My Frugal Holiday: Clue Gift

As a young dad, I inherently understood that holidays are all about making memories. Although my two daughters learned early that the celebration of Christ's birth is the true reason for Christmas, we did embrace Santa and the exchanging of gifts like most families.

While they were still quite young - maybe 6 or 7 years old - I began the annual tradition of giving each girl a "clue gift." Beginning 12 days before Christmas, they would wake up to a written clue about one specific gift that I had taped to the bathroom mirror. The clues were usually written in first person - "I'm bigger than a bread box"; "You'll need batteries to get me moving"; "I can help you shed light on any subject"; etc. While the gifts were rarely unique in nature - personalized ballpoint pen, portable stereo, director's chair - the excitement was in the guessing. Even their friends would call the house after school recessed for the holidays so they could find out the daily clue.

When they went off to college, they still expected the clue gift each year. Today, they are both in their 30s and we live in different cities. They are expecting a clue gift again this year. The clues aren't on the bathroom mirror anymore, but you can bet that my daughters check their email early on those 12 days before Christmas.

By James from Abilene, TX

Do you have a frugal story to share with the ThriftyFun community? Submit your essay here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_myfrugallife.ldml