posted on November 5, 2000 02:43:25 PM new
I went and did most of mine yesterday. Got home and was stressed and could barely move. But I would rather do it now than when the rushes hit. Today I am doing NOTHING and loving it.
posted on November 5, 2000 05:11:27 PM new
I shop for Christmas all year round. I am the biggest bargain hound I know. Anytime I'm out and about, either at a store or a garage sale, I always keep in mind who wanted what and pick up anything I can use as a gift.
I keep all the stuff in a closet and the only problem is looking through it all when the time comes for a present! This really saves me a lot of money, though.
posted on November 5, 2000 06:58:02 PM newMuriel It drives my husband nuts, but I do most of my Christmas shopping the week after Christmas (shopping for the next Christmas).
The San Francisco Music Box Company (set up here only seasonally) puts all of their Christmas stuff on Clearance (at least 50% off), and a lot of the card shops do also. And then all throughout the year I shop for good deals and out-of-season bargains...
The hardest part is keeping my big mouth shut, I want to show everybody the goodies as soon as I get them home. SO I have to put them away in a closet and not look at them again until I'm ready to wrap and label!
If it were up to my husband we would just give out Lottery tickets to everyone and be done with shopping in one day.
posted on November 6, 2000 05:08:32 AM new
In a typical year, I'm always lookin' for a bargain that'll be used as a Christmas gift (which I then buy & proceed to "lose" somewhere in the house)...I usually start my shoppin' in September & keep going until December 24th, spending WAY MORE than I should.....
So this year, I'm tryin' a different method....First, I'm gonna seek out those goodies that are hiden in the house & identify them....Then, I'm goin' out the day after Thanksgiving, which has become a family tradition (nothing quite as much fun at racin' from store to store at 5:00am!)....After that I'm gonna hold off until a couple weeks before Christmas....The last few years the major stores here have been almost "givin'" the stuff away BEFORE Christmas & I'm gonna be there to take advantage of that!!
It's gonna be a lean Christmas here....So, the husband & I have decided to get each other one or two very small gifts (read: inexpensive) But for fun, we are gonna cut out & wrap pictures of stuff that we "would" have bought for each other...
Peachy77....My sister used to give Lottery tix, which we all thought was pretty neat...UNTIL she started signing them!!!
posted on November 6, 2000 08:06:45 AM new
Started? Yes, but a long way from being finished. I used to pride myself that I had all our shopping done, wrapped and ready before Thanksgiving. Always felt more relaxed and was able to enjoy the holidays more. Now each year I get slower and slower.
Have been finding some great gifts on ebay for friends that collect certain special things.
posted on November 6, 2000 05:50:00 PM new
Yes, Lottery Tickets. I think it's a really easy gift to give, but I always feel like each person should get something different.
I was rolling on the floor about the woman who signs the tickets first! That was hilarious! Don't give my hubby any ideas though.
posted on November 6, 2000 08:43:00 PM new
Peachy77,
Great minds think alike! Mine is usually finished by the first week of January. LOVE those after-Christmas sales! Also great for buying wrapping paper/bows/cards, etc. for the next year.
Then I just wait for out of town relatives to visit during the year & I load them up on their Christmas stuff..saves me from having to ship.
When the stuff is on sale, I also pick up the teacher end of year gifts & anything I think can be used for wedding/birthday/baby gifts during the year. I always have a "stash" of stuff when an occasion arises.
BTW, after Christmas is a GREAT time to buy paper towels. WalMart had their Christmas ones marked to $.25 last year & I opened my last roll right before Halloween. Thank goodness, they put the Halloween ones on sale this week. Now I have enough to make it to Christmas.
posted on November 7, 2000 12:23:04 AM new
Sheesh, I'll never get it done. Of course, I haven't had any money for the past six months, lol, makes it kinda tough.
Love the paper towel buying tip!!
I do have one small brag, though.. sorta related. This weekend my son was invited to a birthday party. I stressed as usual about having no money for a gift and we almost didnt' go, until I hit the ONE garage sale in town (in the rain, and in my neighborhood!) and scored two HUGE stuffed dinosaurs (this kid LOVES dinos), both NWT from a well known toymaker, total $4.00. I'd thriftily saved gift bags and tissue paper from my own son's party last month, and we were good to go for under $5.00.
posted on November 8, 2000 03:34:33 PM new
Yup. Well, almost. My aunt likes the unique, and I have my eye on a few items on ebay for her. The kids I finished when Amazon had up to 75% off of their toys. Dad likes junk so that is easy to do. Last year with all the great e-tailor deals I spend $50 total on about 10 people (yes, $5 each!) and they each got $20-$30 of gifts!
posted on November 9, 2000 01:09:05 PM new
Did most of it on the internet. Grand daughter wanted a sno cone maker (among other things) went to the Hawaiianshavedice.com website and found a nice one and all the flavors you can get at the real sno cone stands. Much better than the cheap ones in the department store.
posted on November 11, 2000 04:44:05 PM new
ALMOST!...
started on October 1st and now have all but 4 done...
emailed those 4 people and sent them over to Amazon.com to make their wish lists up, mostly because I'd no idea what to get them...
haven't heard from them yet, so unless inspiration strikes, they're out of luck!
Anyone else?
