Last Monday, I hobbled through the snow and ice to do my Christmas shopping. This year, I decided to put together gift bags full of homemade goodies for everyone on my list. These are the items I bought to make presents with – keep in mind, while this was expensive for a grocery run, these supplies provided Christmas gifts for all our friends and family in addition to filling the pantry.
First stop, Walgreens:
Total spent: Put $27.96 on two gift cards, spent $4.94 out of pocket. And I’m getting $2.20 back in rebates!
Total before coupons: $36.70
View receipt
Got:
1 package of red & green tissue paper
1 jar of instant coffee – used a coupon from the sales flier to bring the price down from $7.79 to $3.99
1 bottle of vegetable oil
1 8 oz bag of cheese
2 lbs. of margarine
2 boxes of ziploc bags – 50 altogether
2 packages of tape – 6 rolls altogether, 2 for $5. And I will get $2.20 back in Easysaver rebates for purchasing two packages.
2 bags of tortilla chips
1 big roll of cling film
1 roll of foil
I was able to use my $25 prescription gift card and my 10% bonus gift card to pay for almost all of this, which was nice. When I handed the cashier my one coupon, he said, “Is that it? You usually have a lot more than that!” I told him that I had gift cards, and that I use those to pay for things that I don’t have coupons for. He said, “That makes sense. I though you were getting lazy!” My reputation precedes me!
Next stop, Fred Meyer:
Total spent: $37.46
Total before coupons: $41.59
View receipt
Got:
1 2 pound bag of confectioner’s sugar – used an in-store coupon to save .24 cents
1 25 pound bag of sugar
4 bags of flour – 20 pounds altogether
1 bottle of Odwalla Juice – used a free coupon that I received in the mail
1 Odwalla bar – used a “Buy one Odwalla juice, get one Odwalla bar free” coupon that I got in a trade ages ago
2 cans of refried beans
1 can of black olives
1 8 oz bottle of powdered coffee mate
1 jar of salsa
1 Avocado
2 dozen cage-free eggs
1 Pledge duster – The only reason I bought this was because my feather duster wore out, and I could not find a regular feather duster anywhere! When did this become such a hard to find item? I limped up and down the store looking for one, and all I could find was this for $2.79. Well, I take that back; I did finally locate a regular feather duster by Mr. Clean that they wanted $8.00 for! I was bummed, because I knew I had Pledge coupons at home that would have made this cheaper, but I wasn’t about to drive half and hour to go home and get them. But I’m glad that I bought it, because it actually works much better than my old duster.
While $37 is unusually high for me, I bought these supplies specifically to make Christmas presents with. And since this left me with very full cupboards as well as taking care of all my gifts, I think I did OK. I definitely overbought, but the store was such a nightmare to navigate with the holiday rush and I didn’t want to go back!
Next stop, Costco:
Total spent: $15.99 – no coupons
View receipt
Got:
1 box of makeup removers – 120 altogether
We got a Costco membership as a gift last year, and while the prices are very competitive, I don’t shop there that often because they don’t accept manufacturer’s coupons. However, there were no good sales on this makeup remover anywhere else, so it was cheaper for me to get it here – usually, a box of 30 runs about $5.99 at other stores. I’m not a “brand loyal” person, but I always get this kind because it is the only makeup remover I’ve tried that can effectively remove my makeup without giving my sensitive skin a huge rash.
And finally, I needed gift bags to put all my presents in, so I stopped by the Paper Factory party store:
Total spent: $10.96 – no coupons
View receipt
Got:
2 bags of bows – 50 altogether. These were only .39 cents each, so I had to buy some!
1 Christmas card
2 packages of party favor bags – 40 altogether
1 package of 10 gift bags
9 individual gift bags
I usually stock up on gift wrap during after-holiday clearance (I still have rolls and rolls of wrapping paper that was .77 cents last year), but I was almost out of gift bags. And these worked out so well that I went back the next day and bought another 20-pack of favor bags and a spool of holiday ribbon for $2.98.
So are you wondering what kind of things I made to stuff these gift bags with? Check back tomorrow for a special holiday edition of the Coupon Funded Menu Corner!
