Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

Our Favorite Stocking Stuffers for Teens

| Leave a Comment

Favorite Stocking Stuffers for Teens

After you buy Christmas presents for your kids, you have one item left to tackle—the stockings. Unfortunately, I find stocking stuffers can be challenging to buy, and if you’re not careful, they can be more expensive than the gifts under the tree. Still, stockings are a nice bonus and one of my kids’ favorite parts of Christmas. Over the years, we’ve acquired several favorite stocking stuffers for teens.

A Hint for Affordable Stocking Stuffers

Every parent’s budget differs, but we’ve found that we prefer smaller stockings to stuff. For a few years, we had giant stockings, and filling them was expensive! So, we got rid of those stockings and picked smaller ones (luckily, while the kids were still little, so they didn’t notice). Now, we can fill the stockings more affordably, and they also overflow with gifts (since they’re smaller), which the kids get excited about.

Favorite Stocking Stuffers for Teens

We try to include both necessary and fun items in their stockings.

Fun Stocking Stuffers

Over the years, the kids have enjoyed these stocking stuffers:

Compact Games

We like to play games in our family, so their stockings often include a smaller game we can play as a family. Card games like Uno, Sushi Go, and Five Crowns have been hits.  We’ve also included dice games like Tenzi and Yahtzee to Go.

Lip Balm

My kids like flavored lip balms such as fruit flavored or Christmas flavors like candy cane, vanilla, or mint chocolate. Their favorite brand is Burt’s Bees.

Sweet Treats

Even though my teens now have money to buy their treats, they love getting candy in their stockings, especially milk chocolate bars. They also enjoy receiving hot chocolate packets so that they can enjoy hot chocolate on Christmas morning.

Gift Cards

The older teens get, the more they enjoy gift cards to buy their own items. My kids’ favorite gift cards are from Amazon, Starbucks, and local fast-food joints.

Art Supplies

My artist in the family enjoys receiving art supplies such as paints, paint brushes, watercolor pencils, colored pencils, and other art items.

More Practical Stocking Stuffers

Favorite Stocking Stuffers for Teens

In addition to the fun gifts, we also like to fill the stocking with some practical, necessary items.

Socks

Every year I give my kids some socks in their stockings. These bulk up the stockings, and everyone needs socks throughout the year.

Batteries

If the kids are getting any presents that require batteries, I put the batteries they need in their stockings. Then they can use the battery-operated gifts they received on Christmas day without making a separate trip to the store.

Final Thoughts

Christmas stockings in our family are not an afterthought. Instead, they’re a gift as important as the wrapped presents under the tree. These are our favorite stocking stuffers for teens, and our kids love receiving some variation of them each year.

Read More

What to Do When You Are Overspending at Christmas

Favorite Family Traditions Modernized

5 Ways to Buy Cheap Christmas Gifts for Your Kids

5 Ways to Buy Legos at a Discount

| Leave a Comment

Buy Legos at a Discount

A few years ago, my daughter began a Lego obsession.  She asked for Lego Friends sets for her birthday, and she was surprisingly quick at putting the sets together.  Not long after, she advanced to Lego sets for teens like Lego Architecture sets with hundreds of pieces.  If your child is a fellow Lego enthusiast, I don’t need to tell you how quickly the prices for these sets add up.  Luckily, there are several ways to buy Legos at a discount.

How to Buy Legos at a Discount

You can buy Legos at a discount, but you have to be patient and use one or more of these methods.

Buy on Sale

Yes, Legos do sometimes go on sale.  Often, especially during the holiday season or when a Lego model is discontinued, you can find the sets for 20% off.  The best places to look are Target, Walmart, and Lego.com.

In addition, Lego.com sometimes offers free small Lego kits when you buy a set from them.  Last Easter my daughter got two free, small sets when she purchased a larger one.

Buy at Costco

Costco doesn’t always carry Legos, but they do during the holidays.  These sets are cheaper than you can buy them elsewhere, but they do sell out quickly.  Keep an eye out for Lego sets in October at Costco.

Join Buy Nothing Groups

Buy Legos at a Discount

If you’re not looking for a particular set but just pieces, consider joining a local Buy Nothing group.  People frequently sell large bags of miscellaneous Lego pieces at a low price.  This can be an excellent way to start a Lego collection.

Other Things to Consider

You can utilize two other strategies to lower the overall price of Lego sets.

Help Your Child Save for a Lego Set

One of my friend’s sons wanted to buy a Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon kit.  These retail for about $130.  My friend didn’t want to spend that much on one set, so she made a deal with her eight-year-old son.  If he saved $65 for the set, she would chip in the other $65.  She was impressed with how hard he worked and how much he saved to afford the set.

If your child wants an expensive set and you have the money to split the cost with him, this agreement can be an excellent way to teach your child how to save.

Can Sell to Recoup Money

Remember, your child won’t always want to build Legos.  When she is 16, she may have outgrown Legos.  If she has kept all the pieces to her sets as well as kept the boxes in good condition, she should be able to sell the sets and recoup some of her money, unlike many other toys.

Final Thoughts

If your child wants some expensive Lego sets, try utilizing some of these strategies to save money.  But remember, start your search earlier.  You’ll likely need some time to buy the Lego set at a discount.  You’ll need to search the sales and perhaps offer your child a money matching proposition to be able to afford the larger sets.

Read More

5 Toys That Won’t Break the Bank

My #1 Brand of Choice for Long-Lasting Toys for Toddlers

My Favorite Toys for Kids Under 5 Years

What To Do When You Are Overspending at Christmas

| Leave a Comment

Overspending at Christmas

I have a confession.

I overspent my Christmas budget.

(And I’m not done shopping.)

Overspending At Christmas

I did everything right. I made a list of who I was shopping for and created an overall budget. All was going well until I deviated from my plan.

Typically I plan a vacation for Christmas. I prefer to gift experiences to my family over wrapped presents. Last year, we went to Disney World. The year before, we went to Great Wolf Lodge.

However, this year, my daughter wanted a saddle, and my son had been asking for some 1000+ piece Lego sets. These were items I’d buy for my kids outside of Christmas, so I thought let’s go ahead and have Santa buy them. We’ll stay home this year and spend our budget on Christmas presents.

I also expected this would create a more relaxed Christmas. I wouldn’t have to coordinate the logistics of travel, and I wasn’t planning to buy much for Christmas. After all, the presents I was going to buy weren’t extra for the sake of Christmas.

I was wrong.

It’s not more relaxed and I’m buying more presents than what was on my list.

Creating A Budget Buffer

Something I always do is that I plan to go over budget ahead of time. I do this by creating a budget buffer – usually 5 to 10% of my overall budget. Because overspending at Christmas is not an unrealistic scenario.

Since we’re home this year, I’ve been more inclined to accept invitations to Christmas parties. Also, because we are home, we’re going to my in-laws Christmas morning. This added additional people to shop for that were not on my original list.

But good plans are fluid, so I adjusted the budget per person to accommodate the extras.

Another thing that surprised me is my kids wanted to buy presents for other people. I appreciate this, and it was a simple budget obstacle to overcome.

They pitched ideas on what they would do in exchange for extra money. I was able to secure some “maid” service for the next few weeks in exchange for some small gifts. The amounts were small enough that it didn’t set me over budget because I had built in a buffer for unexpected purchases.

Plan For Budget Obstacles

What I didn’t expect was nostalgia to travel over Christmas. Impulsively, I booked a 3-day trip to Legoland. I paid the full price for the hotel room and park tickets. I was able to use miles for two of our plane tickets and paid for the other two. This was the primary reason that led to my overspending at Christmas.

So what am I going to do now that I’m WAY over budget?

Good plans should be fluid and be able to accommodate roadblocks.

I have to sacrifice in other areas of my budget. I reduced the amount my husband is allowed to spend on me and I pulled from our travel savings account to cover the hotel and tickets.

To pay for the plane tickets, I pulled from January’s budget by cutting expenses. Food was cut back, clothing was eliminated, and I cut the flash cash budget in half.

What I Learned

Through this process, I have been reminded of how grateful I am that:

1) I have set my budget up to accommodate impulse decisions – knowing this is standard behavior for me,
2) I have diversified my income so that I know I can generate some back-up income when I needed, and
3) I am committed to remaining debt-free. A few years ago, I would’ve slapped the trip on a credit card and not thought twice about taking two years to pay for it.

 

Have you gone over budget this Christmas? How do you handle impulse purchases? Is your budget set up to accommodate your personality? Let us know in the comments.

Read more:

5 Ways to Buy Cheap Christmas Gifts for Kids

Three Things You Can Do to Make Money for Christmas

Favorite Family Christmas Traditions, Modernized!

 

Staying Organized During the Holidays

| Leave a Comment

holiday organizationThis is a crazy time of year for most people. I have a relatively small family but every time slot of December is consumed with events. Between work parties, family gatherings, Christmas eve/day events and New Years plans, if you don’t stay organized it will be easy to get stressed out! I learned years ago that starting early with my organizing is what helps keep me calm.

 

Get a Calendar

I have a large central calendar on my fridge where I write out everything. No detail is too small. It is in a visible spot where I frequently look at it. I used to hide it in the cupboard but it wasn’t working for me. I got over the fact that it looked messy on the fridge and put it up! As soon as an event is planned write it out, even if it conflicts with something else, still write it down so you don’t forget. This is where you’ll have decisions to make. If you child’s Christmas concert is the same night as your staff party, something will have to give but this way you’re reminded what you have to RSVP to.

Write reminders on the calendar too since you’re likely to forget. We’re responsible for making the dinner rolls for our family dinner. I have a note written on the 23rd to remember the rolls giving me two days to find time to buy or make them.

 

Declutter

This is something I start in October/November. Around the same time I take out/put away the Halloween decorations is when I casually declutter certain areas of the home that accumulate over the year.  Our crawl space, where most of our storage is, has a tendency to have stuff shoved in it throughout the year. One evening in November I reorganize it so everything is accessible and I can easily get the Christmas stuff in and out without making a huge mess. In the month of November I also make a point of organizing the closets and ”junk drawer” in our house. Christmas is so busy for us that I need to make sure I know where everything is so no time is wasted. My friend couldn’t find her (fake) Christmas tree this year so went and bought a new one. How do you lose a seven-foot tree? She found it when putting the new one away, imagine.

I also anticipate certain things like needing space to make room for gifts I know the little one will receive. Just today I cleaned out her closet and cleaned her room, getting rid of toys and clothes she doesn’t play with or fit into. Decluttering is also a great way to give back by donating unused things to charitable organizations or to sell unwanted items and fund your Holiday budget!

 

Clean!

The weeks leading up to Christmas I make sure the house has at least one good deep clean. Spending one day to make sure the house is nice and clean is much easier to maintain with frequent tidying than constantly trying to get one room done. If you have little kids I know this is hard. Get a babysitter for a day, or at least a few hours to dedicate to getting things cleaned and put away. Someone told me trying to put laundry away with a toddler running around is like blowing a fan onto a desk full of papers, and I could not agree more.Cleaning with kids is one step forward and at least four steps back. Send young kids away for the day when you clean and if they’re older have them help out.

The holidays are fun, family filled time. Stay organized so you can enjoy it all!

What do you do to stay organized?

Spend Less on Your Memorial Day BBQ

| Leave a Comment

Family BBQ

Curtesy of Pixabay

Before I begin talking about barbecuing – I feel it is important to note – that Memorial Day– which was once known as Decoration Day – is a time to honor all those brave men and women who have lost their lives serving our great country. The first Memorial Day was observed on May 30th 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers — at Arlington National Cemetery.

For many people, Memorial Day is also when they spend some good quality time — with friends and family. The holiday is viewed as the official kick-off of grilling season. Since Memorial Day provides a good number of us with a long weekend, this seems like the perfect time to get friends and family together — to eat, play and enjoy each other’s company. Like many Americans — you may be thinking of planning a Memorial Day BBQ. However, sometimes budget restrictions can make you feel like you can’t have people over — because you simply can not afford it.

Fear not! I have some great ideas (if I do say so myself) on how you can plan a fun and festive Memorial Day BBQ — and spend less.

Tip #1: Save on Invites

It’s always nice to send invites but you don’t have to go to all the trouble – and expense – of buying invitations and mailing them out. In today’s world, there are so many ways – of letting people know – about the get-togethers we are planning! Evite is one of my favorites! They have great invitations, for just about any occasion. Using Evite is not only frugal — but eco-friendly as well. You probably wouldn’t send wedding invites out this way, but for birthday parties – and other informal get-togethers – it is just perfect! 🙂

If most of your friends are on Facebook— there is a great event application there as well. With Evite and Facebook events — it also makes it super simple for your guests to RSVP and for you to send out reminders. This will help to ensure that you get an accurate head count, so you can plan accordingly.

  • In the invite, remind people to wear their sunscreen and to bring their bug repellent. These are two very important things to have for any BBQ!

Tip #2: Save on Food

Hosting a BBQ potluck is another great way to save money on your Memorial Day celebration. If your friends and family are anything like mine, they are very thoughtful and always ask – or insist – on bringing something to the party. This is not only a kind gesture and money saver — it also helps take some of the stress of planning, off of your shoulders. The less food you have to prepare — the more time you’ll have to spend on other things, so you can enjoy the BBQ along with everyone else.

Keep it simple. Your guests don’t expect you to do anything elaborate. Grilling up burgers, hot dogs, and sausages — are just perfect for an event like this. If you can find a good deal on ribs, fish or other cuts of meat go for it — but you certainly don’t have to.

Tip #3: Save on Decorations

Do decorations from parties past — linger in your garage, attic, or some other storage place? Awesome! Get them out, dust them off and put them to good use. There is no law – that I am aware of anyway – which states that you can not re-use decorations. While it might not be appropriate to use your child’s 1st birthday banner, there are other decorations that might work beautifully — even last year’s 4th of July decor will work quite nicely.

If you don’t have any old decorations to use, head you your local dollar store as see what they have on hand. If you don’t want to do that, you can just buy a fun table cloth and put some fresh flowers out — and you’ll be all set!

Tip #4: Save on Entertainment

You don’t have to spend a lot to keep your guests entertained. Most people like to just sit around and chat — but if you want to add some other activities for your guests to do, there are a few ways to do this.

  • Get out the board games or even a deck of cards and have some fun.
  • Potato sack races? Why sure — that sounds like a fine idea!
  • Host a scavenger hunt. This is great for kids of all ages!
  • Do a good ol’ fashion egg toss. Hard boil the eggs if you like — or don’t hard boil them, this adds a little more drama to the competition 🙂
  • Flag football! Just cut up some old t-shirts – or towels – for the flags and away you go!
  • You can play croquet, volleyball, Frisbee or badminton depending on how much space you have. If don’t have these games, a friend or family member might.

What are you planning this Memorial Day weekend? Do you have some other suggestions on how people can save on these types of parties? I’d love to hear them!!!