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.