Freebie Cheapskate Christmas

This year's Family Christmas Gift Exchange Challenge was to find a "free gift".  The rules are as follows:

1. Thou Shalt NOT buy a gift outright, nor shalt thou buy-one-get-one-free.

2. Thou Shalt NOT Obtain a gift from a Friend, Neighbor, or Acquaintance.

3. Thou Shalt NOT Re-gift.

4. Thou Shalt NOT choose a gift that breatheth the air.

5. Thou Shalt NOT barter thy spouse, offspring, or any other possession for a gift.

6. Thou Shalt NOT obtain the gift by the sweat of thy brow, nor the labor of thy hands.

7. Thou Shalt NOT give a gift that was obtained by the purchase of any other item, paid event, or transaction in which money is exchanged.

8. Thou SHALL wrap the gift in a cheerful manner.

9. Thou SHALL provide a story of the manner in which the gift was obtained.

10. Honor thy brother's gift as thine own.

If, by some foul chance (or, frankly, lack of effort on your part), you are unable to find a free gift, you must provide a gift that meets the following qualifications as a forfeit:

1. $300 minimum purchase (or an amount you find appropriate)

2. Must be wrapped

3. You must provide a speech explaining why you failed in this simplest of tasks

4. Must be a gift that could be enjoyed by all diet restrictions, allergic parties, reading levels, artistic talents and athletic abilities

Examples:

1. Can be purchased at the store if the only thing purchased in the transaction is a gift, and there is no money due at the end of the sale, with the exception of taxes. I.e.: Using coupons to get a free item, without necessary purchase, but tax is due.

2. Can be something found alongside the road, with the exception of roadkill, as long as it is truly a free item. Trash is acceptable.

3. Handouts at a health fair, doctor's office, gas station, grocery store, etc. are all fair game.

4. Handouts at a paid event (such as a fair, concert, sporting event, etc.) are NOT included. See Commandment #7.

5. Free classified items or free Craigslist items are perfectly acceptable.

6. Items from Nature are acceptable as long as they are not protected by state law nor are on your property.

The prizes are as follows: $75 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place.

I worked really hard on this project since the beginning of October, and it taught me a very valuable lesson (no pun intended).  You can get almost ANYTHING for free!

Here's a photo of all my freebie loot:

In case you can't tell, here are the items in a list form:

1) Victoria's Secret "Body by Victoria" panties

2) O Magazine

3) Traditional Home Magazine

4) Parents Magazine 

5) CD of Christmas Music (downloaded from Amazon.com)

6) 4 tins of Victoria's Secret Mints

7) Gymboree "I love my Fairy Godmother" shirt and matching hair bows

8) Calendar from the USO

9) Essence of Beauty hand lotion 

10) Peanut butter chocolate candies

11) Personalized "Happy New Year" greeting cards with $20 gift card for future purchase

The most amazing thing of all is that this gift is valued at over $75, but I paid nothing for any of it! That means I didn't pay any shipping charges, either!