My yearly addiction has begun

Today I have come to the conclusion that I have a serious addiction. One that is somewhat costly, time consuming and gives me an instant thrill. Its called "Christmas Shopping".

I'm not talking about going out on November 24th and shopping till I drop. No, my problem is much worse. You see, sometime in mid September, I begin to feel this urge to search the clearance toy aisles at my favorite stores. I grab last minute deals and store them away for "future use". I get online and begin to research prices and ideas for the great gifts I might find for unsuspecting family members. Finally, I break down and open up my Christmas Shopping chart on my computer and begin to fill in those ideas, clothing sizes as well as delete or add gift-es to my list. It becomes my obsession soon after to find the perfect present and price so that I can put the satisfying "check mark" on my list. So far, I have every neice and nephew bought for but one, including the children I babysit.

Thats how sick I am.

Amazingly enough, my dear husband feeds into my addiction by admiring the "deals" I got on each item. Give me $20 and I can discover tremendous finds. Most of this stems from our lack of extra money for so many years. I had to find things as cheap as possible without looking cheap. The internet created a new world of discovery for me and with so many sites giving free shipping this time of year, it makes one less store I must search through. A lot of book clubs and cd clubs will offer tremendous prices if you purchase one item at full price so I will stock up on those type of things. Another great way I have saved money is to create gifts on my own. This year, I found a great deal on beanie babies and bought a bunch of them. Then I went to the store and found little baskets (on sale), some remnants of fleece for blankets (also marked down) and with some paint, scissors and a little time, I have a sweet gift for the little girls in our family. I also enjoy making personal gifts from our kids for the grandparents.


Though my addiction may seem more like a huntress stalking her prey, after Christmas it seems I settle back into my normal shopping patterns.

That is...


Until the January clearance come out in my size!!!!