As I Start My Holiday Planning

As I start my holiday planning I am really enjoying the memories. One of the really funny things that happens every Christmas is that on Christmas morning my husband will see something neat that the children recieved and ask who gave it to them. The hilarious thing is that somehow he always manages to ask about something we gave them, lol! He honestly doesn't remember what we gave them, and we don't even give them a whole lot! It is so funny, I always say we did and he is like, "oh". You might be wondering if I consult David about what I buy, yes I do. I ask and show him the things I purchased, but he just doesn't remember. It is so funny to me.

So far I have bought one really large gift and some smaller ones for the children. I have also bought some things for family and friends. Something I am trying this year, is wrapping the things right away when I bring them home. Of course I have to label them to or else this wouldn't work to well! I have about 7-8 things wrapped, so not a whole lot. But if I am consistent I won't ever have to do any long wrap sessions which I really don't like.

Another thing I need to do is to get my holiday planner printed and ready. I keep track of Christmas cards, gift ideas, gifts purchased, favorite recipes, stocking stuffers etc. I also keep a record of all I have spent on Christmas. This helps me to budget better. Hopefully next year I will do better on budgeting. This is going to be our first totally cash Christmas, so I am not sure how that will affect things. So far I have been blessed with things I have found. Hopefully that will continue.

And this reminds me that I really have been enjoying my Budget Map checkbook register. It is starting to really help me see where our money goes. I am seeing that even though I do waste some, we also just have a very tight budget. I do think that it is a bit expensive and can't see one box making it a full year as the advertisement says. I am going to try to create my own sheet that is set up the same way that I can print out. I just can't see spending that much all the time. But we'll see.