I don't post on The Non-Consumer Advocate very often, but I do read it all the time.  I did post today though, on "Five Frugal Things."  

I am the keeper of the gift bags in my family.  This year I made sure to tell both my sisters and mom to not buy any gift bags.  Instead my bin made the rounds. A couple of them came loose at the seams so I'm going to glue those back.  I also used maps to wrap my nephew's gifts.  I've been using them since he was little, and since he's a senior in high school, it seemed fitting to use the last of them.  

We scaled down Christmas due to a very expensive year and also because none of us really need/want much.  This year we had big medical bills, a new roof, new gutters, tree work, and a new car.  Dh and I only exchanged stockings, which consisted of candy and 3 books each.  I bought my books off Thriftbooks, while dh chose to patronize an independent bookstore.  One frugal, one not, but both wins to us. 

My 83 year old mil has dementia, and while she is still able to live by herself and take care of her own ADLs,  she's not able to drive, shop, make any important decisions independently, and of course she has memory issues.  So she looks to me to buy Christmas gifts for family.  This year I decided to use some of the gift cards she had been gifted years ago and would never use.  This took care of 4 gifts.  She regifted:  $30 Burger King, $50 Cracker Barrel, $25 Visa, $25 Kroger.  

I did go to WM a couple days after Christmas, but only bought ornament hooks for my mil and a box of soft peppermint candies for myself. By the way, I don't use ornament hooks at all because I always worried the dogs or cats would get them in their mouths/paws and I don't care for the look of them anyway.  Instead I use pieces of ribbon.  Of course it's never been an issue with the pets because somehow, even with a puppy and kittens, none of them has ever bothered our ornaments! After watching video of so many destructo-cats, I am always pleasantly surprised when my cats still just choose to lay under the trees.  Even when I have foster kittens, they are very good with the tree.  They sometimes play with a few of the ornaments on the bottom that dangle, so I always put some sacrificial ornaments there (plastic ones).  

Husband had to work Christmas unfortunately, but at least he got paid time and a half for it.  We did our Christmas on the 24th and the whole family was happy with that.  

I order my litter and cat food from Chewy. and I was glad to use a $30 promotional gift card and $10 promo code for sending a letter to Chewy Clause on my latest order. 


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