Christmas on a budget

So, now that I am forced to face the world as a single mother, a lot has changed in my life...especially my finances!!!  I have had to adjust from a fairly comfortable lifestyle to one where I have to get pretty creative, or rely on the generosity of my parents, to make sure our needs are being taken care of.  So, as you can imagine, this Christmas has presented itself to be a bit of a challenge, but I think I have actually figured out how to make it work, and most importantly, have a happy little man at home as well.

Starting several months ago, I started preparing myself for Christmas.  I started hunting down deals and finding coupons.  So far I have spent just over $35 for Truett's "Santa" gifts, and his gifts from me as well.  I only have one gift to go!!!  Not only has this Christmas been fairly budget friendly, but I have a lot to show for what I have spent as well!!  Here's the run down of what I have found for Tru, and how I managed such good deals:

   Candyland $3.88- Tru has developed a love for board games.  I was able to pick up this game for so cheap at Wal Mart's Black Friday sale (my first and last Black Friday experience I might add!!)

Chutes and Ladders $3.00- This board game usually runs for $7.00, but before Halloween, there were many board game coupons available for $4.00 off!!  I had tried to purchase Candyland at this time as well, but of course Wal Mart was out of stock until after the coupon had expired!!

  Ninja Turtles Costume $9.00- Truett loves playing dress up, so when I saw this for 50% off during Wal Mart's post Halloween sale, I knew that it would make a wonderful, and cheap, Christmas gift!

FisherPrice imaginext Joker toy $0.97- Can you believe it?!  This little gem that I found runs for $5.97 at Wal Mart.  Recently I can across the opportunity to get a $5.00 off coupon towards any FisherPrice toy.  I used it towards this because Tru has really gotten into Batman and Joker and I think my parents will be getting him the playhouse that goes with the action figure as his Christmas gift from them.

Batman Slippers $3.47- This was another item I picked up at Wal Mart's Black Friday sale.  Oddly enough, Tru has been begging for slippers!! 

2 Scholastic Books FREE- Through work I was able to use a few of my teacher points to grab these books.  In the past I have purchased things for my class, so I used a few of those points towards these books.  While I understand that not everyone has the benefit of this, you are able to get this for as low as $2.00!!  Scholastic carries many great books every month for as low as $1.00.

4 Disney Movies $1.00-  This great bargain I was able to grab by joining the Disney Movie Club!  You can do so by visiting www.DisneyMovieClub.com.  You choose any four adult or child videos for $1.00 and then you purchase 4 more movies over the next two years to fulfill your membership.  This is a really neat program because not only do you get first dibs at the newest Disney movies when they come out, but they also have many great sales and you can find some of the classics for $10 or $12!!

Tom and Jerry Movie $1.87- This too was a Black Friday find.  Truett loves him some Tom and Jerry!!  This is a sure fire hit with him!!!

Captain America Shave Set $10.00-  This is clearly the most I have spent on a single gift of his!!  I know it seems so random, but when we came across it at Wal Mart he thought that it would be so neat if he could pretend shave.  The set comes with a pretend razor, kid's shaving cream, a mirror that sticks to the shower, body wash, and shampoo.

Transformers Action Figure $2.99- I luckily came across a coupon for $5.00 off any Transformers: Dark side of the Moon toy.  I found this action figure at Target for originally $7.99.  I know that "Santa" will hit a home run with this find!!

The last gift Truett will be getting has yet to be purchased.  I am still searching to see if I will be able to find any deals for it...and for the extra cash to spend on it.  He will either be getting the FisherPrice Batman car with action figure or a large Power Rangers toy he is wanting.  Both run in the $15 dollar range...so if no deal is found that will be my "big splurge" for his Christmas.  If I am forced to pay full price for Tru's final gift, that will bring my grand total to just over $50.  Not bad for 15 items, especially when some would spend this on one item!!!