Million Miles Gift Bags That Goes the Mileage for Kids

Here's a money saver idea that ensures all kids in your kid's class gets a xmas gift, despite a tight budget:

It is really simple, and the results are big!

Instead of having all the parents buy a big gift for one child or none at all, make it affordable, and make it bigger by having participating parents bring each child a $1 or very inexpensive trinket (flashcards, stickers, play doh, toy, crayons, coloring books, bubbles, books, candies, school supplies, etc.) You can be really creative, too, parents, with each gift - fuzzy pencils, little binoculars, little magnifying glasses, glow-in-the-dark rings, etc.

You don't need to have a list of what to buy, but you should at least let each other know what you got to add to the list.

Have 1 parent organize the gifts into a gift bag with tissue. Place each trinket into the gift bag for each child, with a from label listing each child who participated. (I brought my daughter shopping for her classmates' gifts, which she chose, and for the gift bag when I organized this for her class, and she LOVED it.)

BIG MILEAGE POINTS HERE: Letting your child choose the gifts for her classmates gives her a sense of accomplishment and pride. It also helps her learn to stay within budget, while helping you know what her classmates would like. If she likes it, then most likely the other kids will, too.

In the end, the gift bag was full of LOTS of gifts that could last throughout the year - Gifts that can be taken on the road for when you take that road trip, gifts that are easy to pack, gifts that are delightful to open, and gifts that help your child stay busy during the day, at restaurants, etc.

I organized this for my daughter's class this year, and it worked out really well :) And I announced when this would be delivered to her teacher so the kids were anticipating it. I got big smiles and excitement the day the bags were delivered in each cubby for pick up.

So...if it's too late to do something like this this year, maybe next year.


Happy Holidays!

Kailin
Million Miles Mama