I like to shop early for Christmas; in fact, if I can finish by the end of September, I’m golden. I tried Black Friday once — and only once. We were living in the Dallas area at the time, and I went to Garden Ridge Pottery in Plano at a godawful hour of the morning. It was pandemonium! I felt claustrophobic, anxious and out of sorts. I know a lot of people enjoy the adventure that is bargain-shopping, but when I factored in the value of my time and effort, I figured saving a few bucks on a wishlist item at 3am is akin to saving a few cents on gasoline by driving an extra mile down the road to a cheaper gas station. It’s just not worth it to me.

 

That said, I still like a bargain as much as the next person. I just like to catch bargains on a whim, so I tend to pick up Christmas gifts at back-to-school sales in August and end-of-season sales in September. It’s a great system, and it has saved me a lot of money over the years. The only problem is that when I get around to digging boxes out from The Hiding Place, I surprise myself with the purchases that I stashed there a few months ago!

 

It all works out in the wash; everyone gets approximately the same number of gifts, but it puts a kink in my organizing. I really thought I was on top of things this year — I made a spreadsheet of wrapped, unwrapped (ie, Santa) and stocking goodies. Then, I pulled the boxes down from hiding and remembered a few small items that weren’t on my list (granted, we’re talking about books and puzzles sorts of gifts … it’s not like I bought and iPad and forgot about it!).

 

I think we’ll have a good Christmas, as far as presents go, but I’m especially excited about getting the boys involved in the gift-giving more this year. We tallied the results from the coin contest, and No. 5 won! We’re planning to use the money to buy shoes for Buckner International’s orphan ministry, as well as gifts for a family from our church’s angel tree. If the scheduling works out as planned, we’ll also get to deliver the gifts to the family, so that will be a neat experience for the boys.