Thinking of Christmas

[AntePrincess]

Anyone else thinking of Christmas since the thread about the budget Christmas trip? I just pulled out next year's fruitcake and "fed" it some more rum. Now I can't wait for the holidays.

Anyone want to get a jump start on Christmas in July?

[gracie1]

Originally Posted by AntePrincess

Anyone else thinking of Christmas since the thread about the budget Christmas trip? I just pulled out next year's fruitcake and "fed" it some more rum. Now I can't wait for the holidays.

Anyone want to get a jump start on Christmas in July?

I love, love, love the holidays. My family belongs to the grinch though I think!! I was told this year that no one wants to exchange gifts, which really bums me out. But I will just treat myself to something nice I guess

Have you already started shopping for the holidays? I have started for my pups

[Priorityonecb]

I've started putting some thought into gifts too! My girls are 21 and 15 though, I really have no earthly idea what they will want! I think I'll start with the other family members and leave them for last!

[albertamommyof4]

i have already bought a couple small gifts( such good prices on them that i couldn;t pass it up) will be harder this year as they will be 15, 13, 10 and 6, well the oldest one(boy) will be the hardest the 13 and 10 year old a boy and a girl, i am hoping to get a great deal on a nintendo ds, not sure which one to get though. the youngest boy is still the easiest always happy with nomatter what lol.

[worm761]

I have! A couple of months ago I spotted a Star Wars M&M machine for $5.99. I grabbed it. I am working my rewards programs as hard as I can for Christmas money/stocking stuffers. I am planning to cash out at MyPoints for a GameStop GC for DS (16 years old) for his stocking. One less thing I have buy with real money. Working SwagBucks for Amazon GC to cover the nieces and nephew and a good portion of DD hopefully.

I have also started planning Thanksgiving since we host every year.

[mrsbornkuntry]

I have started thinking about Christmas and picked up a couple of stocking stuffers. My biggest expense is shopping for my kids and now that they're getting older they mostly want video games and electronics and it's too early to shop for those since what they want will change. DS8 is really hard to shop for, he wants toys, but he doesn't play with them, he mostly plays outside and sports. He has started to become interested in Legos so maybe some more of those.

[disneyfan007]

I have picked up a few things here and there. So many to buy for I cannot do it all at the last minute. Best deal so far was a 750 piece Cars lego set regular $70.00 was on clearance at Wal Mart for $17.00 this past week! That is already put up for grandson.

[AntePrincess]

Originally Posted by gracie1

I love, love, love the holidays. My family belongs to the grinch though I think!! I was told this year that no one wants to exchange gifts, which really bums me out. But I will just treat myself to something nice I guess

Have you already started shopping for the holidays? I have started for my pups

I love the holidays too! This time of year I'm usually all about the cook outs, picnics, and fireworks, but there was something about opening up my Christmas cake saver and inhaling all those spices (and that rum) was like magic!

My family keeps the gifts to a minimum, too, in fact I'll be making gifts of fudge, Christmas puddings, and things like that. I know I'll be getting the kids little things like Legos, Playdoh, and more art supplies, but I do keep my eyes out for one big gift used on Craigslist or Freecycle.

Originally Posted by Priorityonecb

I've started putting some thought into gifts too! My girls are 21 and 15 though, I really have no earthly idea what they will want! I think I'll start with the other family members and leave them for last!

Oo, that is a hard age, I'd have to start looking around now for a Christmas gift for that age group, too. I'd probably give iTunes gift cards. At a certain age they just get nifty stocking stuffers from me.

Originally Posted by albertamommyof4

i have already bought a couple small gifts( such good prices on them that i couldn;t pass it up) will be harder this year as they will be 15, 13, 10 and 6, well the oldest one(boy) will be the hardest the 13 and 10 year old a boy and a girl, i am hoping to get a great deal on a nintendo ds, not sure which one to get though. the youngest boy is still the easiest always happy with nomatter what lol.

I keep my eyes out at Five Below and IKEA every time I'm in there for these sorts of things myself, though my kids are young and easy to get stocking stuffers for. It's easy to make movie night stockings for the older age range there though: $5 DVD, bag of popcorn (or fancy premade kettlecorn), and a box or two of movie theater candy.

Originally Posted by worm761

I have also started planning Thanksgiving since we host every year.

I hadn't thought about that one yet.

Originally Posted by mrsbornkuntry

I have started thinking about Christmas and picked up a couple of stocking stuffers. My biggest expense is shopping for my kids and now that they're getting older they mostly want video games and electronics and it's too early to shop for those since what they want will change. DS8 is really hard to shop for, he wants toys, but he doesn't play with them, he mostly plays outside and sports. He has started to become interested in Legos so maybe some more of those.

For the game fans in my life, I buy indie game bundles throughout the year. These can be anything from PC to Mac or console games in some cases (but not so often). I got about 10 games for $8 for a few of my friends' birthdays. All legal, all DRM-free. You just have to keep on top of them. I don't know what sort of games your friends would be interested in.

Originally Posted by disneyfan007

I have picked up a few things here and there. So many to buy for I cannot do it all at the last minute. Best deal so far was a 750 piece Cars lego set regular $70.00 was on clearance at Wal Mart for $17.00 this past week! That is already put up for hubby's grandson.

I know what you mean about it being too much at once later in the year.

[luvmy3]

I've already got some things hiddden away for my dses. I got one of them a North Face jacket on clearance, and a Yankee jacket for the other. I also have some Lego sets that I found on clearance.
If I see a deal on something I know they will like, I grab it, no matter what time of year it is.

[wishesuponastar]

The only thing we have thought about Christmas is maybe getting DD's I-touch.
Oh, and a photo blanket for BIL.

We might host Thanksgiving.

[Jedana]

DS is getting camping stuff for his Christmas this year, because in June, he will be a Webelo, and will start camping wihtout mom. (Dad will still be there, since he is the den leader.)

So, a new sleeping bag, with a liner is on the agenda, along with a headlamp and decent flashlight. Also, a "cooking set" of some sort, since they will start prepping and making some of their own meals. A new pocketknife, maybe. Mesh bags, compression sack. Maybe a smaller tent (he has a 4 man tent that he won last year for selling popcorn).

Then some lego stuff. He loves legos.

Maybe we'll help cover the cost of his camps for that summer---in May, they are sleeping on the USS Yorktown (@$72 a person); Webelos resident camp runs about $180-200 for a week; and Aquatics came was $180 this year. He earns money by selling "camp cards"--this year he sold 100 cards, got a free daycamp (if he gets one next year, he is going to gift it to one of the younger boys who can't afford to go) and $1.25 per card went into his account (so he paid for the majority of aquatics camp this year).

Other than that, he really doesn't need anything--he has a Wii and a tv w/cable in the spare bedroom, along with a drum set. Bow/arrow and BB gun w/targets in the backyard, and a .22 rifle in the gun cabinet.

I know he wants Lego Batman 2, but he'll probably buy that with his own money next month. He has $80 saved up as of today, from allowance ($8 a week). He is really wanting a bunch of Legos (stuck between LOTR, SWars, and Superheroes), so he's been saving for them. No shopping until the end of June, though--that's when he said he could spend his money.

Maybe we'll just buy a few lego things, plus the camping gear ($300-400 total). the girls will get either cash, gift cards, or maybe a gift basket of some sort (both are out of the house now. ) So, about $500-600 for Christmas (unless we pay for camps).

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I have started thinking about Christmas already . But its my favourite time of year, so really.....I don't ever stop thinking about the holiday season .

Our family Christmas gift last year was a trip to Orlando (8 nights away from home, visiting Discovery Cove, SeaWorld, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure). We only have one kiddo and we tend to be instant gratification people at the best of times (meaning if we need it, we buy it...finances permitting, of course) so I always find it hard to figure out what to buy each other when Christmas rolls around. Add in the fact that DS's birthday is 2.5 weeks after Christmas (meaning another round of gifts and/or celebrations ) and it makes it even HARDER.

We loved doing the trip in lieu of gifts.....we exchanged a few small items on Christmas morning (maybe spending $100 on each other and $200 on DS....mostly on stuff we needed, some items for our trip, and a couple of "wants" for the boy), took the tree down on Boxing Day, then packed for our December 30th departure. Had Christmas Eve at church, holiday dinners with each of the families........didn't feel like we missed out on a thing.

Then we had a week of fun in the sun and a reprieve from the snow and cold of our Canadian winter .

I have just started pricing out options for this Christmas....maybe Orlando, maybe Tampa......but DH doesn't want to humour me just yet . He is still too busy focusing on our August getaway. I know how to outsmart the man, however. I will have an itinerary with prices for him to read over on the way home from our summer trip, right about the time when he kicks back in his airplane seat and sighs "I can't believe its over....this sucks".

He won't know what hit him .

[cheap traveler]

I have started thinking, but no buying yet. That's not for lack of trying, I just can't find anything I'm interested in.

Ok, I did get each of my girls and my Dniece new jewelery boxes, and my other Dniece a barbie (though now she lives with her dad, so there is very little chance I will see her).

But I've been looking for 2 months, since I went back to work, and nothing! This weekend my girls *might* be going with their father (first time in...forever?) so I will be able to look without them hovering

My DD8's birthday is 3 weeks after Christmas, so she is one of the hard to shop for. Plus, she has more toys than any 2 kids should have, so this year she is hinting heavily to an ipod touch. I'm undecided

[mrsbornkuntry]

Originally Posted by cheap traveler

I have started thinking, but no buying yet. That's not for lack of trying, I just can't find anything I'm interested in.

Ok, I did get each of my girls and my Dniece new jewelery boxes, and my other Dniece a barbie (though now she lives with her dad, so there is very little chance I will see her).

But I've been looking for 2 months, since I went back to work, and nothing! This weekend my girls *might* be going with their father (first time in...forever?) so I will be able to look without them hovering

My DD8's birthday is 3 weeks after Christmas, so she is one of the hard to shop for. Plus, she has more toys than any 2 kids should have, so this year she is hinting heavily to an ipod touch. I'm undecided

I wasn't sure about getting my 8yo DS an ipod touch, but they use them in his classroom at school so he already knows how to use it and take care of it so I got him a refurbished one for Christmas. He uses it all the time and I downloaded some of the same apps that they use in school for it so shhhh, don't tell him but it's educational too. It's also nice to have for car trips.

[ilovemk76]

I love the whole Christmas season.

I have a girlfriend's present bought. I was buying her birthday present and found that and more that she would like, so I bought the rest for Christmas.