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The Boy proudly finishes his Christmas shopping

I remember one gift from my childhood more than any other.

It was a clothes hanger.

My younger brother, who was probably five or six years old at the time, had received $5 from a family member. And with it, he decided to buy gifts for his parents and siblings from the dollar store.

His gifts were probably not the most thoughtful - but he wanted to share his small fortune and who knows, maybe he thought I ought to hang up my clothes instead of doing the teenager thing and tossing them all over the floor.

This year, I decided to try an experiment with The Boy, my seven-year-old. I gave him $50 in cash and told him it was intended for gifts for Daddy, Grandma, Papa, Uncle, and Sister.

He first figured out how much money $50 meant for five people. I then asked him, "What's more important - to spend exactly $10 on each person, or to get them gifts you think they will love?"

He got the point. We headed to the mall, and the first store he saw was Claire's - the pre-teen accessory store. "There will be lots of things for my sister in here!" he exclaimed, and we went inside.

He wandered around for a while, looking at hair bands, bracelets, and Disney Princess items. But then he settled on a diary. "Why a diary?" I asked. "She's only four, after all."

The Boy explained, "Well, you know how she's always looking for paper and pencils and copying words?" (It's true: I will find lists of random words she sees on books, electronics, or whatever all over the house.) "I thought she could copy all of her words into a book, then keep them all together!"

Very nice, I thought. Good choice. The diary was $7.50; with tax, just about $8. The Boy paid and returned the rest of his money to his pocket - which he promptly zipped.

At the bookstore next door, The Boy noticed music CDs. "Daddy loves U2! I'm going to get him a U2 CD!" he said. But after pulling CD after CD from the rack and hearing from me that Daddy already has that one, he gave up. "How about Paul Van Dyk?" he asked. He found the Paul Van Dyk section (after thinking about what kind of music that is - it's not rock like U2, it's dance) and found a CD single of a song he knew Daddy liked. He checked with me to see if Daddy has it - he doesn't - and added it to his cart. Price: $6.99.

So now The Boy knew he was "ahead" on his $10 average per person. He found a calendar with old military airplane photos for his Uncle - I didn't know Uncle liked military planes, but The Boy assured me he does. The calendar was $14, and The Boy understood that by purchasing it, he'd have about $20 left for Grandma and Papa. Perfect!

Over at a department store, The Boy found a gorgeous compact for Grandma. The price tag, though, read $30. I pointed out a sign above the table of compacts. "What does 50% off mean?" he asked. I explained it would cost half of what the tag read - $15. And then I explained something else: if you use your store credit card, you get an additional 15% off - making the compact $12.75.

The Boy was puzzled. "Why would they do that?" I briefly explained interest and credit cards, but I offered to let him give me the cash and I would put the purchase on my card - which I will pay off in full when I receive the bill. He happily agreed.

With his remaining $7, finding a gift for Papa would be difficult. But soon he found a little organizer that fits into the cupholder of a car. "Papa drives a lot to work, so I think he'd like this," The Boy explained. The cost - after using my store card again - was $9. "You are $2 over," I explained.

"Well, I have $10 at home that I earned doing chores for Grandma," The Boy said. "Can I borrow $2 from you now, and pay you back when we get home?"

I smiled. To help him complete his thoughtful purchases, absolutely.

And now we both can't wait to see the pleased looks on our family members' faces on Christmas morning. How perfect is this: lessons about budgeting, math, taxes, credit cards, all under the auspices of learning how to happily give to others!