Mom reveals the brilliant way she saved ‘hundreds of dollars’ while getting a good Christmas haul

Children often look up to an extravagant Christmas, especially in terms of presents. They expect to have many gift-wrapped boxes of different sizes under the tree. For many parents, this time of year can come with a tight budget and getting such a grand gift may not be possible. However, a mom named Natalie Joy (@nataliejoyjewelry) revealed that you can still get a good set of presents with simple tips and under a flexible budget. She mentioned that she managed to get a couple of gifts for her son while saving hundreds of dollars and keeping the Christmas excitement. These tips can easily be tweaked to fit budgets and used for any occasion throughout the year. 

Joy recalled thrifting Christmas gifts for her son the previous holiday season. Her little boy enjoyed opening each of the gifts and was beyond grateful for each of them. Joy decided to try the same method again and see what she could pick while saving money. The mom started with a little toy suitcase that cost $16. It was a red one with fun stickers. “When I was a little girl, I had a blue suitcase the same size that said ‘Going to Grandma's.’ It was one of my favorite things. I saw this, it said, ‘I love grandma.’ It's not perfect but I know he's going to love this,” the mom excitedly said. 

She decided to add books to the suitcase and got $10 worth of thrifted books to fill up the suitcase. Next, the mom found a kid's lap harp for $7 which was in good condition and a game called "Spirograph” for $5. She was so sure her son would enjoy trying these products out for the first time. Each of these products cost no more than $20- $100 at stores and the mom managed to get them for unbelievably low prices by opting to thrift. Just like that, she’d already saved over $50 or so. There were still more gifts. The mom recalled her son admiring a beaded alligator purse at Goodwill.  Priced at $4.99, the mom had no option but to pick the creative item. 

For another $5, Joy purchased a superb thrifted box of blocks along with a puzzle for $1. The were several other gifts the mom added to the list. The mom got a toy cashier box so her son could play grocery shopping. Showing another box, Joy remarked, “I am most excited about this one. It's one of his big presents.” The mom added that her husband owned a record label and vinyls meant everything to her son. Showing a mini vinyl player for kids, the mom remarked, “I got it at an estate sale for $18 and I plugged it into the wall. It works. I'm gonna set up a little record area in his room." Spending a total of $154, the mom got a haul of gifts. A few other items included a tractor toy, a projector for kids, a vinyl record for kids to go with the record player, stuffed toys and a whole bunch of other stuff. All the items were thrifted under $20 - way under their prices.

You can follow Natalie Joy (@nataliejoyjewelry) on TikTok for more content on parenting and money-saving tips.