Christmas Money Saving Tip!

**This originally happened a few weeks ago, and I sent this slightly embellished story out to my friends. Here it is for everyone in Blogville to see! Enjoy!

Hi Everyone!

With gas prices soaring sky high and Christmas quickly approaching I thought I would share and idea I had today that might help those of us who need to find creative ways to save money during the holidays without taking away the joy and excitement our children all have every Christmas morning.

Today Todd and I felt it was high time we cleaned out from behind, and underneath, the sofa. We have a large sectional sofa and used to make it a point to clean it out each year around spring. But ever since our 6th child came along (he's 2 now), it just didn't seem as much of a priority and we didn't seem to ever have the time.

Well, I'm telling you.....it was great. We've decided to do this each year every Christmas morning! Some of you might say "Ewwwww!" But I do beg to differ. Let me explain. Have you ever found an old toy that your kids "forgot" about and had them react as if it were something new you just brought home from the toy store? It's just like that! Some of this stuff was perfectly good stuff. Yes, there was a lot popcorn and dust bunnies. Oh...and there was an apple core (or two) and a banana (ok, that really was gross). But aside from all of that, look at what else we found!

Anna and Erika got tons of hair barrettes and bracelets. Jonathan and Mark got about 20 match box cars and some legos. Alex got a pocket knife and some new underwear. Elyse got money and a few books. Not to mention all the crayons, markers, socks, DVD's, cassette tapes, toys, and candy they all shared.

Hey, Todd and I weren't left out. We got a missing remote, 2 pairs of scissors, a spoon, and 4 keys to our locking living room cabinets. And we still had bags of "wrappers" to pick up and throw away.....gum wrappers, candy wrappers, toy wrappers.....AND of course, what's Christmas without enjoying the sight of 6 precious children enjoying their new treasures. The smiles on their faces were priceless! And we didn't spend a single penny!

That's my money saving tip of the day. I'd like to see you top that one!