Christmas is just around the corner! I can’t believe it! I hope you and your family all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great time with our family eating yummy turkey and all the trimmings!
I wanted to write a post on how to save money on children’s presents. I will be honest, we have spent a bit more than I intended on the kids’ Christmas presents this year, but I did great with saving for their birthday presents. Even though I spent a little more than anticipated for Christmas, I still feel like I saved some money here and there.
Typically, I have three rules that help me save on gifts for my own kids.
1. Shop Used
We have really awesome consignment sales here twice a year. I got almost all of my kids’ birthday presents at the consignment sale. If I had thought ahead, I could have set some aside for Christmas, too. The stuff I got looks almost brand new and I paid so little for it.
For example, I got my son the Fisher Price Little People Barn for only $8. It has all of the animals and there is nothing wrong with it. The price brand new is $39.99! My kids absolutely love it!
I also got my daughter what I think is the coolest teapot ever. The Fisher Price Laugh and Learn teapot makes all kinds of fun noises including pouring noises when you turn it over. I paid $6 for the whole tea set and they typically go for $19.99!
Those are just two examples of how I saved on used toys. My kids are young enough that they will not balk at a used toy. I realize older kids may not like this option so much, so…
2. Do Your Homework
When it comes to saving on children’s presents, it is best to do your homework. Shop around and try to find a good deal. I complained on my Facebook page about the outrageous cost of Sesame’s Street’s Let’s Rock Elmo. When it first came out it was going for $59.99 and that didn’t include any of the extra instruments! Right now, Walmart and Target have it marked down to $54.88, I believe. Well, I decided I really wanted to get it for my daughter because she absolutely loved the demo in the store. I was able to snag it on Amazon for $49.99. Now, I realize this isn’t a huge savings, but a little is something.
We do this with just about all of our big purchases. My husband has an app on his iPhone called ShopSavvy that allows him to scan the barcode of an item and compare prices to other stores. It’s really cool!
3. Ask Friends
Sometimes you will find that friends who have kids that are older than yours are willing to give away or sell at a very slim price big items. I really wanted to get my kids a play kitchen for their birthdays, but my mom had a friend who had an awesome play kitchen that her kids had outgrown. Well, my mom was able to get it and it’s been really awesome! The kids love it and it would probably cost over $100 to buy it new!
How do you save on kids’ presents?
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