For years Bossy had a British friend whose every sentence regarding her children began with, “bless”. “Bless him,” she’d say, “he’s poked his sister’s eye out with a stick again,” or “Bless her, she’s pushed all the water from the tub onto the bathroom tiles,” etc.
The sentences were charming, but not altogether deserving of the infusion of divine will. In the following case, however, Bossy deems it an appropriate sentence starter:
Bless her, Bossy’s daughter must have absorbed all of this Poverty talk straight through her peachy pores, because last night she presented Bossy with her saved and paper-clipped gift receipts.
According to the full account, she went to the mall with a $20 bill.
For $1.24 she purchased a figurine for her grandmother. $11.49 secured a book gift for her brother and a lip moisturizer for her father. Bossy’s daughter purchased $3.71 worth of lavender skin moisturizer for Bossy, and $0.78 stickers for her cousins. And finally, she secured a Hallmark card for her father which featured a baby’s butt and came in at $2.64.
This left Bossy’s daughter with two nickels and four pennies.
Bossy thinks this is a perfectly respectable amount for a twelve-year-old to spend on Christmas. Anything more and there’s the risk of early escalation, and then, before you know it, Bossy’s daughter would be emailing her mom for a Poverty Party badge for the blog she doesn’t yet have.
Check below for the list of blogs already participating in the Poverty Party. And don’t forget to comb the comment section for links to entertaining Poverty posts across the web.
Half Assed Kitchen says
December 27, 2008 at 1:19 pmOh, Bossy’s daughter. My heart swells!
derfina says
December 27, 2008 at 1:22 pmShe did a fantastic job-AND had change to boot! WOOT!
missburrows says
December 27, 2008 at 1:52 pmIf she charged you $10 for 1) inspiring a blog post and 2) providing photographic evidence, she could even get something for herself.
krg says
December 27, 2008 at 2:01 pmbless bossy’s daughter
Manic Mommy says
December 27, 2008 at 2:31 pmJust when you think Bossy’s daughter can’t get any sweeter, she does. Bless her heart!
Naomi says
December 27, 2008 at 2:41 pmBless you for teaching your daughter about being accountable for where the $ goes.
Excited to be along for this journey!
Isle Dance says
December 27, 2008 at 3:57 pmFantastic!
Cheri @ Blog This Mom! says
December 27, 2008 at 6:14 pmBless her mum. She’s raised a good girl.
Emily says
December 27, 2008 at 7:34 pmWell, bless her heart! I doubt my 12-year-old dd would do as well. But I am proud that yesterday her grandfather sent her a $50 bill, and unlike other years she has not immediately spent it – in fact it is with her other money saved.
so NOT cool says
December 27, 2008 at 8:07 pmI read this post twice. The first time, it was the normal read-it-in-my-head voice. The second time through? I read it like Suze Orman.
I don’t know why.
Jenn @ Juggling Life says
December 27, 2008 at 11:17 pmGood for Bossy’s daughter. My kids each keep it to $100 and I thought that was good–they do a lot of chipping in with each other and get some really great stuff for grandparent, each other, parents, etc.
Deborah Non Blogger says
December 28, 2008 at 6:05 am…but the question is…which book did she buy?
Intense eye strain incurred staring at the receipts did not answer the question.
…so enquiring minds would like to know.
OK!…really….I’m just nosy!…but I do love books!
MariaV says
December 28, 2008 at 8:29 amBossy’s daughter is a smart one. I think $20-30 is a reasonable amount.
janny226 says
December 28, 2008 at 1:17 pmShe’s so inspiring. I, too, think $20 should do fine. Can you tell this to the buyers for our elementary school holiday fair, who seemed to think offering only items in the $5 to $10 range should enable the kids to buy something for Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, siblings, aunts and uncles on a budget? Can I print it to show the little boy who showed up with $2 and had to pick between buying something for his dad or his brother?
Drew says
December 28, 2008 at 10:49 pmWhat a great daughter. And what a great display of frugality. Me and the significant other came in at $201.17 this Christmas plus about 80 man hours of baking, wrapping, building, photoshopping, etc. Not bad, methinks, for 32 gifts given. I would LOVE to know how everyone else did!
Say What? says
January 5, 2009 at 2:01 amLove how brother got the biggest chunk spent on him.
My kids each spent $14 on gifts for dad, mom, 3 grandmas, grandpa and each other at the school “Santa Shop” where everything was $2. Yeah, it was all dollar store stuff (marked up an extra buck) but they had fun and hey, grandpa needs two mini-fm radios for when he walks the dog!