do you have a GIFT drawer?

[mafibisha]

Thanks to the amazing deals ya'll continue to find and post here, I have quite a stash in my *Gift* drawer!

And also a corner of our closet contains enough Birthday gifts for upcoming parties our kids will certainly attend.

However, I'm running out of room!

How do you ya'll store your stash and keep track of what you have?

 

[figment3258]

I put stuff in big bins down stairs with labels s I know what is where

 

[simonsmom]

I have a tote in the basement. Before purchasing a gift -I look thru there for something

 

[Jenny-momof3]

I have a huge walk-in closet/storage area in my basement. My DH put shelving in there specifically for the Target toy clearance sale I hit twice a year...alont with other stuff I find throughout the year. I have a ton of nieces and nephews plus friend's kids and birthday parties that my kids get invited to that I need gifts for. It's so nice to be able to go in there and give them a nice gift that I hardly spent anything on!

In that same area I also keep gift bags, tissue paper and wrapping paper....that I of course buy on clearance! That stuff can easily add another $5 to the cost of the gift! I have such a huge stash that I haven't had to buy that stuff in years!

 

[shortbun]

I have ours in two really large bags with handles. DH suggested we use some large totes just before Christmas but I never got around to it. Maybe I'll put it on my list of things to do. Just added a few things from after Christmas markdowns. I keep mine with the gift wrap too.

 

[mom2val]

Closet under the stairs holds all my clearance mark down gifts. It is usually pretty empty after Christmas and I am just starting to find good deals and get started for 2011 gift giving. I have already bought christmas ornaments for dd's teachers at 75% off! I also have 2 birthday presents for dd- b-day in Oct and 1 stocking stuffer for her - 50% off. I even found a book dh wanted at 90% and will be under the tree at Christmas.

 

[hsmamato2]

NO. I found I wasted way too much time/money space on getting 'gifts' for some future unnamed event. It's much simpler,and in the end,cheaper,to look for a bargain on a gift WHEN I know I'll be needing one......what I ended up with was boxes of old crap I forgot to use,or no one ever wanted,and I gave it all away to Goodwill years ago,and never looked back! I'd rather spend 10.00 on one item,and use it well,then spend 5.00 on 3 of the same,and store it away,along with a million other things I don't need cluttering my life. I know,against the tide here.....

 

[mafibisha]

NO. I found I wasted way too much time/money space on getting 'gifts' for some future unnamed event. It's much simpler,and in the end,cheaper,to look for a bargain on a gift WHEN I know I'll be needing one......what I ended up with was boxes of old crap I forgot to use,or no one ever wanted,and I gave it all away to Goodwill years ago,and never looked back! I'd rather spend 10.00 on one item,and use it well,then spend 5.00 on 3 of the same,and store it away,along with a million other things I don't need cluttering my life. I know,against the tide here.....

Actually.... thats what prompted my post. (OP here)

I just cleaned out my drawer (and big bag) and found some older stuff I pulled out and then donated. So it got me thinking along the same lines as your post...

Still, its hard to resist such great deals when I see them. Or read about them here!

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

Maybe an idea to help with should you store stuff...

I too found that it was more a waste of money to just buy for the sake of a clearance sale. I only get it if I KNOW I'll have someone to give it to... not just it's a great deal for a random xx age kid. Then again we don't do bday parties (I know, I'm a bad mom! ) I shop all year, hit clearance when I can find it (this year our Target clearance isn't so good) but only get for the same people every year and can still shop for the people. Example, I knew what I wanted to get my sister for Christmas so I got it in like July for what I knew was an incredible price when it came up on Amazon (love that whole cart thing there! ) Or if I don't have an idea I watch for deals and often come up with something. Like my other sister, had no idea for but when I was Walmart's black Friday deals I saw something and said "She needs THAT!" I'll buy just about anything Imaginext, after a recent.... um, incident, I learned just how durable these are and they're really worth full price, so anything on good clearance for it is a treasure to me and I know the other parents appreciate those toys too. After this year though, I think for my OWN kids I'm going to have to wait till much closer to the holidays/bdays (although for this year all the bday gifts are already here). I do have a tendency to get stuff on clearance for my own boys that they end up not wanting later on (before I give it to them!)

As for the storage, I have a good sized cabinet in my laundry room (no one wants to go in there!) and it holds a lot. I keep a list in the drawer above it so I know what's in there and for whom. I also have two trunks in my bonus room waiting for me to refinish and I use them when/if I start getting full (usually closer to the holidays).

 

[fakereadhed]

I don't buy a ton anymore. Just a gift for a boy and girl, and a teen girl gift(ages of my kids). Right now I've got a Hot Wheels playset with a couple of cars, a LP pet, velvet poster book, poster markers, and a Bodycology gift set. They are in gift bags hanging on a hook behind the door of our computer/craft room. Ready to grab and go! When they are gone I'll look for replacements.

 

[snowywhite89]

I only buy on clearance if I have a specific person and gift giving event in mind (write it down to remember) or nice toys to give to toys for tots next year. I catalog them and keep the receipts so I can easily donate. The two are stored in different bins.

A deal is not a deal if you never use it. A gift is not a gift if you just give something you got cheap but would never buy for that person otherwise because it is not their style.

 

[allison443]

I only stockpile gifts for my own kids. When I give a gift to my nieces/nephews, I like to include a gift receipt because I don't know everything they already have, kwim? So in order to do that I can't buy something months in advance.
I do stockpile giftbags and tissue paper though! Also cards!!

 

[kkwis2]

I only buy for "for sure" gift giving occasions for "for sure" kids. This week I bought gifts at Target at 75% off for next Christmas for my four nieces and nephews. I know we will have Christmas and I know I will be buying for them. For $50 I'm done and don't have to worry about it when I'm busy next Christmas! I also picked up a couple of $3 Barbie-type dolls for birthday parties that I know my daughter has coming up.

I have a gift area in a closet in an extra bedroom.

 

[karemore]

I had mine pretty well cleared out after Christmas but then I hit the Target clearance yesterday......

I keep future gifts on the top shelf in our coat closet downstairs. (raised ranch) I try to buy ahead with specific people in mind, but it's a safe bet that anything DD would like would make a good gift for one of her friends.

I've never ended up with a bunch of stuff I didn't use. One or two items the kids outgrew I donated as a new toy at Christmas that year. We donate every year anyway so it was fine.

 

[stazmatic]

My problem is different but along the same lines.
When you get a gift for a great price - say $5 for a $35 toy as I got yesterday at Target. I feel like I should still spend $15-20 on a kid for a birthday and I will give them $15 at least of what I spent. So each kid will get 3 of the $5 toys that originally cost well over $60. DH tells me I am crazy, but I feel bad knowing I only gave a toy I spent $5 on. Does this happen to anyone else?

 

[QVCshopper]

My problem is different but along the same lines.
When you get a gift for a great price - say $5 for a $35 toy as I got yesterday at Target. I feel like I should still spend $15-20 on a kid for a birthday and I will give them $15 at least of what I spent. So each kid will get 3 of the $5 toys that originally cost well over $60. DH tells me I am crazy, but I feel bad knowing I only gave a toy I spent $5 on. Does this happen to anyone else?

No, I just give the toy I got on sale and don't supplement. If I get a good deal, then yay for me. I got 3 gifts at 75% off at Target, each was $7.50 (down from $30), and that's all the kids are getting. I tailored each toward the child and feel it's more than generous. I've been known to give $1 and $2.50 toys, if they were an amazingly super sale, like kmart's toy clearance.

 

[cajunbaby1]

I've got a plastic tote box that I put all those "gifts" that you get from the casinos around here. You never know when someone may need a set of plates, vase, kitchen junk. I used to be worse when we really did xmas big. but i've weaned off of the after xmas sales ( for now any ways)

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

As my children get older they do not want to give gifts out of the closet. They like giving gift cards to Claires, B&BW ( they tell me their friends might not like the scent that we have or they could be alergic to the scent) or usually they will say Susie likes dogs, Susie would love some ____________ and that is what they prefer. I also like it when my children get a gift of something that they like and not something that I think came out of their closet.

I do keep a stash of boxes, paper and ribbon so at least I save on those.

We also make our own cards (I don't know anybody who saves cards) as they just get thrown out with the trash. By making our own card it save about 3.00. Just my .02.

 

[Swimalie]

I have a huge closet in my basement where I keep the stuff I buy. I have 1 bin for stuff I buy my son and an open spot for stuff I buy for other kids. It's open so I can easily see it when I need to. Right now I have about 6 board games and 3 mini Robo Sapiens in there for others. If I don't give them to any kids by next Christmas, they will be donated to Toys for Tots. So far this year, and this is our first year in elementary school, we've been invited to 7 birthday parties. I'm stocking up!

 

[dismom301930]

I have 1 bin for stuff I buy my son and an open spot for stuff I buy for other kids. It's open so I can easily see it when I need to. Right now I have about 6 board games and 3 mini Robo Sapiens in there for others. If I don't give them to any kids by next Christmas, they will be donated to Toys for Tots.

I do pretty much the same thing. I keep bins in my basement (only one bin now, more as we move toward Christmas) that are labeled with things like "Linens", "College text Books" etc. My girls (ages 10,9, and 6) would never think to look in them. I keep an old bookshelf in the basement with gifts for other people on it.

I buy most gifts with specific people in mind, but I do stock up on a few gifts for friends of my DDs (mainly for my youngest DD6, because she still gets invited to "whole class" parties, where you buy a gift for a child you don't know well, plus my older DDs now want to pick out specific things for their friends). At the end of the year I will go through the stockpile and only keep the things that I have a specific person in mind to give it to....any extras will be donated at the holidays. And I don't buy "junk" just because it is on sale (I was guilty of this when the kids were younger....have gotten smarter as the kids get older) but high quality gifts that I find at a great price.