ChiKat

Ha! I thought of a non-baby entry! Are you thrilled? Because I worked very hard to pull my head out of my uterus.

It's almost Thanksgiving! Which means that it is almost Christmas! I love Christmas with a mad passion, the type of passion reserved for someone who doesn't focus on the religious aspects at all (that sound you hear is my Catholic mother sobbing) and can concentrate all of her energies on gift-giving.

Yes, I am the person that sincerely religious people bemoan as missing the "real meaning" of Christmas.

It's totally true. I dumped the real meaning by the wayside to make room in my car for more gifts.

After years of holiday shopping, I have my own system down to a science. This system is not for the faint of heart, but because I love you, I am willing to share it with you.

You're a girl, aren't you? I'm convinced all my male readers left…well, probably three days ago.

Here are the rules to gift buying:

1. Decide how much you can spend on the entire holiday. You must do this first. Your Christmas gift to yourself is starting the new year without holiday debt.

2. Write down every person you need to buy a gift for, including the annoying grab bag gifts that you have to give at parties in exchange for gifts you will never use.

3. If you have kids on the list, include their ages. Otherwise, you will buy a Lamaze toy for a 10-year-old.

4. Start with the grab bags, since they usually have set spending limits. Fill out the amount you are supposed to spend on those gifts. Tally it up and deduct that from your total amount available to spend.

5. Divvy up the remaining amount between all the people on your list. If I run out of money, I usually knock off $5 or $10 from the amount I am going to spend on the grab bag gifts, because I know that I will get those gifts on sale. The original amount might match the total I was supposed to spend, even if I got it on sale.

6. Once you have individual amounts that don't exceed the total budget, start hunting for gifts that fit that price. The hardest thing is not going over budget. If you find something that is totally perfect for so-and-so but is over-budget, figure out who gets a smaller gift so you stay within your budget BEFORE you buy the perfect gift for so-and-so.

7. Carry the budget and your latest tally of gifts with you at all times. If you find something when you are least expecting it, you'll know if you can afford it. Remember, the most important gift is giving yourself a debt-free new year.

My dog agrees with this strategy and is willing to help wrap: