Dinhternet

(Christ­mas card by Roy Doty.)

So this year, to save money on Christ­mas gifts, my cousins and I decided to do a Secret Santa. In fact, we decided to be extra stingy and do a vari­ant called “Good Enough.” The way it works is that we all make wish lists with normal-pricey items. Then we all agree to a very low spend­ing limit. (My cousins and I said $5, plus ship­ping, since we won’t all be able to make it to Min­nesota for Christ­mas.) Names are drawn, and then you have to get some­thing — or if you’re feel­ing extra giv­ing, mul­ti­ple items — from the wish list. Of course, you won’t be able to get exactly what peo­ple wanted due to the low limit, so you have to get some­thing close, and then include a note along with your gift explain­ing why your gift was “good enough.”

At first, I was wor­ried, but I have to say, it’s been a lot of fun try­ing to be cre­ative enough to get my gift in under bud­get. In fact, my cousins and I have a side game going along with… who­ever spends the least and gives the best gift wins! Oh, and just as a teaser to my Secret San­tee… if you’re read­ing this, I want you to know that I knocked an item off my to-do list — learn cro­chet­ing — so thanks!