Christmas Shopping Today!

My DD 28 and DS 31 don't have trees, no ornaments needed.

Booked a 14 night cruise last week for DH & me, Christmas and birthdays done. Booked DS's airfare home from Seattle, done. DD we will also pay her flights from San Francisco. Will get something for grandson. Probably take DD & DSIL out to dinner. We give them a LOT of free babysitting. That's it.
 


Here is a sample of one of the things I bought early. Long story short DS#1 is multi-disabled, cognitively a child, considered non-verbal and LIVES for Disney. About 5 years ago he kept showing me the Viewmaster boxes at the stores (I think the new ones worked with cell phones) and then would shake his head no and put his hands to his face to mimic the old school Viewmasters and clicking them. Great, they don't sell them anymore. I spent lots of time searching online for a "projector version" and then eBay to buy some Disney reels. They are in demand so took a few months to win a few reasonably.

Mousesteps follows Disney merchandise so they put this out there and I was pumped, and immediately purchased one. And it's so reasonable!!! with reels and case. I can't wait to see his face when he opens it.

View attachment 794385

Mousesteps Shares Mickey Viewmaster

I think this absolutely awesome! I can just imagine the joy it will bring to your son💙



I've been buying little Halloween things FOR ME! And I assure you I DON'T NEED ANYTHING HALLOWEEN as that has been high holiday here for decades. Just shifting my focus to more inside, less outside and minimal bodies.
 
Already got our family the yearly matching ornaments and asked everyone to consider what they want. I really need to start with the Advent so it isn't another month of fun socks, which were fun and all but they got a lot of socks.
 
I ordered the Home Alone lego set when it came back in stock after Christmas 2022 (I think it was sometime in March.) I will give it to DH,DS11 and DS9 at the beginning of November so they can have it completed before Christmas Eve.
 
I'm a "pick things up as I see them" shopper, so I technically started quite a while ago, but I haven't been on a dedicated Christmas shopping outing yet.
 
I'm doing pretty well. Finished DIL, almost DD, 1/2 way done with both grand kids.
Barely started DS and nothing for DH.

I am working on Halloween too
 
When I first read this I thought it’s way too early! Then I remembered I already picked up a couple things for my mom for Christmas from my travels this summer 😂
 
We are going to be away from November 1st to December 10th (two cruises out of Sydney) so, out of necessity, we officially started our Christmas shopping a few weeks ago.
We would like to get it all done and wrapped before we go away although there is a distinct possibility we will buy extra stuff on our travels!

ford family
 
got a couple of ornaments. preordered a 'kenough' hoodie, did my first EVER purchase on ebay (a couple of items i had been searching for years for but were always overpriced/not in good condition).

most stuff i have to wait for vendors to open their christmas return period on.
Do you know when the Kenough hoodies are shipping? My son bought one and has no clue when it’s arriving.

I haven’t started shopping yet. We just do a few one big Santa gift for the kids a few small gifts from us. They all know who Santa is but it fun to keep the tradition.
 
I have a few stocking stuffers just because I love filling stockings so I’ll pick things up when I see something that I know would be enjoyed. Beyond that, I don’t shop until Thanksgiving. I have that week off so I usually knock it out the. mostly online although DD and I do keep the tradition of hitting a few stores on Black Friday just for fun.
We have 12 stocking to fill. I usually buy stuff and put them away and then forget what I did with them. 🤣 This year, I started putting little things in a shoe box and not just such here and there in a drawer.

Now I am a cheap person, but when I see ads on tv for something for $35 with a note, "this would be a great stocking stuffing", I'm shocked. Perhaps in that was the one thing in stocking. As it is, I spend about $15 per person. Few real things, like chapsticks, hand lotion, little flashlights, and then candy, chips, nuts. Hard not to buy the same over and over. And will kid one be jealous that that kid 2 got better stuff. Yeah, I stress over stupid stuff.

At our church, the kids church has a "store". You get tickets for knowing bible verse, behavior, etc. Then you can buy stuff at the store. I bought a lot of little things, flash lights, planes, those sticky things that walk down the wall, punch ballons, etc. So got 1 doz of something, and kept two. ( I paid for all the stuff, no stealing of church funds occurred here)


Our grown kids, we stopped buying gifts for them about 5 years ago. Just ran out of ideas.

Grandkids, either send me the link for an gift or I'll send you a check. Half the time, DD will say get XYZ and I have no idea what she is talking about. Last few years we bought them season passes to hershey and a few extra gifts. I think hershey has gotten old. Not going as much.
 
I added a couple of things for my oldest on my most recent amazon order. And picked up a few calendars. My youngest has a birthday the week before Christmas I have to shop for that too. It's easier financially to start early
 
I usually do much of my Christmas shopping the week after Christmas for the following year. Lots of 75-90% deals. So yeah already have gifts for those family members that I have to buy something for that does not need much thought.
 
The whole concept wears me out. So much fuss, so much money spent. We are not religious in any way, shape, or form, so Christmas really is about a traditional American holiday and not celebrating anything significant. This year we are taking the resident 7 year old on a "first trip" to Disney in early January, so most of the holiday gift giving will be based around this, at least for the child. Maybe I'll find us all matching tees to wear to MK or something. I also will buy DD another ornament- I give her one to commemorate something "big" from each year, but haven't decided what this year's theme will be. Oh, and DH wants socks and underwear, as usual.
 
We have 12 stocking to fill. I usually buy stuff and put them away and then forget what I did with them. 🤣 This year, I started putting little things in a shoe box and not just such here and there in a drawer.

Now I am a cheap person, but when I see ads on tv for something for $35 with a note, "this would be a great stocking stuffing", I'm shocked. Perhaps in that was the one thing in stocking. As it is, I spend about $15 per person. Few real things, like chapsticks, hand lotion, little flashlights, and then candy, chips, nuts. Hard not to buy the same over and over. And will kid one be jealous that that kid 2 got better stuff. Yeah, I stress over stupid stuff.
When we were kids, our stockings held the batteries and accessories for any toys that needed them, along with some candy. We sort of stick to that tradition. For example, my BIL likes a specific style of cell phone case, and his wore out, so I got him a new one, and it was a stocking gift. My sister wanted some specific skincare items, and those went in her stocking. I need a new battery for my internet hotspot, and I figure that will be a stocking gift. Basically, anything that is small-ish and might get lost in the shuffle gets put in a stocking.

I can’t imagine trying to fill 12 stockings though. That must be stressful. I can see why you would need to budget carefully. There are only two stockings I need to fill, so it’s not so bad.
 













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