I just yesterday got a notice from a private school my son attended for grades 3 -8 about their annual fund raiser. A company for them each year produces about 5000 boxes of milk chocolate covered almonds ($14 a box) and 5000 of dark covered almonds ($16 a box). And they are soooo good. The best I have ever tasted. They will sell out. They do every year.
So I just ordered seven of the milk chocolate ones and one of the dark covered ones.
-- The three women I play tennis with plus our regular tennis sub will get a milk chocolate box (These are a favorite of theirs that they look forward to every year)
-- My husband (we don't do big gift exchanges) will get a box of the milk covered ones and a box of the dark covered ones. (He will be thrilled)
-- One milk chocolate box will go to our neighbor who has our dog over to play with his dog twice a week (I will give some cash too for doggy treats)
-- The last milk chocolate box will go to my favorite cousin. Don't really want to start a gift exchange with him, but want to let him know I am thinking of and figure this is a small enough thing
Figure this below is practically done too:
-- I will just do cash for people who do services for us. (cleaning service that comes once a month and the gal I go to for cut, color, and highlights -- who now I just go to every eight to 10 weeks or so) -- lol used to go every five weeks, but found great root coverup product during lockdown and now go less often for convenience and to cut down on costs
-- There is someone who I adopt for Christmas every year who I will buy some peanut brittle for, give a $300 Visa gift card to and give $300 cash to -- looks forward to what for him is a Christmas windfall each year -- I used to adopt a different family I didn't even know thru my church annually, but now spend the same and I adopt someone who I know instead who IMHO has less than any of those other families and who is such a sweet person and doesn't feel bad or embarrassed about my doing this (I actually put aside a small amount of money out of each paycheck each year to do this as this is actually the biggest chunk of my Christmas budget.)
-- my brother will get a box of Harry and David pears for his family
-- stopped gifts to nieces and nephews a few years back, as they are all grown up (in 20s and 30s as I wanted to cut back on Christmas spending). When DH was working I would send them cash for a dinner out and a movie- (feel comfortable financially now, but felt a little more flush then as DH pre retirement was covering some things in the family budget that I now cover from my paycheck -- Still feel like I have decent disposable income for sure, but it's less disposable income for me than before) That seemed an obvious cut back.
That leaves just two people to buy for that I a haven't thought about what to get yet (This thread is making me start thinking about this)
-- What to get my dad who will be 84 (both B-day which is around Thanksgiving and Christmas) -- doesn't have to be big, but I'd really like to get him something little for each of these occasions
-- What to get my 25 year old son. (For my son, we do a lot for him though out the year, so again it doesn't need to be anything big, but he is so enthusiastic / fun -- adores Christmas, and I love to get him something little he'd like and be surprised by).
Anyway, this thread now has me planning to put aside the monies I will want to have on hand for the rest of my Christmas spending and has me starting to think in the back of my mind at least about what I might want to get for my dear dad and dear son. I will be reading this thread in detail for ideas.