I Got Everything I Wanted For Christmas!

I got everything I wanted for Christmas!  Did you? 

I’m a practical person with no illusions about grand holiday gifts.  And ever since I started working as a teenager, I drove my mother crazy at the holidays.  She would start asking around October or so, what I would like for Christmas.  Of course, I would have a list.  But that same list was my “wish list” of sorts and I would purchase items on the list as money allowed making my mother furious.  I never did figure out that I needed to give her a different list.  I wonder how many times she had to take something back. . .

Now, I’m married and have a family.  I told the husband all I wanted for Christmas was new black socks.  In fact, I was explaining the type of socks to him while waiting for one of the boy’s holiday concerts to start and the mom in front of me started laughing as she had a similar conversation with her mother.  My black socks, part of the daily winter uniform of black socks and white turtleneck, had holes, or lost partners.  It had become a challenge to find black socks in the morning and sometimes I ended up wearing navy. 

The husband came through bringing home 3 pairs of black socks after I had sent him to the store with an example.  He even added in a pair of tan socks—for my non black wearing days. 

Another gift the husband came home with was a lovely red cardigan sweater from Christopher and Banks.  I called our local store and asked if they had the sweater in the color and size I wanted.  They did!  I then completed the transaction over the phone including using a $15 off coupon making the total for the sweater $5 and change as the sweater was already 40% off!  All the husband needed to do was pick-it up (he said they were waiting for him when he came into the store and handed him the sack), bring it home, and put it under the tree.

Another item on my wish list was a new pair of winter boots.  These actually came after Christmas as I ordered them on-line from HSN as they were a Today’s Special sometime after the holidays.  Oh, and I found an on-line coupon saving $10 and made money back by shopping through one of my favorite money saving/making sites—Ebates.com (and there's a great $10 sign-up bonus!)

The husband’s mom delivered with her annual gifts of passes to our local pool/waterpark.  A gift that keeps on giving and a bargain when purchased in the middle of winter.  But, I had an additional gift—a heating pad.  Huh?  Okay—there are times when I get so cold that I go to bed after a hot shower with a hat on, wearing pajamas and a robe that have been warmed in the dryer and covered with a blanket that has also been warmed in the dryer.  It isn’t often, thank goodness.  And, then there are those times of the month when a heating pad can bring on major relief.  I have one that I keep at work, so while the husband and his mom were holiday shopping, they happened upon a heating pad and it became a holiday gift for me!

Add a new pair of slippers—free from Amazon using gift cards earned through Swagbucks, a pair of brown boots (no more hot gluing on the heel), a new skillet purchased at Kohl’s using a $10 off coupon, and two new sets of flannel sheets—one from Kohl’s using another $10 off coupon and another set on clearance at Target. 

Only the slippers, new red sweater, and heating pad were under the tree.  All the rest, I took care off—crossing them off the list as I went.  Oh, that would have driven my mother crazy!