Thanks to the sales at Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret, I bought a majority of my Christmas gifts already. The only people I haven't bought for are my parents, my DF, my sister, her bf, my maid of honor and 2 bridesmaids, and my DF's parents. I also have 3 male cousins in Las Vegas that we swap gifts with but obviously I can't buy gifts for them at these stores =) Also the gifts for them don't come out too much because my sister and I split the cost for them.
My DF's sister's birthday is also on Christmas Day, so I got her two gifts. One was a "Birthday Survival Kit" bath set from B&BW (don't worry, she doesn't know about this blog) and the scents of the products are vanilla and caramel, like on a cake. It used to be $20 but I got it for $10. And then I also got her one of those Victoria's Secret PiNk brand sweatpants (which would be perfect for winter) that sell for $36.50 but I got for $19.99. I even got a pair for myself too (in a different color of course), for figure skating...they are the kind that have elastic on the ends and can be rolled up to the knees. I have a lot of sweatpants, but I only wear a select few to lessons because the other ones I have are longer and tend to drag on the ice...and we don't want that for sure ;), so I only wear those in the gym.
The majority of other gifts I got were lotions and shower gels for different people...1 aunt, 2 family friends, my skating coach, 2 female cousins and 4 co workers.
So all in all I spent approximately $75 for Christmas gifts on other people. Adding the stuff I got for myself, which are: sweatpants, a pair of Victoria's PJ bottoms for $15---the ones I have are from college, all are getting ripped and hole-y! 2 BB&W shower gels, 2 jars of Jacqua body butter at $3 each... my total was about $125 for everything.
I guess that's what called smart shopping. It pays to plan ahead. I'm thinking that if I play my cards right the rest of the year, I shouldn't be paying more than $300-400 on gifts total. Which is LOW for me, considering the number of people I buy for. I remember reading somewhere last year that Americans spent an average of $800 on gifts last year. I'm sure that figure is skewed somehow because of the PS3 craze and stuff...but even if it's more like $600, that's still quite a lot.
I'm also proud of the fact that I didn't go super crazy on buying stuff for myself on these two sales. Last year my friend and I super stocked up on stuff we thought we "needed". Came out to the tune of like 10 things in our bags for OURSELVES, not for gifts. Not anymore!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
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9 comments:
Boy you are so organised geting your Christmas shopping done, and you got some good bargains. I worked with someone who always did the christmas shopping in July when she got her tax cheque. great idea. I have enjoyed your blog for a while and put a link on my site.
I have only have done a little Christmas shopping so far. I have some beauty and fitness books for my mom. This year will most likely be a lot less expensive than last. Our family vacation will be expensive but we have budget it.
I might make candy this year but I am not sure.
The only Christmas shopping that I have done has gone from my pocket to my closet. You definitely reminded me that that time of year will be soon approaching and this is where we see the true eliminate-debters skills shine. *claps* you are so on top of things!
Oh..I love those PINK sweat pants!..was just trying to order some online earlier...but most of d items on sales are OOS...wish we had an outlet here! :(
Wow that's awesome you've been able to get so much of your shopping done!! I haven't even thought about it ... but just might try to get some of it out of the way this weekend! I hear that it's a big sale/shopping week in the US (with it being so close to July 4th), so hopefully I'll be able to snag a few good bargains! :)
I bet it must feel nice knowing you probably won't have to brave the crowds at Christmas!!
Christmas shopping in June? You are definitely ahead of the game. Good Luck!
Louise - thanks for the comment! I added you to my link list.
Wow! I thought I was organised. Great bargains. Can you come to England and do my Christmas shopping now?
;)
Bravo! I have a slew of birthday presents to get through this summer, but then I need to think about Christmas. One of the coolest things I've done in the last few years is subscribe to Joann.com. I don't know if you have people who are crafty, or like home decor stuff or even have a Joann Fabric/Craft in your city. The cool thing is that every couple of weeks in their ads, which you get only if you are on their mailing list, they have 50% OFF coupons. Actually, I signed up online, and I signed up at the store, so I get coupons in my email and in my snail mail. Last year I bought my mom a needlework kit that was originally $40 for $20. Now, $40 for needlework that isn't even done sounds insane to me, but $20 is more reasonable. They also have cool kids crafts kits that are kind of a different thing for nieces and nephews. A lot of those at 50% are less than $10! Even if I can't find items to use coupons, I often find that they have some really great sales on seasonal items. This is the time of year when their lawn and garden things are 50%-75% off.
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