Well, its that time of year again, and with the current condition of the economy the holidays will be a little rougher this year. Every year my Christmas list only grows so I'm going to share a few ways I've gotten around the extra spending. First on my list is my newest addition to my Christmas list, my 5 month old baby boy, now since at this age he will inevitably be more interested in eating the box that any toy came in than he will be the toy itself, I'm thinking a small book case for his room is the way to go. I have found 3 shelf bookcases for under $20 at a couple of stores, I can add a few wall stickers which usually run $12-15 to at least make it fun for him to look at (or if your artistic painting it is a great option) and I'll probably furnish it with a few picture books which I'm sure he'll also be more interested in eating than looking at (I'm thinking teething cookies may be a good stocking stuffer for him) but that will leave room for the undoubtedly loud and annoying toys he will surely get from the family. I can also usually find the little plastic keys and cellphone toys for somewhere between $5 and $10 and those are usually well liked. Next I have 2 girls, ages 5 and 6 to buy for, like most girls their age they love coloring, barbies, littlest pet shop and my little ponies. This year a couple of stores have had their Black Friday ads leaked early (You should be able to find them by Googling Black Friday) -Now, while I despise the idea of getting up at 4 am and battling crowds of people that are certainly not in the "Christmas Spirit", the savings are pretty good & if I can save quite a bit of money by dealing with early hours and tons of people then I will also be attending the fiasco - but with a game plan. The ads I've seen are for Kmart, Sears and Khols - for my lists I'll be hitting Khols first, they open at 4 am & have great deals on Barbie & Littlest Pet Shop toys, I can cover most of my girls plus pick up a few of the novelty bath sets for stocking stuffers and a perfume or fragrance set, and maybe a couple of picture frames for a few other people on my list. Kmart has early specials (they open at 6) $10 mp3 players work well for teenage nieces, several Crayola sets would finish off my little artists, Nerf guns for nephews, A door mount basketball hoop at $19 is definitely on my list for our oldest boy and the DVD's and back massagers on sale should cover boyfriends, fathers, brothers etc. Now here's where I get to make up for getting up early and battling crowds, my son is obsessed with Lego Star Wars, some of the sets are pretty inexpensive and some get very pricey. Amazon.com has a good variety of the sets and is priced well plus most of them are eligible for free shipping - why would I bother going to the store? Also, I read that some stores are running out of the Zhu Zhu pets & they were available on Amazon still last I checked. Both of our boys are info Bakugan which is on the Kmart ad buy 2 get 1 free but if you plan on avoiding the stores that day they also have them on Amazon at decent prices & many are also eligible for the free shipping also (FYI there is a minimum amount you have to spend to get free shipping) and they have quite a few on there that I have never seen in a store around me so it gives you more options too.

Now, there's always people on your list that you don't have a ton of money to spend on and/or you cant figure out what to buy for them. I like to throw together baskets for a lot of these people. You don't have to spend a lot of money and you can definitely make it a nice personal gift. Start off with your basket - anything from a large coffee mug for something small, to a mixing bowl for someone that likes to bake, check your local dollar stores and craft stores, you can find plenty of options very cheap. The year my sister had her baby I made a date basket for her and her boyfriend since new parents rarely have time to themselves. I bought a large popcorn bowl that was used as my "basket" filled it with a box of microwave "Movie Theatre" style butter popcorn, boxes of Rasinettes and Goobers and other candy you find at the theater, a movie or two they both should like and a coupon for a night of babysitting I made on the computer - easy and inexpensive. My boyfriend loves ice cream more than anyone I've ever met over 9 years old, so his kids and I made him a sundae kit, I picked up 3 glass jars (similar to mason jars but bigger) a large ice cream bowl, an ice cream scoop, a jar of hot fudge sauce, a big container of different kinds of sprinkles and a few of his favorite kinds of candies. I had his kids crush the candies (in our case butterfingers, chocolate covered pretzels and peanut butter cups) and we filled the crushed candies into each of the jars and threw everything together in a gift bag. It was a gift he loved that his kids got to put together for him & were just as excited about giving to him.

There's a million ways to do it, boxes of cookies or candies, candles, Christmas ornaments, lotions, a deck of cards, potholders, mini bottles of liquor, fill in the bottom with individually wrapped chocolates, tie an ornament to the handle. You can find little pouches of flavored hot chocolates or coffees for around a dollar at Walmart or Target or the grocery store. I've found little picture frame ornaments for under $2, those are perfect additions for parents or grandparents. If you have an Old Time Pottery near you its a perfect place to pick up, mugs, glasses or bar ware depending on the kind of basket your making. There's a million ways to do it and do it inexpensively, the best baskets always include things the recipient loves not the most expensive items. Check out Oriental Trading Company for little novelty items for stocking stuffers, they have lots of cute toys, crafts, candies and great prices - I always check them out for party favors.

As far Christmas dinner goes Walmart has a great sale on Turkeys which I believe is until Thanksgiving, I'll be grabbing 2, one for each holiday. Or what I have done in the past is Christmas Day Brunch instead, a French Toast Casserole, Strata, Hash Browns, throwing some muffins in is easy and the pouches of mix are usually around a buck, I usually make a ham with brunch also. The French toast casserole and Strata can both be made the day before, thrown in the fridge overnight and tossed in the oven in the morning. I make my ham in a roaster and it always comes out great and is very easy. With mostly bread, eggs and potatoes your brunch will be pretty easy on your wallet, as far as your ham goes, make your own glaze and skip the spiral slicing and you'll definitely save money there also. Good luck with your shopping, Happy Holidays and here's to a prosperous New Year.

Update FYI: A Black Friday ad for Target is also out now and there are some really good deals in that one also - be sure to check it out.