Gift Giving

Gift ideas? Do you do your shopping early?

This year, I'm mostly giving out handmade food stuffs because it's been such a poor year for us.

Most are getting either a tea mix that looks like that marbled sand stuff you play with in jars, plum preserves I made last summer in decorated jars, and bishop's bread.

Two are getting all three of those things plus aged cheese, cheese slicer, and rasberry mead in a basket.

I usually don't do any gifting since I don't want to receive gifts in return. That's what my friends and I decided. We'll buy stuff for $5, though.

The only person that know exactly what I want is me.

Well.. I impulse bought a new laptop for myself this morning... does that count? All I buy for is my family, and just one of my friends, because I love her. But I usually spend no more then 50 per person. Last year I spent 200 on my mother alone. Thats not happening again this year.

I get stuff for:

Uncle&Aunt
Cousin&Wife
Cousin&Husband
3 kid cousins once removed
2 special friends
Mom
Sister
Niece
and Brother

So that makes a total of 12 gifts.

6 of the gifts will be the aforementioned foods.
The kid gifts will probably be around ten dollars each--so that's $40.
Mom gets pedicure voucher $25
Brother gets the most expensive gift--$40. He gets the red sneakers he's been asking for all year.

My mom will probably split the costs with me on all except my brother's gift and her own gift.