Christmas Gifts

We are buying gifts for a short list of immediate family members only - six people in all.  My original goal was to spend less than $100 on Christmas gifts this year. Hubby & I hadn't planned to buy anything for each other. 

I decided to splurge on something that I know he's been wanting, and spent $300. I think he'll be pleasantly surprised, but it is rather pricey. 

We'd purchased a gift for Hubby's father a few months ago, but his sister suggested going in on a gift for his parents. We can use the gift we purchased for another occasion, perhaps Father's Day, but it'll mean more money right now. We're still waiting on the final dollar amount, but it'll be somewhere in the $30-50 range. 

I found several items for my mom and sister, and was able to match up some coupons with sales. I ended up buying a few extra things (some of which I'll put away for a later date), but it cost $60. 

I still need to find something for my dad and for my brother-in-law. I can get something fairly inexpensive for BIL, but it'll be a bit harder for my dad. I want to get something that he'll enjoy, and it'll mean spending more than budgeted (but would at least be consistent with what we've spent on other family). 

Upcoming Parties

The next few weeks are filled with social events. We've got a housewarming party tomorrow, and a small birthday gathering on Sunday. Later in the month, I've got a bachelorette party to attend, and then a wedding later that same weekend. 

I've purchased a small item for the wedding, and I'll probably end up buying the rest off their registry. I'm leaning towards not bringing a gift for the bachelorette party, since it's just a small group of people going out drinking. 

I have no clue what to buy for a housewarming gift that's nice yet inexpensive - we never had a housewarming party when we moved in, and none of our friends (or extended family) brought us any gifts. I know there's always a bottle of wine or houseplants, but I wanted something other than those. 

Wedding Bells

For those in the mid-20s age range, it seems like every year is filled with weddings and baby showers. It looks like 2010 is going to be the year of weddings... another person just called tonight to announce their new engagement. 

I'd planned on being able to set aside some money next year towards major home repairs & renovations, to the tune of about $15,000. 

With these upcoming weddings, I think we might have to scale that back and only tackle one of the planned projects. Of the weddings that I'm aware of, I'm expecting that I'll be in the bridal party for at least two of them... and costing us a significant chunk of change for each! 

Bridesmaid's dress ($150). Bridesmaid shoes & accessories ($75). Dress alterations ($150). Up-do hairstyle ($50-75). Possibly nails (?). Bridal shower. Bridal shower gift. Bachelorette party. Wedding gift. Hotel accommodations for wedding night. 

Based on previous weddings that I've been in, the cost has been about $1000 *PLUS* the wedding gift. Yikes! 

Anniversary Gifts

I've been pondering over anniversary gift ideas for awhile now, and debating whether I should buy anything at all. We did just take a short trip, and we bought a few souvenirs for my husband (and I think he'd be happy counting those as an anniversary gift). 

But I do want him to do something special for me, and I'd feel too selfish if I expected that of him but didn't do something in return. He's hinted at a few things he'd like, but they're all in the $100-400 range, which is way more than I want to spend. I'd love to buy him the things that he really wants, but I'd much rather be that much closer to having the credit card debts paid off.

One of the items he's mentioned is a new wedding band. The one he wants retails for around $300 at the local jewelry stores, and is online for $100. I searched on eBay and found one that looks identical for only $25. Now that's definitely in my price range! 

The listing said that it's brand new, and that the metals are genuine. I'm a little dubious, because it seems too good to be true, but I know jewelry tends to be marked up quite heavily, so I guess it's possible. I'm just hoping that it arrives soon, and that it is what the listing claimed. I don't think I'll tell hubby how much I paid for it though!