots (all year round)
Cracker Barrel (the stores have a clearance corner that I get a lot of gifts from throughout the year!)

 My favorite gift that I am most excited to give this year: a DVD teaching a couple how to salsa dance.  I bought it for my father and his wife as a “date night” gift. I bought this gift on clearance from a store that was closing. I am currently looking for a restaurant / lounge to purchase a gift certificate for the two of them to go to dinner and show off their new moves!