The True Meaning of Christmas

Has nothing to do with presents.

I know this.

You know this.

Honestly though, can't the presents be kind of fun?

Granted, Gemma is not to the age yet where she is demanding Zhu Zhu Pets, or a Wii, or whatever other "must-have" toy that the big kids are clamoring for, so there is very little pressure on me. I am sure the lack of pressure makes the situation much more enjoyable than it would be otherwise.

I am TOTALLY broke this year (I guess that is what unemployment does!) but fortunately I have been able to manage, through a few serendipitous events that somehow ended up with me having money in my hands, to put together what I think will be a pretty nice "Baby's First Christmas" for the Gemma Bean.

With some inspiration from Katie at My Story Is Not Over, I decided to share with you some of the presents (and deals!) I have gotten this year.

So Gemma's "big" present this year is an Excersaucer. I went back and forth on an Exersaucer vs. a Jumperoo vs. a walker. I knocked the walker out of the running early on (I have heard they are dangerous, my sister even said they were illegal in Canada!) and was down to the Exersaucer vs. the Jumperoo.

Eventually I went with:

An Excersaucer that was originally $69.99, on sale at Babies R Us for $59.98, but I paid only $45 dollars for it on clearance at Baby Depot!

I was still concerned that she would miss out on the fun jumpiness of the Jumperoo so I also got her this from Baby Depot:

This "Jenny Jump Up" was only $20 and it just hooks up to the door frame. I feel like I got the best of both worlds and I only paid $65 for both which is even better!

(I just want to insert that yes, I realize that I was/am totally over thinking this considering Gemma is too little to be interested in more than the paper, if that, but it is her first Christmas and I am entitled to a little craziness!)

I also got her around four or five other toys, one of my favorites being this:

Taggies ring stacker. Each of the animals does something (rattles, squeaks, laughs) and the bottom ring plays music. I think Gemma is going to LOVE this, she was trying to grab at it while I was wrapping it up. I got a great price for this too, I only paid $15 for it at Tuesday Morning. When I looked it up online to find the picture the price ranged anywhere from $25-$40 so again, I am really happy with my deal.

I tried not to go overboard with the toys and tried to get things that served different developmental purposes because I realize the function of the toy is what important and slight variations (elephant stuffy vs. giraffe stuffy) will be lost on her at this point.

I also got her clothes. While a lot of her toys were "close out" items, I tried to avoid getting clothes on clearance. It seems as if clothes go on clearance once they are out of season and what kind of sense would that make, if she can only wear them for a very short time?

I also am afraid to buy clearance clothes ahead of time (as in for next year during the appropriate season) because since Gemma is small-ish I think it might be difficult to predict her sizes for future seasons. I don't want to completely waste money if the seasons won't match up.

Is there a trick to buying clearance baby clothes that I don't know?

Among my favorite clothing purchases for Gemma were DARK WASH SKINNY JEANS (totally my style, be still my heart :)) and this really cute red vest that I can't seem to find a picture of online. It is really cute though. The clothes were buy two get one free so I got six really cute pieces for around $50 (okay, so this wasn't a GREAT deal but it wasn't too bad either).

I also got a few more odds and ends including a stocking and random fillers (bath mits, socks, teethers, etc.), a snow suit, and some books.

Does this seem about right for Baby's First Christmas? Is is too much or too little? Is there anything I forgot?

Oh, the joys of Christmas!

P.S. Look for a post dedicated to Gemma soon, I realize I have been yammering a lot about myself lately but we all know who the true star of this blog is! This whole mommy thing is becoming an old hat but I don't want to let myself take these moments for granted, She is really evolving and changing everyday in little minuscule ways and I don't want to forget what she was like "before," ya know?