On Christmas, we are usually traveling to see family. There is something serene about traveling Christmas day. The roads are practically empty and many stores are closed. It is a nice break from the chaos of shopping and Christmas parties.

Coming back is as not as serene but at least the trip there is calm. It has become our Christmas tradition. We open presents and then are usually on the road by noon. It’s about a four hour trip that usually takes five with all the stops along the way. I always enjoy our holiday travel. It gives us a nice ride to get ready for the next Christmas celebration.

Every Christmas I start with a modest budget that always grows as Christmas draws closer. The problem is that I forget to put some people on my Christmas list. Then I’m really in a bind since my money is spent but still need a few presents.

When I need a cheap Christmas present, I buy useful items. One of the handiest, cheapest items around is a magnetic shopping list notepad. These cost about $1 and are really handy. When I need something, I can write it down at the refrigerator. I always know where I wrote down the grocery list.

Food is always a nice gift – like hot cocoa. It’s cheap and it will certainly be consumed in cold weather.

Also another inexpensive gift is mini-tool kits. I buy one each year for the house. I usually lose a lot of parts throughout the year. But it’s not big loss since I can get another one for $5.

There are some board games that are inexpensive, too. There are several portable versions of a game that run less than $10. Games are always fun.

Those are just a few ideas for cheap Christmas gifts. What is your go-to-cheap gift for the holidays?

This year we will once again have an artificial tree. We have only had one real tree in all the years we’ve been married. It is just easier to deal with an artificial one especially with kids and pets. But I still remember the smell of the live tree. The apartment always smelled like Christmas.

This week I plan to clean out a spot for the tree. I also need to do a lot of cleaning and sorting. We have to make room for all the new toys for Christmas. Also I want my house clean and neat for Christmas pictures.

Last year we had a small pink tree. We will probably use it again since we don’t have a lot of room. When we have a bigger place, then we will have another live tree.

Part of cleaning up is finding the Christmas tree and the Christmas decorations. Part of the decorations are stored in a red plastic box. It is easy to spot. The other stuff is in something else. This year I will get another red box, so next year it will be easy to pull Christmas decorations out from storage. Hopefully the tree won’t be too difficult. I have a feeling it’s in the small storage space that is crammed full. It is most likely in the back behind something so I will have to nearly empty the thing to get to it. That will be a task for a sunny day and warmer temperatures. Luckily we live in the south, so that pretty much describes the forecast most days.

December is always such a busy month. We have holiday parties, Christmas at my parent’s house, Christmas at our house, and finally Christmas with my hubby’s family. It is all very stressful. I never seem to have enough time to do all that I want to do.

I start out with the best intentions and then just rush at the end to get everything done. I always want to make gifts and then cut back on handmade items because of time. I love to crochet when it is cold. In the south, we have cold streaks that begin in mid-November and can last up to a day and a half. That’s not a lot of time to finish an afghan. So I try for smaller craft projects like a hat. Then I want to add a scarf that takes twice as long to make a hat. If I wasn’t so burned out on Christmas in January, I would get started on next year’s gifts.

Anyway it all seems to work out each Christmas somehow.

There is one day of the year that I relate to hunters who get up at 4am to go deer hunting. It is the day after Christmas when I leave my warm bed at 3:30am to get ready for those early bird sales. There is something magical about shopping on Black Friday. Finding that one deal you wanted is a wonderful feeling.

This year I didn’t set out to find one item. Black Friday shopping was pretty relaxed for me. I did make it to Target by 4:30am along with half the city. I didn’t know that building could hold so many people. I chose to go to Target first because they always seem to run out of their best deals really fast. This year they seem to actually have more items. I left Target empty-handed because the lines were way too long. I did make it back later in the morning and found most everything I was looking for.

Overall Black Friday was a good start for my Christmas shopping. I still have some left and am hoping to take advantage of some more deals.

Every year I set out to buy one Christmas outdoor display piece. Unfortunately I have not bought one yet. This year will hopefully be different. There are some wonderful Christmas displays in our neighborhood. It would be great to have a decorated yard for Christmas.

I’m thinking with our Christmas lights that we should have an overall theme. Since our daughter is still young, something kid centered like candy canes or Santa Claus would be cute. I really would like a theme since this will help with buying. Plus I think if all of the items are tied together, then the display is more appealing.

In one neighborhood, they have a really neat tradition. One street displays candy canes, so every yard has a candy cane. The next street will have Christmas trees. Then a third street does giant Christmas cards. It is simple but is really nice. We always drive by when looking at Christmas lights.

Decorating the yard could be a lot of fun for the whole family. We don’t have too many Christmas traditions, so it would be wonderful to set aside a certain day to decorate. We could bake cookies and just make a day of it.

This year we will have to buy something for the yard. I will have to consult with the ‘boss’ to see what she would like to get. Maybe it is because I have been on a diet but anything candy-related sounds divine. She doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth but maybe she will like the idea.

It is hard to believe that in a few short months, Christmas will be here. It seems every year I try to plan a little sooner since the holidays can be so hectic. It would be great to have everything taken care by the beginning of December. Last year, my daughter had some pretty hard-to-find items on her list. She wanted Zhu Zhu Pets and a ladybug Pillow Pet. Both items were nearly impossible to find.

This year I’ve decided to shop early and get those items that she really wants. I’m sharing her top 10 list of Christmas gifts since a lot of items she wanted last year were hot sellers. Maybe this can help those buying gifts for kids have an idea of what they might want. Plus all of these products are constantly advertised on Nickelodeon. If they watch Nick, then they are very familiar with these products.

Zoobles – Zoobles are best described as Bakugan for girls. My daughter is the one who explained Zoobles to me that they were like Bakugan. Zoobles come with a habitat and they come to life when placed on it. It’s magnetic, so the Zoobles open up out of their ball. One Zooble is comparable in price to Bakugan at $5.

Squinkies – Squinkies are small, cute toys that come in multi-packs. Each comes in a round container that is very reminiscent of bubble gum machine toys. Each round container has a surprise inside. They are animals, fairies, or objects. A small pack of Squinkies is under $5.

FurReal Frenzies – FurReal Frenzies are Hasbro’s answer to Zhu Zhu Pets. Frenzies are smaller, cheaper, and cuter. They comes in different animals and have a play set. Each play set comes with a Frenzy pet. FurReal Frenzies

Legend of Nara Battle Bugs – My daughter loves insects and when this commercial comes on, she always mentions she wants these. Battle Bugs are realistic motorized insects that that do battle in the battle arena play set.

LEGO Minotaurus game – This is one of many new LEGO games that you build and then play. You can then change the layout and play again. Apparently the pieces are Lego-sized so that could cause some issues with tiny hands. The game is most closely related to Sorry! – which is a game I love but would probably frustrate my four-year-old to no end.

Batman Trio Batcave – This Trio set has my daughter intrigued. She really like a lot of boys toys, so it’s no surprise that this caught her eye. I do like that these building toys are age appropriate for her, and it’s Batman – one of my favorite DC characters. This gift just might make the short Christmas list.

Moxie dolls Magic Snow – I have to admit that I cringe a little when she mentions she wants Moxie dolls and their magic snow maker. First I think of the potential mess from fake snow, and then I think how Moxie dolls just look too much like Bratz. If it works have as well as in the commercial, then it might be a fun toy. That might be a huge if though.

Fin Fin Friends – These small fishes come in a variety of styles like the dog fish, whale, and catfish. You can buy them a play set water world where they swim and play. The play sets are around $20 and extra fish are about $6.

Zhu Zhu Kung Fu – Zhu Zhu Pets were all the rage last year. This year they have Zhu Zhu Kung Fu with battle arenas. The appeal is definitely to boys but I’m sure there will be many girls clamoring for these as well. My daughter can’t be the only one. They started advertising these last summer as part of movie previews. Zhu Zhu Kung Fu has been well advertised that is for sure.

Disney Rapunzel Braiding Friends Hair Braider – Disney’s new movie Tangled will be released before Christmas, so it stands to reason that merchandise from the movie will be a good seller. From the commercial, it looks like this set comes with the braider, Rapunzel, and some small animals. I have a feeling that my daughter is more interested in the small animals than anything else. I still love Barbie, so she can play with the small animals and I will take Barbie.

She has added even more items to her list but these are the ones that she really mentions a lot. Some items on this list are sure to be big sellers and harder to find once Christmas gets closer. It is time to think ahead now to make sure we are not scrambling for gifts in December.

Every year I make New Year’s resolutions and keep none of them.

This year I’ve decided to scale back on what I plan to resolve in hopes that I can actually keep those throughout the year. My biggest resolution is to be more organized. There is no telling how much time I spent in 2009 looking for scissors, pens, tape, etc. It’s not only the time spent searching but the frustration that builds from not being able to locate said item in less than a minute. We own way too much stuff that we will never use. This is where rummage sales, eBay, and thrift stores come into play. If I can sell it then I just need to donate it. Live a simpler and less cluttered life. Dream the dream and make it happen in 2010.

I also plan to lose weight but refuse to diet. Why? It never fails. When I start a diet, 3 weeks later I am sick. When I get sick I fall off the diet since I have no energy or desire to follow the diet plan. So this year I will be eating less and exercising more but it’s not a diet.

Or I could follow my husband’s lead and make no New Year’s resolutions. Now that is a sure fire method for keeping resolutions. But hopefully by just concentrating on two items I will have some success.

Santa must have approved of the cookies and chocolate milk because he left the little girl exactly what she had wanted. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas!

I have to admit that I hate to wrap Christmas presents. Love buying them but loathe the wrapping part. I wrap gifts usually the day that I give them – which is a habit that I wish I could break. I blame my lack of enthusiam for wrapping presents on not having a proper place to wrap gifts. If only I had a nice, big kitchen table to lay out everything the process would be so much easier. Oh well. At least for now I will just make due with the setup I have – wrapping presents on the bed as it is the largest clean surface in our home.

Last year some friends had a gift wrapping party where everyone brought the gifts they needed to wrap. Then everyone wrapped their gifts together. You still had to wrap but at least there was company.

One trick to keep from wrapping presents is to just use gift bags. If the gift doesn’t fit, then I keep looking for a gift that will. Besides a gift bag is like two gifts in one since it seems everyone keeps gift bags to reuse for their own gifts.

One thing that does get me motivated to wrap presents is the feeling of accomplishment once I’m done. Let’s hope I get done before Christmas Eve.