santa bag care packages

This year I implemented the very successful Christmas theme - Less is More and It's the Thought That Counts. You know, to say it's a nice sentiment, but I wasn't sure how I was going to make it a reality because I like to give gifts. Then in the weeks leading up to Christmas I found myself thinking about my Grandmas. Thinking about Santa Bags and Care Packages and came up with a sort of a hybrid of the two. Let's just knock the rest out bullet style....

Santa Bags were a stocking type gift we got from my Dad's Mom. Who doesn't like getting a stocking? So many little treasures tucked into them. Care Packages were something my Mom's Mom used to do, but to be fair they didn't necessarily show up for Christmas... an anniversary, sure. There would be sensible things in there like pasta and fun treats like chocolate bars. Even after my Dad passed away she would still tuck in some snickers bars because those were his favourite.

Instead of gift bags I bought reusable shopping bags. Each bag was loaded with goodies for the family, so we did family gifts this year instead of strict individual gifts.

I made treats like puppy chow, cookies and tomato sauce and in addition I bought treats like fancy nuts and favourite chocolate bars. I bought those kinds of things slowly in the weeks leading up to Christmas. I had all the bags lined up along the wall in my bedroom and would drop the item in the appropriate bag as I purchased them. So it didn't take much to get them ready for the big day.

I did buy some actual presents to tuck into the bags. Things like books, movies or in my Mom's case, oven mitts because she'd admired mine so much. I kept my eyes on the sales and bought things in little bits in the weeks before. The vast majority of what I did buy was on sale. I have to give a shout out to Mrs January and BargainMoose Canada for keeping me up to date with the deals.

In Mike's family we have a big stocking tradition. It's one of those giant 5 foot stockings that Papa Al bought for Papa Joyce years ago and now each family gets a turn receiving it, the rest of us all chip in to fill it. So I used coupons to score some great deals on cleaning supplies, shampoo, soap and such. I also used coupons on products that we might not use, but that were gratefully accepted at the agency we donate to.

I kept an eye on all the deal sites like groupon, wag jag and the like and bought up deals for dinners out to tuck into bags. I also managed to scoop an incredible deal for photo calendars that went to all the grandparents and for our yearly family photobook. Would you believe in the days after Christmas I picked up a groupon to use towards next year's photobook?

What would I do differently? Not much to be honest. I would start earlier with a better plan about what treats I's like to add to the bags. So I can start stocking my pantry. I'd make things easier on myself and have the same home made treats right across the board. That way I'm not making 6 different recipes. The bags were a great hit with everyone and I absolutely loved making them. Expect to see them again next year!