Julia's hand me down Uggs are beyond repair, and I am NOT spending $300 on Uggs for an 11 year old whose feet are still growing!!!! I took her out for school sneakers. Famous Footwear has a BOGO promo going. And Julia found a pair of Bear Claws (wanna be Uggs) she loved. So I got her the boots and a pair of Converse sneakers for $85, with the provision that the next time she sees the boots are Christmas morning. Oh, and they found me a 20% coupon since Peter is in the buyer program. And I went next door to Payless, who also has a BOGO promo. I got myself a cute pair of peep-toe wedges for school, and some wannabe Uggs for myself, for a total of $46. (Seriously, I wear heels to school everyday. Sale boots are fine for me; they won't get all THAT much use!) They'll also be next opened on Christmas morning.
:thumb: I'm excited for the Holiday season. I wouldn't know where's the best places to begin the shopping as I haven't shopped in so long. I have 4 nieces, 1 nephew, and 1 baby to shop for so far. I'm going 'light' with adult shopping with the exception of my parents.
I bought a calendar for BF already - we started dating in November and did small gifts that year, and I got him a calendar and I have gotten him one every year since. I saw a cool one in Borders for 40% off so I went ahead and got it.
Yay!! I started shopping in the spring when there were some great sales! I have my eye on a few things now, if only that first paycheck would hurry up and get here!
Wow, that is great! I need to get started. We will be doing Christmas with my SIL and family thanksgiving weekend when we are all together!
Ms I, you're such a shopper-- I would have thought you would approve. Ah well, no worries: my boat is happily afloat in calm seas. It's actually early for me; I normally start in early October. But I saw what she wanted at the right price. And I needed her to try them on; turns out a child's size 4 is equivalent to a woman's 5 or 6- who knew?? Besides, with 3 kids, a husband, two moms, and assorted other gifts, it gets kind of expensive, not to mention ncredibly time consuming. And our first trimester ends at Christmas, so that means exam prep and extra help, in addition to all the kids' activities and my own Religious Ed class. Things get kind of busy. I don't have the luxury of waiting till after Thanksgiving. Starting early gives me the opportunity to pick up the gifts I know thwy want and spread the money out a bit. But this is early, even for me.
I love starting early. Not only does it spread out the bill, but I can catch great sales and clearance! I usually pick up things that remind me of people throughout the year and then have to sit down and see what holes I need to fill in November and December. If I was smart, I would start wrapping as I shopped instead of waiting to do it all right before Christmas!
Wow! I'm impressed! I thought I was doing well because I bought my roommate's birthday present already, and her birthday is in November. If I bought Christmas presents already I wouldn't be able to keep them a secret. I usually have told everyone about their present before they open it as it is!!
Once you get into Santa mode, the urge to tell them quickly passes. Besides, in this case, she tried them on. This is the first time she's ever known about a Santa present ahead of time. But I had no idea whether a woman's boot would even fit her. (And, had I guessed at the size, I would have guessed wrong. So I'm glad she tried them on.) She's thrilled that she'll get them, and feels so grown up being in on a Santa gift in August
I don't really get into it until November but I do usually get one thing in the summer, whether it is something I find when I am shopping at the beach or something I see on tv or just while out and about since I have so much free time.
I've started shopping for my son's birthday and Christmas but it is so easy because he's little. I don't like to do too much shopping ahead of time because then I end up buying more than I should as it gets closer to the holiday (I may buy the "perfect" gift in September but then find an even MORE "perfect" gift in November and then just get both). But I have lots of stuff saved in my cart on Amazon that I think people will like - just have to click purchase when I decide it's time to go ahead and buy them!
I bought those Rockette tickets off of Living Social...but so far that's the only xmas gift I've purchased!
What I need to do now is start a list. Don't tell my kids, but I keep it in the back of my plan book. They have no reason to look there, but it's always accessible. There's nothing worse on Christmas Eve than setting everything up at 2 am and realizing that one pile is noticeably smaller than the other 2!!! And actually, now that I think about it, there are a couple of things I want to get at amazon for next summer's Disney trip-- misters and Teva flip flops for example. I could always order them now and get that expense out of the way as well. Hmmmm....
I will be purchasing my teen an ereader for his college class in the spring. I am taking ideas on which kind to get. My little one had a birthday this week and she got a Polariod MP3 player and a flip camera. She is getting to the age where she is between things...too old for dolls and too young for electronics. My son is 18 and I will probably get him something for his truck. I am leaning toward this muffler tailpipe thing that I think is stupid, but he really wants. We will see.
My mom still makes sure our piles are the same size, and I am 31! lol. Of course, I usually get a pair of pants in one box and a sweater in the other, where my little sister has a whole outfit. So it's probably even money wise too. Of course my mom and little sister end up having the biggest piles because we all end up buying them so much.
Every year I have a theme. Last year's theme was FREE. I had a high pile of free stuff I had gathered through out the year. This year, the adults are saying "no gifts." Well, I can do that. I will make jam--from the big berry patch in my back yard. And everyone will get pillowcases that I embrodery. I am hoping these qualify for the "no gift" catagory. As we have gotten older, we value the time we spend together. So, we will all come to my nice new, big house and play cards, eat, watch movies, and did I mention eat.
Yeah, I always pick them up at the end of the season for the following year. And I was thinking that I should get some as a Christmas gift for my sister's mother in law-- the one who invited us to her built in pool the other day. They would make a nice, if somewhat surprising, Christmas/ thank you gift for her.
You have me humming, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"! We are doing some clandestine shopping for a certain someone in our house too! (Not because I'm organized, just because of the nature of the gift.)
I seriously need to start thinking about what to get my husband for Christmas. I know he wants a watch and I have the money for it, but Fossil has a 90 day return policy so I need to wait just in case it's not the right one.
LOL Alice! Yes, I do love shopping. What I don't love is rushing time when it already zips by fast enough already! But hey, as long are you're having fun, that's great! :thumb:
Yes, I suppose we do view the world very differently. But it's not "rushing" in this case, it's "serindipity." And in addition, as I said, things change when you become Santa. You've mentioned in the past that your gift list is a whole lot more limtied than mine. If I waited until the last minute, all the joy of finding that perfect gift would be sapped right out of Christmas.
I Still remember the first time I got to help my mom shop for my own gifts. There was an amazing sale and she needed me to "approve" the choices - I was at that age... But then I had to wait quite some time for Xmas before I could open the boxes and actually wear the clothes! Such a learning experience for me about budgets and family needs/ wants, and a memorable day with mom. I bet she always remembers those boots, Alice!
Parents cherish moments, they don't rush time. Childhood goes fast enough...Alice can have happy Uggs thoughts all fall thinking about the gift she'll give her daughter. Finding special gifts ahead of time for upcoming holidays and birthdays is thoughtful. Hey, I've got BIG kids ( in their 20s!) and I still love thinking ahead to what I can surprise them with...
Yeah, it's one of the special joys of parenting... being able to get that gift that you just KNOW will make their eyes light up. Julia even asked me to mark the box somehow so she would recognize it, and she would have her boots as her first gift And, of course with a house full of kids and a full time job, not to mention extra curricular and teaching Religion, I've got to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. This will be Julia's first year as a non-believer. So her particular thrill will be in making it real for Kira.
I've thought about Christmas...but the babies have so many toys already! I've got a lot of clothes from clearance sales. Still need Santa presents :-/ they will be 20 months then! OMG
Added to my pile of Christmas gifts today! Power Wheel for 70% off! I wasn't planning on getting one for my son, but he will love it and for the price I couldn't pass it up!
I inadvertently got something for my sister - I bought a bracelet and ring from a jewelry party and I just don't like them and they are too small and childish. I think she will really like them though.
Vera Bradley is having a HUGE Labor Day sale on two patterns: Totallly Turqoise and something else, and a similar sale on lots of other patterns. So I just picked up tduffels for the girls, and teacher gifts for: Kira's classroom teacher Her speech and reading teachers Her religion teacher Julia's religion teacher (assuming they're all female. I already know all but the religion teachers.) I got each of the teachers a wristlet that will hold a cell phone. http://www.verabradley.com/product/...or/Boysenberry/pc/638/c/0/sc/890/p/154832.uts Julia has the same one and loves it. They came to something like $12.80 each. They retail at $34. You have to be pretty open to different patterns; they're sold out of a lot of the cheapest items. But I did really well Shipping is also a flat rate tonight and tomorrow. eta-- I just remembered, Brian will have a religion teacher too. But I already placed the order, so I think I'll hold off on ordering another until I see the number of women they end up with.
Oh, I forgot about the aides. Kira's class always has one in the morning and one in the afternoon. So I placed another order this morning. I got 3 of the $11 lunch bags-- I'll let the kids decide who gets what. Hey, decent teacher gifts for a reasonable price are hard to come up with. As much as I would LOVE to spend REAL money on the teacher gifts, the sheer numbers make that impossible. (Of course, I'll also chip in for the class gift.) But I know all the teachers will have enough candles and mugs for a lifetime. If I can find something really decent on sale ahead of time, I think I would be crazy not to take advantage. (Oh, here's the link to the duffel for $28: http://www.verabradley.com/product/...Color/Lemon+Parfait/p/154785.uts?fromSearch=1 and the $11 lunch bag: http://www.verabradley.com/product/...Color/Lemon+Parfait/p/154875.uts?fromSearch=1 ... you have to hit each of the patterns to get each price.)
Oh I totally agree! Your children's teachers are going to appreciate these gifts! ETA - Thanks for including the link. Those are some great prints and patterns!
Yeah, arent' they nice?? My girls are going to LOVE The duffles! They can use them as carryons for next year's Disney trip It's funny how many things that were available last night are now "no longer availabie online." Apparently I'm not the only one Christmas shopping early.
Those lunch bags are much nicer than the one I paid full price for! Mine has a stupid Velcro flap as closure, but when you carry it by the handle, the flap usually comes open, so it's too much trouble and has been dumped in a closet somewhere. Id replace it now if I weren't preparing to buy expensive nail polish tomorrow at the Saks Fashion Night Out event!
KUdos to all you shoppers! You are getting great bargains! And so nice that you can take your time to be really thoughtful about the gifts you give each recipient rather than be under pressure as December arrives.:thumb:
