How to do sub for santa on a budget

I've been getting asked by a lot of people how I do sub for santa's on our low income.  So here goes!
I keep an eye out all year for amazing deals.  I start in the 75% off sales after Christmas.  I get $5 gift sets for $1.25.  One dollar items for $.25.  The rest of the year I use my coupons, & keep an eye out for great deals.   Shirts on clearance for $1?  I buy 5 of them.  Games with coupons for $1?  I buy some of those.  I buy yarn on sale for $1 & knit scarves all year.  I also keep an eye out at garage sales.  This year I got a box full of brand new, with tags scarves, hats & gloves for $4.  I bought prelit Christmas trees for $2.   I have 1 closet I keep all this stuff in during the year.  If there's something really great at the Dollar Store I grab a few.  Walgreens just had wooden Christmas puzzles for $.33 so I grabbed 10 of those.
Then right after halloween I find families who need help for Christmas.  I get out all this stuff & their wish lists & ages, & start matching up.  It's amazing how well things match!  This year I had 3 busy ball poppers I'd bought for $1 (clearance plus coupon).  And there were 3 kids that age on my lists.  I had 3 trees & 3 families that needed a tree.  It's just awesome!  I gave the boys hats & gloves & the girls scarves I'd knitted.  With the pile this year, I was able to do around 5 presents each child, for 6 families!  I also donated gifts to someone else doing sub for santa for 2 more families.  And I had 3 boxes of stuff leftover!  One pile I had a Christmas porcelain doll, Candyland, busy ball popper, & a playset for a boy, all brand new, & the whole pile only cost me $10!
Note:  this is not to brag.  This is again, what one woman can do, another can do!  I hear all season, from people with significantly more money than me, how they wish they could help people at Christmas too, but can't afford it.  Most people have this idea that you have to have several hundred dollars to help even 1 family.  So I'm sharing how I do it for anyone who'd like to!  Imagine if we were all able to give Christmas to 6 families!
Ok, now the question of what do I do with the 3 leftover boxes.  I found a local charity called PJ's.  They provide Christmas for 1800 local children.  With that large volume of children, they can use anything I have leftover; it's sure to be the right size for someone!  And they are a tax deductable charity!  So I take them all my leftovers & save some money on my taxes, & help even more children!
Last year I had over $2000 full retail price of things to donate & use for my sub for santa's.  With what I actually paid, & the tax savings I got, I figure I spent around $100 out of my pocket...less than $10 a month.  How cool is that?!

Free clothing storage!

If things go bad, we adults can probably get by on what clothes we've got for quite a while. But what about our kids? They are going to grow, & soon they could be without clothes, shoes or a coat. But all single mom's are barely able to get keep their kids clothed in their current size. How on earth do we afford to buy those things ahead too?

I've found a perfect solution: clothing exchanges! These are starting to get popular. If there hasn't been one by you, go ahead & organize one. We do one every year with our homeschool group. But you could do it with your church, neighborhood, family, anything! Everyone brings everything they have out grown or are tired of. Everyone leaves with anything they want. I've hosted several of these now, & they get bigger every year. What always amazes me it the amount of clothing we end up with. I see people leaving with huge bags of clothes, but there is always tons leftover! We send the leftovers to a local charity. So it not only helps those who come, but others as well. The quality of the clothing has generally been very good! I almost never buy clothing for us anymore. Occasionally I have to find this years shoes or coat at a garage sale (I find even the second hand stores too pricey), but overall I can get everything we need at these exchanges. You can't beat free! A lot of our country's cotton crop has been lost this year to droughts, so it's likely clothing prices will be going up. This has been such a blessing! Our clothing budget is almost zero. I often find something fun for me too, helps deal with the fact I can't afford to buy anything for myself. And I've stockpiled clothes for my son in future sizes. No matter what happens now, I have at least a few shirts, pants, 1 pair of shoes & a coat in his future sizes. That gives me great peace of mind, which is invaluable! It's also a great way to get church clothes, since those get very little wear. And if you have a girl, you'll be amazed at the adorable, like new clothes you'll find! I do very well for my son too, although jeans without holes in the knees are in high demand. ;)

We've also expanded our exchange into things besides clothes & that's great as well! Get your kids to clear out their old toys or books, & get something new!