Live Wholeheartedly

I have never really budgeted for most holidays before. With one child, I was just able to spend what I could, and stop when I had to. With 4 children, however, holidays definitely present a whole new challenge, with the latest being Easter of course. I can't just pick things up randomly until I feel there's enough anymore...I have to be fair, make sure everyone has the same amount of goodies in their basket. This means deciding on a budget and splitting it accordingly. This is the hard part for me. Because I've never paid attention to how much I've spent before on one basket, I don't know what's a realistic amount to spend on 4. Since we are trying to be much more budgeted and smart with our money this year (with goals of a Disney vacation and paying off some credit cards), I am also trying to limit it and not go overboard as I have tended to do in the past.

The other thing I'm taking into consideration with our budget this month, is that I would really like to purchase a Wii Fit Plus, to help with one of our other goals of getting healthier this year. So, after taking that into account I settled on a budget of $100 - $150 for all 4 baskets. It's all relative and that might seem like a fortune to you, or it might seem like a pittance, but it is what I decided we can comfortably work with. My goal, or mission as you will, is going to be to stick to the lower end at $100. That is $25 for each kids' basket and has to include the basket, grass and all goodies that will be included. I am going to make a game out of it...trying to find the least expensive but most usable items I can. I have vowed to buy none of that crap filler that ends up at the bottom of the toy bin...you know what I mean! Yes they make cheap fillers and filling their basket with cheap crap would go a long way towards making my goal, easily. But I do not want any more "junk" in our house that ends up in the garage sale or goodwill pile, never used.

I will also not be wasting my hard-working dollars on Easter-ized items that are more expensive than their "normal" counterparts. A prime example of what I'm talking about are the Bunny-head or Egg shaped sidewalk chalk for $2-3, which is cute and useable, but regular sidewalk chalk (which I plan on including because my kids LOVE it) is only $2 for a much larger variety. Yes the kids might ooh & ahh over the cute shape, but I have a feeling they'd much rather have more chalk, and in more colors in the long run.

So that is my mission...the money is now burning a hole in my wallet so I will start picking things up over the next few days/weekends. I will definitely be posting how I do...good or bad. Stay tuned!

Love,

Mariah