Even at nineteen years old, I still get excited on Christmas morning. After everyone wakes up and has their coffee, the first thing my family always does is go through our stockings.

But we stuff them a little differently.

At thanksgiving dinner my mom, dad, grandma, brother, and I all put our names into a hat. We then each pick out a slip of paper with someone else's name. We have the next month leading up to Christmas to use $30 and fill the stocking of whoever’s name we drew.

To me, this is the hardest shopping. You have to get very creative so you can find small things that fit in the stocking, fit to the personality of that person, and still stay in budget. On the days leading up to Christmas, everyone is trying to guess who has whose stocking and which person can give the best gift. Some years, it turns into a competition.

Over the past two years I've had my brother and my mom. I have to get them COMPLETELY different gifts. Last year, I gave my brother a Sriracha Hot Sauce key chain. For my mom, I usually get her small stuff for the kitchen because she loves cooking. When it comes to the last few dollars in your budget, christmas candy is always perfect for everyone's stocking.

I'm glad we started this tradition many years ago because it adds extra suspense and hapiness to Christmas Day!