In-laws? Sibling’s spouses, or your spouse’s family? Because if it’s the latter, that’s what spouses are for. If it’s the former, that’s when you call your sibling and demand answers. If answers are not forthcoming, let the resulting shitty gift be on their head.
I won’t do your shopping for you, but I will teach you the Art of the Cheapskate. A good start for next year is to get on email lists for stores you like. They send you coupons and discount codes and notify you of sales, and you can often stack the coupon and code on top of the sale price. This is especially awesome at Kohl’s, because you can earn store credit to be redeemed in the next week or two, and they increase the amount of credit you can earn during the entire Thanksgiving weekend. That credit is redeemable during the Cyber Monday sale. So you hit the online Black Friday sale, use your percent-off code, and earn $15 of store credit for every $50 you spend. Then on Monday you hit that sale, use your new discount code, and redeem the store credit. This year I got $930 of merchandise for $250. (And it was all online, so I never even had to put on pants, much less fight any crowds.)
We have a local confectioner’s (a.k.a. “candy store” but they also have nuts, dried, fruit, and snack mixes). I go there, get one of their divided trays, and fill each pocket with something I know they would like. I can customize the mix for each person. They also have novelty candies that look like tumbled rocks or legos or other things.
I particularly like to bring those when invited to dinner at something like Thanksgiving or Christmas. Folks enjoy the nummies and I can size it to my budget which, of late, has been miniscule.
Do you like to cook? I just made my first batch of toffee today, and with a candy thermometer it was much easier than I thought. (I used this recipe.) All ingredients except the powdered espresso were from Costco. It was pretty cheap to make, with the candy thermometer being the only equipment you wouldn’t find in your average kitchen.
I do like to cook. I’m planning to make cookies galore. Toffee sounds pretty good too.
I ended up at K-mart yesterday and they had some good options for me. Prices were very good and I am done with my shopping! Thank heavens. I don’t enjoy shopping with such a limited budget. I don’t imagine I’m alone there.
If it’s the former, that’s when you call your sibling and demand answers. If answers are not forthcoming, let the resulting shitty gift be on their head.