Am I too late? My Christmas Gifting Plans

Are you guys still there? ; )
I feel like I haven't been in blogland for ages! We finally broke down and bought a new laptop which I'm still figuring out how to use. Hubby ordered it online with about 5 rebates and ebates too.

I've got Christmas pretty well in hand by doing a bit of shopping here and there. I'm trying my best not to overdo it this year. I prefer a few well chosen gifts over an extravaganza that always leaves us feeling flat. After all, it's nice to get gifts but that isn't the main point of the holiday.

I was trying to download a picture that I took of the gift I assembled for my son's preschool teacher. I had planned on giving just a nicely wrapped bar of homemade soap to the teachers. Today I found a pretty round bowl at Value Village that would look great as a soap dish for only $1.10.
I picked out a round clear soap filled with red, white, and green peppermint scented curls (made to look like ribbon candy) and it just fits!
I figured out the exporting part. Now I need to work on the editing part.
The total cost for this gift is under $2.50 and I think it's much nicer than the bag of Hershey's Kisses I was contemplating giving. I just need to find one more. Perhaps I'll check in my cabinets to see if there's anything I don't need anymore.

At Value Village I also grabbed a few bags of tiny toy goodies into the cart to sort, wash, and wrap for Christmas crackers. Those are always a hit here and a few go a long way. The stocking candy was bought when Walgreens had a 39 cent coupon on Nestle stocking candy. I'm done shopping for our kids.

The neighbors are getting Christmas flavored Celestial Seasonings teas that I bought at the salvage grocery and a plate of homemade cookies. My version of homemade this year might mean doctored up sale mixes that I have in my pantry. It really depends on how busy we are. Instead of tins, I'll send them out in brown bags I have the kids decorate with stickers or magazine cut outs.

Instead of the annual Christmas picture from JcPenney or Target I think we'll take our own picture of the kids and print them out when there's a sale. Walgreens has a ten cent per print sale going on through Saturday that seems like a possibility. (Joy10 is the online code and you have to order 50 or more prints).

I have stacks of Christmas cards from when I helped clean out my Grandma's house. I'm forgoing the Christmas letter again this year and just sending a simple greeting to a few friends. Simplifying the holiday makes me more joyful and relaxed.