My girls finally came back from Wisconsin on Friday night after being gone for two weeks.  It’s amazing how much you miss your kids even when they’re gone for such a short time.  We did Christmas at our house about thirty seconds after we walked in the door.  As the only members of either side of our family that live more than an hour away from our hometowns, we got a lot of gift-cards or cash.  Less to pack and ship. So the girls have their loot from all their stops over the holidays and now it’s time to spend the Christmas money!

I love to watch my girls shop for themselves, mostly because it’s not MY money they’re spending.  Watching the way they select their purchases is very entertaining, especially because it’s exactly the opposite of the way they shop with mom & dad.

My 11 year old loves to spend my money.  She thinks I should buy her stuff all the time, regardless of cost.  Ask her any day of the week what she’d like to do?  Shopping!  BUT, when shopping with her own money, she’s incredibly frugal.  She shops like a pro going to several stores only looking for the things she really wants, and holding out for a good price.  We shopped for two hours yesterday and she came home with a tube of lip gloss.  That’s all!

My 7 year old is just the opposite.  She hates to go shopping and never really asks for anything unless it’s offered.  However, put her in a store with her own money and she goes nuts!  She just grabs random things and decides she needs them.  Her mother and I have to reason with her on everything she grabs so she doesn’t waste her money.

Either way I need to make their gift money last for a few months to let Dad recover from the holidays.  Happy New Year and Happy Shopping!