She's Making a List.....

You know those crazy people who have their Christmas shopping done by October 1st?! Yeah, well, I am not one of them!

I try to start planning and shopping early in the year, but I never really get my act in gear until well into December. And actually, the fact that Scott and I have our Christmas shopping planned and mostly executed already is pretty much amazing! 

We have a nice list made of what we will be buying for each person (and thanks to an extremely tight budget, that list isn't long at all) and how much we will be spending.

Elliott is getting a lot less than she did last year, but it's probably good that we scale things back. 

She won't know the difference anyway. 

I do know that she'll understand opening presents a little more this year, and that is fun and exciting to me! 

So I carefully planned out what she would be getting this year. It's a mix of necessity and fun, and things I know that she'll love, all within a budget. And because Ellie can't read yet, here's a list of what she's getting for Christmas this year:

1. Clothes

I actually bought these for Ellie, but she didn't have to wait for Christmas to open them! Found here.

OK this one's no fun for the unsuspecting toddler, but it's a necessity. I often pick up clothes and pajamas in the next size up for her when I see them on sale. Instead of shoving them in the closet to wait to be worn, I might as well wrap them up and let her have fun opening them! I love finding good deals, and most of the clothes that will be under the tree were around $2-$4 per piece! Not bad ;)

2. A Play Kitchen

Found here.

This is Ellie's big gift this year. She has a playhouse already (my parents gave it to her for her birthday last year), and our house is fairly small, but I just know that she will love a play kitchen. Her imagination is out of control lately, and I can't wait to see what she does with this thing. And while toddlers sometimes have the attention span of a gnat, I'm hoping a toy like this will keep her entertained for a decent amount of time.

3. Food and Kitchen Accessories

What's a play kitchen without some pots and pans and food?! 

These are some of the sets I'm lusting after:

Found here.

Found here.

4. Adorable Bee Lunch Box

Found here.

Elliott got the Skip Hop Bumble Bee backpack for her birthday, and I've been itching to get the matching lunchbox for the past year. There's no time like the present!

5. Wooden Puzzles

Found here.

Not only are we lacking in the puzzle department, but I had a gift card to a fancy children's clothing website that had not one single piece of clothing that was in my budget.....so, I found a couple puzzles that were super cute and (somewhat) reasonably priced, instead!

6. Toy Laptop/Keyboard

I haven't figured this one out quite yet, but I know that Ellie needs something with lots of buttons. (what is it about kids and pressing buttons?!) I'm thinking about getting her something like this:

Found here.

but they always seem so cheesy.

And because she sees me typing on the computer, sometimes I think it would be a genius idea to just get her a real keyboard. She's probably be more content with that, even if it doesn't come with flashing lights and annoying sound effects.

So, that about wraps up Ellie's Christmas list (pun intended).

The one great thing about her having a birthday only a month after Christmas? Anything that we left off of her list will now serve as a birthday present ;)