1/29/10



This is the post where I give you life or death information on how to buy a cheap birthday present. There are so many of you who are going to finish strong in January after participating in 30 Days of Nothing. I am overwhelmed by everyone's hard work and discipline. I'd say January went well for us, but we hit a ginormous (my kids most favorite word that isn't really a word) roadblock.

We were invited to 4 birthday parties this weekend. Actually, let me rephrase that. My kids were invited to 4 birthday parties. My social calendar can hear the crickets chirping.

I debated long and hard about creating cute little coupons for gifts like, "This entitles you to a playdate and ice cream cone with Lily." But I could feel my creative juices shriveling up the more I thought about it, and it was a matter of "spend money now" versus "spend money next week." So I went ahead and bought 4 different presents.

However, I still tried to get the most bang for my buck. I went to Hobby Lobby and found plain canvas bags for $2.99. Inside the bag I put a pink T-shirt ($2.99), feather boa (.99), beaded necklaces (.50), and a pack of fabric markers. The idea is they get to color and decorate their T-shirts and bags. I also found polka-dot bandannas for .99 cents and stuck one of those in there. The entire gift totaled less than $12.00, but I like that it's a dress-up/craft/use it over and over again gift. I have 4 different bags lined up on our counter, ready to go. We're ready to rumble.

6 comments:

Bekka-Reeeeeeee said...

You are officially invited to my birthday in July! Those are AWESOME gifts! I totally wish I would have gotten something like that when I was a kid! Way to go, Cathy!

M and M said...

Fabulous idea! I always suffer around the whole birthday ritual of giving giving giving (and the subtext stuff about who shows up with the most glam gift) - your idea rocks and it is in the spirit of 30 days. Nice!

cathy said...

I hear you, M and M. I also balk at anything Miley Cyrus or High School Musical b/c girls are BETTER than that! It's hard to find good gifts that are outside the box but still thoughtful and practical.

Vivi said...

How about you raise some money for bday gifts by selling some of your creativity to me? I will sweeten the deal by throwing in numerous invites to come over to my house for FREE coffee and British banter, which will greatly help both of our social calendars.

Bridget said...

Cathy, you'd be proud of me! I just went to my niece's birthday party this morning and created a special "Fiona's Art Box" kind of present. I loaded it with glue, tape (what 3 year old doesn't like tape??), foamie-stuff, feathers, beads, yarn, etc. It was a HUGE hit...and my 5 year old niece actually CRIED b/c she wanted it so badly. Luckily her birthday is next week and I know what I'm getting her! Total cost? FREE.
Thanks for your inspiration....and that chirping noise you keep hearing??? WHEN are we meeting up????

cathy said...

definitely proud!!!!!