Wrap me up!

This is my winter wonderland. J says it's the best tree we've ever done, and I have to agree. It's also the most beautiful-est that we've ever decorated.

But enough of that! Down to business. I've got great news! I'm done with 99 % of my Christmas shopping! Woo-hoo! This morning, I skipped the gym (my favorite spinning instructor was going to be out because she had to take a final), and headed to the Dolphin mall. I got all cute, or so I thought (it was like that Seinfeld episode with the pretty/ugly girl), and headed to the mall. I got there too early, though. They don't open until 10, and I was there at 9:45. But I managed to snag a primo parking spot. Well, kinda primo. It was under a tree, and apparently, it was the birds' toilet, as evidenced by all the poop on my car when I got back, but whatever.

Anyway, because we're broke, I went with a budget and a list, which I never do. Not that I ever have so much money that I never worry about it, but this time, I went with a plan and a specific dollar amount in my brain. To give you an idea, my budget was $200, and I had to buy for 12 people + my secret santa + tiny gifts for my 4 peeps, C, M, L, and K. Yikes! Can we do the math on that? That's $16.66/person, not including my secret santa or peeps. Now, let me clarify something. I don't think you have to spend a lot of money to give a good gift. I've received lots of inexpensive gifts that I have LOVED, and lots (okay, some) expensive gifts that I've HATED. But this year, I was going to have to get creative. Very creative.

Now, even with my miniscule budget, I tried super hard to get gifts that I thought people would enjoy. Here's a rundown:

• My nephews are easy -gift cards, ring 'em up.
• My dad and my father-in-law, piece of cake. Soft polos? Medium and Large. Or, um, Large and Medium. Thank you very much.
• My niece, C, cute stuff, with the tags, just in case, for easy returns. My feelings are never hurt.
• My niece, E, totally the easiest to shop for. Great deals on super cute accessories.
• My mother-in-law. One tough cookie. But I found a beautiful sweater. Well, I think it's lovely. She may think it's poop. That's why I bought it at a chain store and left the tags on. Better safe than sorry. (FYI, I already bought my mamacita a present last week so I didn't include her in the budget. No way was Smart Cookie going to forget her mama!)
• My sister. Creative shopping. But I think she'll like it.
• My sister's boyfriend. A lil' bit of a challenge, until I hit the Nike Outlet. Problem solved.
• My brother and his soon to be wife. Also a conundrum. Not a good idea to divide and conquer. Hmmm. Until I realized that they are usually broke, too, and would probably enjoy a gift certificate to a local restaurant. It wasn't for too much, but definitely something they could do.
• My secret Santa. Is. Going. To. Love. Her. Gift. LOVE.
• My peeps. Done, done, done, done.

So, I didn't stick to my budget. It was pretty impossible. I went $67 over. And that doesn't include a little something that I bought for J and a little something that I bought for me. I haven't even started really shopping for J. I'd love to buy him a TV, but that seems like wishful thinking. All he wants is for me to love him. That's a direct quote. :) Which is cute, but he needs a present or two or three. And I still have to buy presents for my class and for my Aunt M. But the bulk is taken care of. So put a bow on me and call it a day!