Presents Under the Tree

I didn't think we'd have presents this year. But the tree is surrounded!

1. A stranger showed up last week with a large bag full of presents from an anonymous giver. We're still scratching our heads over that one.
2. Nathan's folks sent presents for Alia, Katie, and Nathan. Those currently are sitting under our tree, as the kids don't have a tree at their apartment.
3. Yee-haw for the dollar store!
4. Some of the items under the tree are not really presents. For instance, there are a few textbooks that should've been cracked a couple of weeks ago, but we wrapped them up instead and are calling them gifts.
5. Another yee-haw for sales and "here's-$10-to-spend" coupons. I bought a $30 gift today for $4.
6. And "wow!" for the gift cards available. With sale prices and a coupon and some Kohl's Cash from a friend, I bought two gifts (worth $150) for less than $10. We came out of Target with a $50 family-gift that Maggie paid $15 for. We hit up Best Buy and paid a whole dollar for $28 worth of fun stuff.
7. I'm not spending money we don't have for gifts that people don't need. But I do have stuff that I made over the summer that I can give to the older kids so that they can have something for Christmas.
8. A homeschooling friend wanted to get rid of a "5-minute toy." It looks like it will be amusing for an afternoon or a week. All we had to do was buy the batteries.

Thanks to some generous friends and last-minute shopping, we found some non-frivolous (but enjoyable and helpful) gifts so that everyone will have at least one thing to open on Christmas afternoon. That is so cool!