Yikes!!!I have not started xmas shopping due to limted funds, and no idea what to get on a very limited budget

Join the club! You have more money to work with than I do. If your daughter wants clothes you can try going to a nicer resale shop to see what they have. I know you don't want to buy her used stuff. Yuck! But if you go to a nice resale shop (they ones that sometimes call themselves boutiques) you can find that is very nice and in style for half the price. You can even get designer labels sometimes for under $15. Sometimes it can be hard to find a nice one that is affordable though. A lot of them can be just as expensive as new clothes since they are selling stylish stuff.

Or you could get her some accessories. If she is growing up a little fast maybe she might like a purse from Wal-Mart and stick some little goodies in it or some semi-adult shoes.

As to the video games. If more than one of your kids likes video games you could buy one and make them share it. do they already have a console system to play them on? You can go to a game store (Game Stop, EB Games, so on) and find used games for much less and your kids won't love them any less. If they have an older console (xBox, Playstation 2) the games can be very cheap used since they are older. If they have a new system like the xBox 360 you can still find some things cheap.

Your son may not get the exact Transformer he wants, but it's not going to kill him. What else is he into? Kids usually have a myriad of likes (and dislikes) at that age. If he also likes Pirates of the Caribbean or Ninja Turtles or Star Wars just get him some of those smaller action figures at Wal-Mart that only cost about $8 each. If you buy him maybe $20-$30 worth of those small ones the larger number of toys should excite him, even if they're not exactly what he asked for.

Buy a board game! Do you think there is one they might all like? Except the toddler, I mean. Most kids like them and it would be something that you could do with them. Even if they get bored of it in two weeks at least they'll have the fond memory of playing "Game Here" with mom on Christmas. There are so many board games on the market right now that you will be sure to find something they'll like and a lot of them aren't too childish. Some are even semi-educational.

I hope that helps at least a little.]

I wanted to add that I would not get your daughter a cell phone. She's ten; who does she need to speak to on the phone? At that age she is way too young to understand monthly fees and "minutes" and will just run up a huge bill. And probably she'll get it taken away from her at school and then you'll have the hassle of having to go up there and pay them a fee to get it out of the hock.

im right there with you too!its hard when kids are involved, this is my daughters first realy xmas, shes 1 1/2 so she will prob not remember it at all but i will.

for your 10 year old, i know it sounds cheesy but try going to 2nd hand stores in the nicest neighborhood in your area, i know that close to me is a pretty wealthy town and their 2nd hand store has great bargains on some really nice clothes. she wont even know the difference. you can spend prob $100 and get quite a bit or get her a gift card at target or something for $100 and make a card or something saying that you want to take her on a shopping spree, to a 10 year old $100 is a lot of money.

For your 9 year old son, they have a lot of stores that sale 2nd hand video games and the only difference is a sticker on the package that can easily be removed, he wont notice either. As far as the transformes go, if you dont already own the movie, buy it for him.

The 3 year old is the easiest bc like you said hell play with anything.

My mom always used to work on a very tight budget but the holiday was always special for us, she always made sure that our stockings were full of lots of small fun things!

maybe even end the morning by going to a shelter and helping out serve dinner or something, then they will see how fortunate they are no matter how much or little they got...

It's a slippery slope. Ifyou spend too much, it means someone else isn't getting the funding they request. If you spend too much in one area, you run the risk of putting all your eggs in one basket, and then spilling the basket. If "Government" spends too much in one field, especially in a free market democratic-republic, where the market should dictate what gets made and what doesn't, you run the risk of setting a precedent for the Government to own and contral any and everything. On the other hand, with all the amazing spinoff technologies that have come into existence due to NASA funding, I wouldn't be oppossed to a higher percentage of the allotted funds going to NASA, versus, say, the DOD, which, whether or not they are making me safer or not, it doesn't FEEL to me like that money is going towards protecting my constitutional rights, which is the only real reason why a Department of Defense is required in the first place. I should also try to explain how the Federal Budget works, it's more complicated than this, but here goes. Each organization/department requests certain funding at the beginning of the year from Congress. A department is required to specifically detail where those dollars are going. It must pertain to the organization/departments needs (e.g. NASA can't spend money on something that has nothing to do with aeronautics or space exploration). Each depatment jockeys for position, trying to get approved for a bigger piece of the total federal budget pie. If NASA were to propose projects that Congress feels is worht the dollar amount, and/or can generate a greater public interest, then Congress will approve $$$ for those projects. But those same people in Congress will look at this carefully, any proposed plan, because DOT needs money for roads, DOD needs to repair a tank, Social Security is going to need.... uh-oh.

well with $350.00 divided by 3 is 116 a piece and really you don't have to spend that much on the 3 year old.i buy one semi big gift and like2 or 3 small gifts.if you get the things they want then it won't matter how much they get.go to walmart and get your daughter some clothes,they have very cute clothes for cheap,get her an outfit a cd, get her one of those go phones they are only like 30 at walmart.you can do it trust me.i also live on a budget and have done no shopping yet.have a great christmas your kids will love whatever they get,and don't they get gifts from other people to.maybe you could tell grandma or whoever you know if you have'nt already got them a present this is what they really want.

The question you need to answer is "Do I want to give my kids a LOT of meaningless presents, or do I want my kids to have a couple of nice presents, or do I want my kids to have one great present? Really, $350 for 3 kids should go a long, way, especially if you're shopping at Wal-mart. The previous listing with TJ Maxx and others was also a great idea, especially for clothes. If that is what she wants, then I think even 1 good outfit would be better than a lot of gifts. Pass on the video games, and give him a gift card for a video game rental place instead. $350 should go a long way. Good Luck.

$350 should go a long way. You can get a good cell phone for cheap if you sign up for a new plan for her. Otherwise you could probably buy a lot of different Bratz dolls and accessories. Transformers shouldnt be too hard to find, I still see them in the stores, unless he is after very specific figures. Go ahead and spend less on the 3 year old, he wouldnt know the difference anyway. Like you said, he'll play with anything. Do you they play board games? You could possibly buy games that they could all share too.

go to Big Lots, Marshalls, TJ Maxx or one of the same type stores. They have nice items for cheap and you can probably spend a lot less than 20/30 dollars and still get really cool gifts! I've done this for years as I'm a single mom and need so much for so many.

Or hit the craft store find something to make by hand like candles or frames and give everyone the same gift this might only cost $50 bucks and would cover 10-20 people.

How about telling your kid the truth! Send them a card each an say something like, Dad loves you so much I thought you could choose your present and then we could do lunch! Personally I think a day in the life of their Daddy is worth something.

as far as the video games go there are place like game exchange and what not where you can buy nice games for really cheap you just have to check it out in your area. you can get really nice looking clothes at walmart or the goodwill just really check them out before you buy them if you go to the good will. it'll be easier than you think to make your money stretch for christmas, get lots of cheap things that way it looks like lots of presents. besides when kids are young they are happy to be getting anything. good luck and merry christmas.

Check out the ads on Craigslist. You may find some good deals from people posting there.