8th Annual Christmas Thead

[bas71873]

I've gotten a few ideas for DD. She'll be 2.5 when Christmas rolls around. She's recently really gotten into baby dolls, so I'm thinking about a Bitty Baby from American Girl. Do you all think that's appropriate for a 2 year old? I've also thought about getting her a doll stroller so she can take "care" of her baby while I care for our new baby.

I'm also thinking about a play kitchen for the basement too.

For DH, I have no clue! We're going on our 5th anniversary trip in October 2016 so that'll be our "gift" this year. Probably some odds and ends.

Personally for a kiddo that young, I would not start the AG dolls yet. There are other great baby dolls out there for a lot less money. My DD was NEVER into baby dolls at all. Then for Christmas when she was 7, she sprung on me about 2 weeks before Cmas that she wanted an AG doll. Well, no way was I buying one that late nor knowing if she'd even play with it, so we did an Our Generation doll from Target. She loved her, played with her and so for her 8th birthday about 6 months later we got her her first AG doll. Now we have 5 of them and at that age, she knew how to take care of them. I would start with a doll from Target or Toys R Us if I were you.

And yes, at that age, the stroller would be a hit. My DD always loved her grocery cart too. Same for the kitchen. I've always said the kitchen was one of the best purchases we ever made. We always stuck with Step 2 items for things like that (we have the desk and doll house too). They are sturdy, easy to clean and hold up well. We've since passed those on to my niece.

 

[pigletgirl]

Personally for a kiddo that young, I would not start the AG dolls yet. There are other great baby dolls out there for a lot less money. My DD was NEVER into baby dolls at all. Then for Christmas when she was 7, she sprung on me about 2 weeks before Cmas that she wanted an AG doll. Well, no way was I buying one that late nor knowing if she'd even play with it, so we did an Our Generation doll from Target. She loved her, played with her and so for her 8th birthday about 6 months later we got her her first AG doll. Now we have 5 of them and at that age, she knew how to take care of them. I would start with a doll from Target or Toys R Us if I were you.

And yes, at that age, the stroller would be a hit. My DD always loved her grocery cart too. Same for the kitchen. I've always said the kitchen was one of the best purchases we ever made. We always stuck with Step 2 items for things like that (we have the desk and doll house too). They are sturdy, easy to clean and hold up well. We've since passed those on to my niece.

Yeah, I figured as much. I know I want to give her a baby doll though so I will keep looking.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

5 MONTHS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

This is always my favorite thread on this board, I follow it every year. This year I really want to focus more on the reason for the season and less on gifts. This is hard to do with a 10 and 8 year old because yes I want them to have a load of gifts under the tree Christmas morning. And we have to buy for the nieces and nephews. But I am going to try not to stress on teacher gifts and such. I want to try new recipes this year and find something edible to make and stick in mason jars as gifts.....any ideas on what won't go stale quickly?

I have an OBSESSION with Hallmark Christmas movies and Christmas music!

Oh, and since we just got kittens I am a little worried they will go nuts running in and out of the Christmas tree! Any suggestions there?

 

[abs1978]

I've gotten a few ideas for DD. She'll be 2.5 when Christmas rolls around. She's recently really gotten into baby dolls, so I'm thinking about a Bitty Baby from American Girl. Do you all think that's appropriate for a 2 year old? I've also thought about getting her a doll stroller so she can take "care" of her baby while I care for our new baby.

I'm also thinking about a play kitchen for the basement too.

For DH, I have no clue! We're going on our 5th anniversary trip in October 2016 so that'll be our "gift" this year. Probably some odds and ends.

DD got her bitty baby when she was 21 months. She fell in love and it's been her constant companion ever since (she's almost 5 now). I think 2.5 is a great age for the doll!

DD already has a long birthday/Christmas list. She wants an American Girl doll (Grace Thomas or Kit), books, a Barbie, legos, a robot (??), and a real magic wand. So some of those won't happen, haha.

For DH I want to an airplane flying experience. The rest of the family is impossible to shop for so I'll look for experience gifts there as well.

 

[Happiest mommy]

bas71873 Thank you so much for sharing link!

 

[LilyWDW]

I'm not sure what I am going to bake this year. Last year I made chocolate chip, peanut butter, and chocolate with peanut butter chips, "Christmas crack", and white chocolate popcorn. I posted some pictures I took last year. Let me know if you want recipes for anything!

Oooo... that white chocolate popcorn sounds tasty.

I wish I could start baking now!

 

[tjcrabb]

I have found my people, disney and christmas obessesed! I have two trips to disney planned before christmas and I am flying home for the holidays so things will be a little tight. Thankfully I usually do experience gifts for the kids so the money will not be spent until the new year. I also do an ornament for the nieces and nephews each november.

Mom: Pick a Pearl earrings
Dad: Itunes gift card?
Sister: Pick a Pearl earrings?

Niece 10: dinner or lunch and a trip to the soap factory (the soap factory is a local place where you can make bath products like soaps, lotions etc)
Nephew 8: lunch and trip to the aquarium/bouncy ball kit
Niece 7: ???
Niece 6: Lunch and a trip to a local bead store to make jewelry/makeup kit
Nephew 4:???
Nephew 3: Mickey blanket (free from disney movie club) plus either a minion from build a bear or a mickey movie

The 4&7 year olds don't live near me so figuring out what to get them is a little harder. When I ask my sister she just tells me they would be happy with anything. One of the disney trips is with all of my sisters and their families so maybe I can get some ideas then. The plan with my mom's gift is for the kids to pick out the oysters and have my sister (a photographer) will take pictures we will put into a scrapbook layout to give with the earrings. We usually draw names for the sisters and have a theme, this year its memories. Originally when I told my sister about the pick a pearl she was excited and wanted earrings made, but I think when she found the cost she changed her mind. She made comments about worrying they wouldn't look real ect. I think she still wants them but I hesitate to ruin the surprise by asking her, she was excited before but seemed to change her mind once she found out the cost. As for the kids I usually give an experience with a small gift they can play with immediately. In the past I have also given calendars marked with the date of the event.

 

[Deffenm]

I am excited to see this thread again. I love the holidays. DD is usually my hard one to buy for but this year she wants to re-do her bedroom so that makes it easier. So she is getting all the stuff she needs to re-do her room. She also wants a sewing table for her sewing machine so that is on her list. Her Birthday is Dec 24th so I think we will get her a trip to local bead shop or local fabric store for a class. I know one DS wants Kindle Fire as his iPod no longer works and he would prefer Kindle. They will all get clothes and gift cards but that is all I know right now. DH is easy he always give me a long list. He is worse then the kids. We are doing a big extended family trip to WDW in 2017 so I know I will be getting my family gift cards to Disney for the trip. I hope to get some more ideas from others on here. I can't believe it will be Aug. in less than a week.

 

[tabrizia]

Can we participate if we celebrate Hanukkah too? That being said we also celebrate Christmas because of my MIL, but this year will be tough after her unexpected death last January.


I am getting my niece and nephew an annual pass to a museum by them I'll have to ask my sister which one is best.
I am not sure what I am getting my newborn nephew, I'll have to wait and decide, there isn't a ton that a 2 month old needs, which is how old he'll be at the holidays.
I need to get some sort of gift for the annual Hanukkah exchange, I have a bunch of homemade vanilla so I might do a baking set, or I might just get a $50 gift card to Disney, since we are all, or most of us anyways, going in January.

DS 8: I honestly I have no clue, we might get him a WiiU he's been asking for one, He'll get Disney Infinity 3.0 and probably another video game as well, and some outfits for Disney.
DD 6: I already have her big gift this year it is another American Girl Doll, I will probably get her a few outfits for her dolls and she really wants the school set they have so we'll see. She'll also get some Disney clothes since we'll be going in January.
DS 4: He'll get the newest Skylander game and some skylanders to go with it, he will probably share the WiiU (well we all will, but we'll call it a combined gift) if we get it, he'll get some superhero toys probably imaginext ones, and he'll get some Disney clothes too.
I'm also going to get them all a gift card for Disney so they have spending money while we are there in January.

DH: He is getting the new Lego Dimensions game, because who doesn't want 3 collectible video games, sigh. I'll also get him a board game or two and maybe something else but I have no clue what yet.

FIL: He'll get a photobook of the kids' year, a calendar of the kids' year, and something else he is hard to shop for so I am not sure what.
My parents will get a photobook and calendar, plus I took the lead in organizing the basics of the big trip in January they can count that as a present too.

We honestly are not sure what we are doing for Christmas, we don't know if we are going to stay home and do it, which will likely be hard without MIL there or if we are going to go somewhere instead and bring FIL along. At the moment we are sort of thinking about going down to my parent's lake house, but we'll see when the time gets closer.

 

[Deffenm]

DH just mentioned an idea last night so I added to the list so I don't forget. He wants a fish finder for his boat. I might actually have my list done before October.

 

[bas71873]

Can we participate if we celebrate Hanukkah too? That being said we also celebrate Christmas because of my MIL, but this year will be tough after her unexpected death last January.

Hugs! This year will be tough. We lost my mom just before Cmas in 2013 and so that year was just a blur. Last year really stunk. I was just so sad all day. Tough on my dad too, but I made sure he stayed with us Cmas eve and Cmas night even though he didn't want to.

 

[LilyWDW]

So tomorrow is the first day of Gen Con, the biggest convention in the US for gaming. You have your table top roleplay games, your board games, and your video games. I'm going to be looking for age appropriate games for my nieces and nephews. Honestly, I am thinking of getting a couple and doing it more as a "group" gift for the 5 oldest because I simply can not afford to buy them all something separate.

 

[LynnTH]

I'm in. Just bought my first Christmas Gift. Yeah!! We really don't have many to buy for anymore. We quit exchanging gifts with Brothers/Sisters and spouses a few years back and we buy for the nieces and nephews until they are 21. So, our list is dwindling... (can't complain about that). This is who I have:

DH - Always impossible to buy for. Says he doesn't need anything...
DS16 - He wants a new Ipad so may get that. He is driving now and uses his phone for a GPS but that uses a lot of data so will probably get him a new GPS for the car. (We have one but it is old and not one that can be updated)
He likes getting Gift cards and anything Nike.
DD14 - She wants a sewing machine. Just got her a Ninja Storm - she loves to cook and make smoothies. Oh yeah - she also wants a Kitchen Air Mixer .. not sure if she wants a new Ipad also. (not getting it all). She also loves clothes.
Dad - Not sure - Usually Gift Cards for Menards or Gas Cards.
Dad In Law and His Wife - Usually some sort of food basket or food sent from Omaha Steaks
Great Niece 8 - Will have to wait for list
Great Niece 4 - Will have to wait for list

That is about all. No more bus drivers or teachers. Both are in high school now and will drive to school. For Christmas Day we have my side of family over and do a Santa Exchange thing at about $15 per person. (DH's family are all out of state)

 

[Pesky]

5 MONTHS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

This is always my favorite thread on this board, I follow it every year. This year I really want to focus more on the reason for the season and less on gifts. This is hard to do with a 10 and 8 year old because yes I want them to have a load of gifts under the tree Christmas morning. And we have to buy for the nieces and nephews. But I am going to try not to stress on teacher gifts and such. I want to try new recipes this year and find something edible to make and stick in mason jars as gifts.....any ideas on what won't go stale quickly?

Christmas Crunch! Also known by many as Christmas crack because it's almost impossible to stop eating. Super easy and very easy to make in large batches. Does contain peanuts but you can change that to something else like pretzels if preferred. I've always done the traditional recipe below but my sister has mixed it up with different kinds of cereal, pretzels, different nuts (need to be salted kind), and even various M&Ms (though she admits the plain work best in all the recipes).
2 cups plain Cheerios
2 cups plain Rice Krispies
2 cups salted cocktail peanuts (no skin)
2 cups plain M&Ms (you can make them the holiday kind to be festive)
[original recipe calls for 2 cups mini marshmallows but I didn't care for the over sweetness and texture so I omit and add more of the rest)
1 package white almond bark/white chocolate candy coating

Mix all ingredients but almond bark together in a large bowl and set aside. melt almond bark and pour over other ingredients. Stir well to coat and then spread out over wax paper or parchment paper to cool. Break apart and enjoy!

 

[InStitchesinNE]

I love this thread! We are going to Disney for a surprise trip December 12-20, and when we get back the kids will be on winter break. I'm really hoping to have everything done and wrapped before our trip because they all still believe, and it's hard to get things done with them home! I'm one of those people still putting things together and wrapping presents until 2AM Christmas Eve though, but I'm really going to try!

The kids want their rooms made over as they are getting older, so I've bought some bedding, decorations, etc. I also bought some neat stuffed animal/reading lights from Zulilly. Plan to buy gifts for niece 8 and infant nephew at Disney. Niece 14 and nephew 10 aren't into Disney really, but hoping to find something for them there, if not gift cards work. No clue for my mom and dad or the in-laws. Honestly, I'll probably wait until the last minute as usual, but hopefully I'll find stuff at Disney for everyone. I'm bringing an extra empty duffel bag or suitcase for gifts!

 

[LilyWDW]

Gen Con is over which makes me sad, but that means Christmas is the next thing to think about. I was able to find some games for gifts though so I'm going to redo my list:

Dad: ???
Aunt #1: ??? (Maybe a restaurant gift card for her and my uncle together)
Uncle #1: ???
Grandmother: ???
Cousin #1: ???
Cousin #1's husband: Got him a pair of tactical work gloves that are reinforced since he is often sticking his hands in narrow places for work lol also got some star wars metal things that you have to build. Figure he can do this with his boys
Nephew #1 (2.5) and Nephew #2 (4.5): Got them 2 games they can both play (plus mom and dad). I will also get them some books and an ornament (1 each).
Cousin #2: A small manicure "basket", so stuff like nail polish and the like. Spending less then $20.
Nephew #3 (7), Niece #1 (9), Nephew #4 (10), Niece #2 (12), and Nephew #5 (13): Got them 2 games they can all play. At the most they will also each get a book. Long story but I am done buying them nice stuff and spending the money when they and their mom don't appreciate it.
Aunt #2: Ornament and something from Harry and David or similar
Uncle #2: Will share the item from Harry and David or similar
Friend and her family: Something from Harry and David or similar plus something special for my friend

 

[Dizlvr]

I'm in! I don't have alot of people to buy for, just my 3 kids, my dad, dh's dad and stepmom, my grandmother and our friends' 3 kids.

I've already started shopping for my kids, the other day I ordered my youngest ds a jersey of one of his favorite soccer players. I'm also going to get 4 tickets to 2 soccer matches so he can see him play and take a friend. He wants a full size goal for the yard and if we take the pool down at the end of the summer I may get him one because it will be the perfect spot for it.
I know he wants some expensive sneakers (nike kd's) and beats headphones too. His birthday is 6 weeks before Christmas so he'll probably get one of those things for that. If I can find a good deal on the other, maybe for Christmas but that depends on if he gets the soccer goal.

I've already gotten my other ds his Microsoft Live renewal but I have no ideas for what else to get him. He really isn't into anything other than video games and he has all the ones he wants, or he will by Christmas because his birthday is coming up. His Ipod is giving him issues so maybe an iphone.

My dd wants her own skis and boots because she doesn't want to use the rentals anymore. Every Sept one of our local ski shops has a huge tent sale so I'll check that out to see what deals they have.

For dh's dad and stepmom I may ask my SILs and BIL if they want to go in on a gift certificate for a weekend at a hotel on the beach, and some dining GCs. Just need to figure out where.

No ideas for anyone else yet, hoping to get some ideas from this thread, thanks for starting it OP!

 

[weluvjasmine]

Is anyone planning to make any gifts this year? I'm working on a few projects have my kids. For my 4 yo son, I'm making a mustache disguise kit, a felt car mat (with different locations for him to use is Hot Wheels on), bow ties, teepee, and a marshmallow construction kit. For my almost 10 yo daughter, I'm making a spy kit, prayer box, Minecraft potions, essential oils beauty kit, fairy garden items.

I've already bought play-doh kits and a Puzzleball for my son and the Minecraft book set, American Girl Baking with Grace activity book, Alex & Ani bracelet for my daughter.

 

[Happiest mommy]

school hasn't started yet but already thinking what to get teachers? what you guys have in mind? I think Descendants stuff will be big this year

 

[Nathansmommy]

we're totally a Christmas family! DS is already asking for Ho Ho Ho(he's speech delayed). I really need to start my Christmas shopping, I always leave it for the last minute.