Hey y’all! It’s Judy over from Keepin’ Home! I wanted to share with you how I manage to give awesome gifts on the cheap. Money is tight so buying gifts in advance really helps out a family budget. I’ve been able to throw together an entire diaper bag (wipes, small books, teething toys, pacifier, blanket, the bag itself, and more) for all under $25.00. Not too shabby, right?
The real trick of this whole buying-gifts-in-advance is how you organize them and where you store them. Haven’t you ever bought the best gift for a loved one and 3 months after Christmas you find it stuffed under your bed behind a few dust balls because you thought that would be the perfect hiding spot? I have. And it sucks. I normally know I bought them a gift, and then when I can’t find the thing, I’m forced to run out to the mall and buy something at full price. Budget fail.
So in my many years of loosing gifts, I’ve developed a little system that has worked. Enter the gift box!
Not that pretty, but it holds all of the gifts I buy in advance. I keep it in a spot with a little extra room to store more gifts if the box gets too full.
And if we peek inside of the box what will be find?
We’ll find plenty of toys to give as gifts for birthdays and Christmas! Those construction play sets you see? Target had those 75% off after Christmas. I got 3 sets for only $9.00! And those Melissa & Doug puzzles? They were $4.00 a piece at a toy store closing sale. I wish I would have bought more of those!Now that you’ve seen box, a few of the great gifts that you can buy at a deep discount; here’s the BIGGEST part of it all: My Gift List. What you see below isn’t even all the way filled out; I still have a few friends to add to it!
I place these sheets of paper in a page protector and toss it in the gift box. I also keep a copy of the list in my planner/purse so when I’m out shopping and I stumble across a good buy, I can check to see if I already bought a gift for that person.
Want your own gift lists? Download them let me know how it works for you!
To download a printable version of your very own gift list click here {front} and click here {back}.
Happy gifting!
Oh my goodness, I love this post! I think I need to print out these lists and start a gift box {like} today! Thank you for the fabulous tip Judy!!!
Great idea. I buy Christmas presents year-round and keeping them dust-free and easily assessable is also a problem. Thanks, Judy!
Hi there,
I tried to download the printable but didn’t manage. Is there any possibilities that you can get the printables online again?
I reposted the printables but I’ll email them to you too. 🙂
Thanks alot! These printables will be amazing to use! 🙂
I also can’t download 🙁 Can you email them?? 🙂
Hi, Ashley! I’m Anna’s assistant, Bethany. I just sent an email with the gift lists. Thanks!
I fixed the links, you can download them now. 🙂