12 Days of Christmas

For Christmas this year, we didn't plan on spending a lot on our two girls or on each other. My husband and I both thought at the beginning of the season that we would get a tablet and call that our big present...but when it came down to it, that money is needed in so many other places (one of these days we will be out of the dark ages, I swear). So we vowed to only do stocking stuffers/less than $50 each for the family. Well, I don't know if we stayed completely within that goal, BUT we did do a lot of homemade gifts for the girls (more on that later), and I did a lot for my husband. My biggest surprise was that my husband would not get one day of presents...but 12! I saw the idea online and knew I had to do it.

The idea is so simple. 12 days of presents to show your love for your spouse (or kid, or mom, or whoever you want). They don't have to be expensive, they don't have to be a lot of work, even. There are so many ideas out there, so you can tailor them to your special someone (that phrase always makes me think of Elf!). You also don't have to do this just at Christmas time. You can do it for birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, whatever!

Here is what I did for my husband's twelve days of presents. It was completely affordable:

1. One Jar of Caramel Sauce (I used This recipe...and it was delicious. My husband loves caramel)
2. Dinner for TWO (it was a Friday and my mom could watch the kids! We had a giftcard so we got to eat out :)
3. Time to watch the Star Wars Trilogy (yeah, my hubby is a Star Wars nerd...I even watched it with him).
4. 4 tiny handprints (traced all of my girls' hands and colored them. Then I wrote "The best things in life aren't things" over it. I also served it with Breakfast in bed)
5. 5 new blades (a 5 bladed razor that, yes, I already had from couponing...so definitely cheap that time)
6.A six pack of soda (I was going to go for Jones Soda, but apparently my walmart didn't have any, so I did Cream Soda, which my husband loves (and we almost never get because I'm not such a fan).
7. Seven rounds of games together (which also happens to be date night. Score on that coincidence!)
8. 8 treats delivered to work (Making microwave caramels)
9. 9(00) laughs (a calvin a hobbes book used from Amazon made this very affordable!)
10. Ten things I love about you (I typed up a list of things I love and put it in a frame we already had).
11. 11 massage coupons
12. 12 months of Dates! (You can read about this Here. I basically planned a date for each month!)


I am loving doing this so much that I am thinking of doing it for my hubby's birthday in March. Hopefully this has given you some fun inexpensive ideas for presents! Remember, it's the thought that counts! :)