Christmas Price Check
Monday, December 24, 2007
***WARNING! LONG POST WITH LOTS OF NUMBERS****
I thought someone out in Bloggetyville might be interested to see how a family of 9 celebrates Christmas for under$250 $300 total. Actually, I don't know if that's our total, because husband dear won't be purchasing my gift until Christmas eve, and we haven't actually bought stocking candy yet. It should be under $300 still when I get those numbers in.
We usually have a fairly frugal Christmas. We don't have any credit cards, so we have to pay cash, which helps a lot. Amazingly, God always provides... last year Mr R's school gave us $500 (!) to spend at WalMart, which was amazing since we had $0 to spend on Christmas, as we were putting our pennies towards Baby X. This year, a neighbor gave us a box of toys that were left over from their Angel Tree. They just had a few odds and ends left over that didn't fit in the truck and asked her to find a family to give it too. The few odds and ends were toys for preschool girls and elementary aged boys!
So far, I have bought some gifts both Eco Friendly and Recycled (aka, Garage Sale and Goodwill) and at a few stores. I was so happy to find out from HealthyToys.org that the Imaginext Dinosaurs were safe! Mr. S has been wanting one for over a year now. They were on clearance at Target (clearance toys at Christmastime? What are they thinking?) so he gets two.
Here's the roundup so far (also, my list of gifts where the kids won't find it and I won't lose it. Blogs have many uses!)
Mr R - $25
Rollercoaster K'Nex $10.00 (garage sale)
New Bionicle $8
K'Nex mini set - free (it was a buy two toys, get one free special)
Wallet with zippered coin holder, a critical feature for the under 10 set $5
2 packs football cards, $2
Baseball glove - free
Mr P -$13
K'nex Rollercoaster set with Mr R
New Yellow Bionicle $8
Little Bionicle Sidekick Man Thing $3 (yeah. I'm hip to the toys)
Wallet, zipper coin pocket $5
2 packs football cards, $2
Baseball glove - free
Miss E - $13.50
Potholder Weaving Loom $3.50 (From craft store, $6.99 w/50% off coupon)
Sparkly church shoes $10
Stuffed dog with purse - free
Doll house figure - free
Robe $10
Mr S - $41
Lincoln log playset $6
Imaginext Pteranodon $10
Imaginext Allosaur $10
2 pack Jammies $15
Miss V - $9
Plush Kitty Cat purse - free
Creative Cubbie desk $1
Valise filled with costume jewelry $2
Nightie - $6
Dora toy, Dora ball - free
Miss C - $5
baby bike, $2
Babydoll bed $1
Paint for baby bed $1
Bubble bath with doggie lid $1
Jammies - free (someone gave us some, with tags still on!)
Dora ball - free
Baby X - $10
Baby's First Christmas Ornament $4
Baby Feeders (these are sooo cool! Perfect for an 8 month old baby who wants to eat buy lacks teeth) $6
Activity center toy - free
Husband Dear who reads this blog occasionally:
$6, $10, $20, $6, $1 = $43
Decorations and miscellaneous: $13
6 pack of snowmen ornaments to make the kids a "2007" special one $7
6 tangerines for stockings $2
Hershey Kisses $2
Marshamallow Santas $1
Fruit juice sticks gummy things (again, I'm hip to the fun kid food) $1
(we go very light on the candy. Very. Light.)
Total so far: $172.50
Whoops! Totally forgot the Walgreen's Stocking stuffers ($5.25) and the new missals and church books I bought at the Daughters of St. Paul's last week ($21).
New total: $198.75 - although this was spent between Sept. and Dec. and did not come out of the same month's budget!
We give the kids brand new jammies on Christmas Eve every year. That way I can keep all the pictures straight. I'm having problems with my big boys though, finding jammies for a skinny 9 yo boy is a challenge. Last year he was in size 10 Spiderman jammies; this year, he outgrew those over the summer and I think is going to have to settle for pajama pants and t-shirts. Haven't gotten those yet.
I made teacher baskets as well, for CCD teachers (x4), Mr R's Bus driver and assistant, and Mr R's teacher and assistant. Last year we had a terrible bus driver so I really, really appreciate wonderful Miss Alma this year. I do find it ironic that I homeschool and still made 8 teacher appreciation baskets! I made homemade goodies, because that is cheaper than buying a tchotchke, and how many apple themed coffee cups does a person need, anyway?
Here's the breakdown for 8 baskets:
DVD/CD organizing baskets for CCD teachers ($1x4) = $4.00
Desktop organizing baskets (.50x4) = $2.00
Ribbon: $2.00 plus some I already had $2.00
Fudge (3 different kinds; 24 pieces total each basket) = $15.11
Evaporated milk 15 oz. - (well, actually two cans because I left the extra out on the counter overnight and had to throw it away) $1.52
Butter, 18 oz. - $2.25
Marshamallow Creme, 3 jars - $2.46
Chocolate Chips 36 oz.- $3.36
Vanilla - I'll estimate $.15. It's so cheap for a huge bottle of the real stuff at Sam's Club!
Walnuts - $1.80
Cherry flavored Craisins - $1.00
Flaked Coconut - .30 (Got a great deal on packages for .59 in the fall, and used half a package.)
Waxed paper for packaging - free
Christmas themed labels to write on: $2.27
Cherry Crisp cookies- $3.80
Jar cherries $1.00
8 oz. butter $1.00
Flour, sugar .50 total maybe?
3 egg yolks .30
Holly printed cello bags to put them in (used for Peppermint Bark too) $1.00
Pumpkin Bread (half for baskets, we ate the other half) $1.15
1/2 can pumpkin .45
applesauce .25
Flour, sugar, cinnamon, etc. $.50?
Hot Cocoa Mix x 4 : $6.15 (only put this is CCD Teacher baskets)
Powdered milk $5.00
Cocoa powder $.40
Powdered Sugar $.50
Jars - free
Fabric to cover jar lids: .25 (used less than 1/8 yard, at $2.00 a yard.)
Peppermint Bark -$3.25
1/2 package of Vanilla Almond Bark $1.00
12 oz. Chocolate chips $1.12
12 candy canes $.88
Peppermint Extract: Just guessing here - $.25
Total: $31.46 or $3.93 per basket
Christmas Breakfast: (Fruit plate and Apple Jacks) $8.50
Apple Jacks (bought 3 weeks ago with a coupon, $1.60 for two boxes.) (We eat fun cereal on Christmas, Easter, and birthdays. Otherwise it's Grapenuts, oatmeal, or wandering about the house aimlessley)
Eggs for Mr R .50
Fresh pineapple $3
Oranges $2
Watermelon $2
Bananas $1
Christmas Dinner: $31
Ham - We'll eat 1/3 of $27, so $9 (My mistake? Husband dear accompanied me to choose the ham, so we ended up with 20 pound spiral cut instead of the 10 pound shank I had planned to buy. The man never met a hunk of meat he didn't like!)
Rolls- pennies. I make them myself.
Mashed potatoes- $2
Gravy - free
Brussels Sprouts Supreme -$3
Mom's Chick Food Salad (spinach, red onion, raspberry vinaigrette) $3
Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie - $5 ish
Pecan Pie - $6 ish
Egg Nog - $3
Fudge - saved some from teacher baskets
Grand total: 269.75
I thought someone out in Bloggetyville might be interested to see how a family of 9 celebrates Christmas for under
We usually have a fairly frugal Christmas. We don't have any credit cards, so we have to pay cash, which helps a lot. Amazingly, God always provides... last year Mr R's school gave us $500 (!) to spend at WalMart, which was amazing since we had $0 to spend on Christmas, as we were putting our pennies towards Baby X. This year, a neighbor gave us a box of toys that were left over from their Angel Tree. They just had a few odds and ends left over that didn't fit in the truck and asked her to find a family to give it too. The few odds and ends were toys for preschool girls and elementary aged boys!
So far, I have bought some gifts both Eco Friendly and Recycled (aka, Garage Sale and Goodwill) and at a few stores. I was so happy to find out from HealthyToys.org that the Imaginext Dinosaurs were safe! Mr. S has been wanting one for over a year now. They were on clearance at Target (clearance toys at Christmastime? What are they thinking?) so he gets two.
Here's the roundup so far (also, my list of gifts where the kids won't find it and I won't lose it. Blogs have many uses!)
Mr R - $25
Rollercoaster K'Nex $10.00 (garage sale)
New Bionicle $8
K'Nex mini set - free (it was a buy two toys, get one free special)
Wallet with zippered coin holder, a critical feature for the under 10 set $5
2 packs football cards, $2
Baseball glove - free
Mr P -$13
K'nex Rollercoaster set with Mr R
New Yellow Bionicle $8
Little Bionicle Sidekick Man Thing $3 (yeah. I'm hip to the toys)
Wallet, zipper coin pocket $5
2 packs football cards, $2
Baseball glove - free
Miss E - $13.50
Potholder Weaving Loom $3.50 (From craft store, $6.99 w/50% off coupon)
Sparkly church shoes $10
Stuffed dog with purse - free
Doll house figure - free
Robe $10
Mr S - $41
Lincoln log playset $6
Imaginext Pteranodon $10
Imaginext Allosaur $10
2 pack Jammies $15
Miss V - $9
Plush Kitty Cat purse - free
Creative Cubbie desk $1
Valise filled with costume jewelry $2
Nightie - $6
Dora toy, Dora ball - free
Miss C - $5
baby bike, $2
Babydoll bed $1
Paint for baby bed $1
Bubble bath with doggie lid $1
Jammies - free (someone gave us some, with tags still on!)
Dora ball - free
Baby X - $10
Baby's First Christmas Ornament $4
Baby Feeders (these are sooo cool! Perfect for an 8 month old baby who wants to eat buy lacks teeth) $6
Activity center toy - free
Husband Dear who reads this blog occasionally:
$6, $10, $20, $6, $1 = $43
Decorations and miscellaneous: $13
6 pack of snowmen ornaments to make the kids a "2007" special one $7
6 tangerines for stockings $2
Hershey Kisses $2
Marshamallow Santas $1
Fruit juice sticks gummy things (again, I'm hip to the fun kid food) $1
(we go very light on the candy. Very. Light.)
Total so far: $172.50
Whoops! Totally forgot the Walgreen's Stocking stuffers ($5.25) and the new missals and church books I bought at the Daughters of St. Paul's last week ($21).
New total: $198.75 - although this was spent between Sept. and Dec. and did not come out of the same month's budget!
We give the kids brand new jammies on Christmas Eve every year. That way I can keep all the pictures straight. I'm having problems with my big boys though, finding jammies for a skinny 9 yo boy is a challenge. Last year he was in size 10 Spiderman jammies; this year, he outgrew those over the summer and I think is going to have to settle for pajama pants and t-shirts. Haven't gotten those yet.
I made teacher baskets as well, for CCD teachers (x4), Mr R's Bus driver and assistant, and Mr R's teacher and assistant. Last year we had a terrible bus driver so I really, really appreciate wonderful Miss Alma this year. I do find it ironic that I homeschool and still made 8 teacher appreciation baskets! I made homemade goodies, because that is cheaper than buying a tchotchke, and how many apple themed coffee cups does a person need, anyway?
Here's the breakdown for 8 baskets:
DVD/CD organizing baskets for CCD teachers ($1x4) = $4.00
Desktop organizing baskets (.50x4) = $2.00
Ribbon: $2.00 plus some I already had $2.00
Fudge (3 different kinds; 24 pieces total each basket) = $15.11
Evaporated milk 15 oz. - (well, actually two cans because I left the extra out on the counter overnight and had to throw it away) $1.52
Butter, 18 oz. - $2.25
Marshamallow Creme, 3 jars - $2.46
Chocolate Chips 36 oz.- $3.36
Vanilla - I'll estimate $.15. It's so cheap for a huge bottle of the real stuff at Sam's Club!
Walnuts - $1.80
Cherry flavored Craisins - $1.00
Flaked Coconut - .30 (Got a great deal on packages for .59 in the fall, and used half a package.)
Waxed paper for packaging - free
Christmas themed labels to write on: $2.27
Cherry Crisp cookies- $3.80
Jar cherries $1.00
8 oz. butter $1.00
Flour, sugar .50 total maybe?
3 egg yolks .30
Holly printed cello bags to put them in (used for Peppermint Bark too) $1.00
Pumpkin Bread (half for baskets, we ate the other half) $1.15
1/2 can pumpkin .45
applesauce .25
Flour, sugar, cinnamon, etc. $.50?
Hot Cocoa Mix x 4 : $6.15 (only put this is CCD Teacher baskets)
Powdered milk $5.00
Cocoa powder $.40
Powdered Sugar $.50
Jars - free
Fabric to cover jar lids: .25 (used less than 1/8 yard, at $2.00 a yard.)
Peppermint Bark -$3.25
1/2 package of Vanilla Almond Bark $1.00
12 oz. Chocolate chips $1.12
12 candy canes $.88
Peppermint Extract: Just guessing here - $.25
Total: $31.46 or $3.93 per basket
Christmas Breakfast: (Fruit plate and Apple Jacks) $8.50
Apple Jacks (bought 3 weeks ago with a coupon, $1.60 for two boxes.) (We eat fun cereal on Christmas, Easter, and birthdays. Otherwise it's Grapenuts, oatmeal, or wandering about the house aimlessley)
Eggs for Mr R .50
Fresh pineapple $3
Oranges $2
Watermelon $2
Bananas $1
Christmas Dinner: $31
Ham - We'll eat 1/3 of $27, so $9 (My mistake? Husband dear accompanied me to choose the ham, so we ended up with 20 pound spiral cut instead of the 10 pound shank I had planned to buy. The man never met a hunk of meat he didn't like!)
Rolls- pennies. I make them myself.
Mashed potatoes- $2
Gravy - free
Brussels Sprouts Supreme -$3
Mom's Chick Food Salad (spinach, red onion, raspberry vinaigrette) $3
Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie - $5 ish
Pecan Pie - $6 ish
Egg Nog - $3
Fudge - saved some from teacher baskets
Grand total: 269.75
posted by Milehimama @ Mama Says at 12/24/2007 09:50:00 AM | Permalink |
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