Christmas shopping 2008
 

So who has started their Christmas shopping? I've been looking at Black Friday ads online but more and more companies are sending them cease and desist letters so we can't see as many as usual. I understand that these companies don't want to be undercut by their competitors, but it's so helpful to be able to view these ads ahead of time too!

My daughter is totally set on getting a new cell phone that is $410!!!!! :eek: I found out Saturday that my phone is eligible for an upgrade and I can use that upgrade for hers instead so I can get it for $240. I've got her totally convinced that there is no way I can afford a $400 phone for her, so she's going to be totally surprised when she actually gets it :D That's what I love about Christmas morning.

My family does not exchange presents.

However, I do need a new TV set. Mine is 16 years old and very small. I have been looking at TV prices. Black Friday is tempting but I have an extreme fear of crowds. I have worked on Black Friday before- it is not too bad when you are the employee, but I can only imagine being the customer.

I have 45% of my Christmas shopping completed. I started shopping in August. I start early because then everything is in stock, crowds are less, lines are short, parking is available, and most importantly the monthly bills are lower and easily paid off each month when I spread it out over several months instead of all in December/right after Thanksgiving.

Peice of advice...for those of you thinking about getting a Wii or any NEW electronic item that is coming out...get it NOW....after Black Friday, the stores will be in short supply...or do like one of my friends did...get it now and play it and just get new games for the kids for Xmas



May I add to the question?

Who on here is going to be affected by the recession and how?

I know for myself, that a lot of my family memberes may come up a bit short this year and the only one that may get an 'expensive' gift is my nephew who is getting an up to date (read: not new!!) PC so he won't keep using his parents' PC to do his schoolwork...he is in kindergarten and believe it or not they are already doing a lot of work on PCs.

I would have given him a new one but....hey....that's his parents' job...heh!

I started. It wasn't that I was out looking, but ran into some things that make great gifts. Heck, I have my neice's 5th birthday present. I've been hanging onto it for 3 years already. Sometimes you just know what will be perfect, but it's just not the right time yet to give it.

This is exactly what I do every year. I hate chaos.

I've got all my shopping done.

We had our annual Holiday Bazaar last week where I bought small gifts for family from here in Europe.

Because of the recession, slow-down, whatever you want to call it, we're tightening the purse strings this year. We're big savers, and while we have a recession-proof job (the military), we just want to be careful.

So, instead of spending lots of money on individual gifts for our immediate family, we're purchasing some camping gear that we all will be able to use together.

Everyone has an agreement this year. Since the economy is in such a shambles, we are not exchanging any gifts. The only kids in the immediate family are 20 and 17. They like gift cards, particularly the one in college likes Barnes and Nobles since they own the book store at college. I usually buy them something inexpensive, but personal to wrap with the gift card.

I haven't decided if I will buy for my cousin's kids since they live 1800 miles away and the parents have never acknowledged the gifts in the past. Even if they aren't sending thank you notes, they can at least call or email to say that they got it.

I am throwing in a do-it-yourself kit for my dad to make his own Pulled Pork. He is always asking me to make it and it's so easy. I'll make up the dryrub, give him the bottled sauce I will always use, put in a copy of the instructions and say, "Just Add Pork".

I haven't started holiday shopping as of yet, but my wife and I have vowed to do things much earlier than in past years. We'll probably start this weekend, and hope to be done by early December.

Personally, I have always been a last-minute shopper. That worked well when I was living in Boston, and only needed to take the T downtown to do my shopping. If the lines were long, I could just wander around the city. Now, living in CT, waiting too long means I have to deal with traffic, etc.

As for the recession - my wife and I are very lucky in that we still have our jobs and our companies are doing well (knock on wood). That said, we're not going overboard this year, and we're trying to save even more just in case one of our companies gets into trouble.

LOL...I was picturing a teen.

They start them off fast..what can I say....

Won't be a huge Christmas at my house.

I'm buying myself a digital camera and maybe a web cam and maybe another Ipod. The offspring will be getting practical stuff from Mommy and will be getting spoiled by both sets of grands; maybe I'll splurge on a Shuffle for her. This will be our first Christmas without Daddy, so I am not doing anything super special.

I haven't started at all. I think this year, everyone is getting gift cards.

U know u are getting an Ipod...why are u fronting....LOL

We only exchange gifts at Christmas, and we have a small family, so it looks to be a normal Christmas. Unfortunately, most of us must provide a list on Thanksgiving, so I can't do any real shopping until then. I've perfected the internet/Christmas Eve Shopping Spree over the years!

I started Christmas shopping back in August. My oldest son has been asking for "Bakugon" toys and I stumbled across some back in August, which is a good thing since they are now sold out everywhere. All I have left to buy the kids is stocking stuffers (usually new toothbrushes and bath stuff).

I still have my in-laws, parents, and nieces and nephews to buy for- but we do a gift exchange for the nieces/nephes them and we won't draw names until thanksgiving.

I'm with Honeychile. My family usually ignores Christmas until Thanksgiving day. On that day, the whole family (read the small extended part which makes us a group of ten) decides what the theme for Christmas will be. We usually do something like made in Oregon/food/things to do with the family. The immediate family does lists the day after Thanksgiving, if they ever give a list. I have never been to any of the black Thursday sales, but I think I might try this year.

My brother and sister-in-law live only 1 mile down the street and can't even get their kids to "thank you" to our faces when we give them presents.:mad:

Plus after they didn't get us a wedding gift I've decided they're getting a family gift and I'll be damned if I'm going to hunt down stuff for their 5 kids.

The Wii system I got this summer was the "big gift" for my boys - they will get new games for it. My youngest daughter will get an i-pod, and I'm stumped for my eldest daughter. I need to get her an electric guitar, but the music store I had good credit with changed banks, and I can't get a new account - even though I NEVER missed a payment for her last guitar. Sigh.

There will be no adult gifts this year. I have my nieces and nephews taken care of thanks to clearance sales I've come across throughout the year. My children will have their usual bountiful stockings, but no other gifts from me. I love Christmas shopping, and hate that I can't do more this year.

I'm making sure that I'm paying cash for everything. I just don't want to go into debt for Christmas. Since I get paid every other week (26 times a year), I really only have pay household bills out of 24 of those paychecks so I get ahead of myself twice a year. We're at that point so I'll spend one whole paycheck (minus gas, groceries, misc. cash needed for the pay period) on Christmas. I don't buy for that many though.. 2 kids and their Dad, My dad, his wife, my brother and then three aunts/uncles. I get something for my boss too. The aunts/uncles will get something ordered online from somewhere like Figi's, Hickory Farms or Mrs. Prindables Apples. I'm waiting for lists from Dad, His Wife and Brother. My girlie is getting that phone. It's up to the kids, but I'm going to suggest a digital photoframe for their dad, loaded with pics of them from birth to current. I get my brother stuff on his list, usually DVDs, CDs, and U of Mich stuff. I found a bottle coozy that said Michigan on it from Walmart a while ago and got that already. My son can't think of what he wants other than 3 video games and some video editing software. I want him to come up with something better!

yeah...when u start getting ungrateful folks, regardless of a recession or a progression (do economists ever call it that?)that's money that shouldn't be wasted.

They'd be lucky to get THAT from me. A thank you implies some kind of appreciation for said gift. No thank you = no gift.

Lack of Thank You notes
 

One year I gave the nieces and nephews personalized stationery. No thank you notes. The next year I gave them etiquette books. No thank you notes. So now I make a point of spending as little as I can without looking totally cheap. I got 3 of them Webkinz - they were 1/2 price. And the minute they turn 18, that's it, cupcakes. No more gifts.

My mom used to make us give her a list BEFORE Veteran's Day, then on Veteran's Day since she had the day off work she would go to Buffalo and spend the day getting things from our lists. When we got older, it got crazier - when I was in undergrad she used to go to Erie instead, then make me try on everything she wanted to get me, then she would take it all home and wrap it.

When I lived in Pittsburgh, she made me e-mail her a list (with links) so that she would have pictures to reference. Every year she always did the 5 for $25 undies at Victoria's Secret for all the girls in the family (me, my sister-in-law, cousins) and she always picked the craziest stuff they had. One year I got mesh underwear. Christmas shopping was one of her favorite things to do, and she was always done by Thanksgiving. Last Christmas was pretty tough without her - I felt so bad for my dad that day.

This year, we told my dad that all we wanted was steak knives. Because all us kids (me, my boyfriend, my brother and his wife) are pretty skint this year, we're going in on a GPS unit for him because that way we can afford a pretty decent one without breaking the bank.

My limit for almost everyone is $50. Mostly because I (STILL) don't have a job, so I'm living on savings right now, plus add in the fact that now I have my boyfriend's family to think of, too. My boyfriend gets a little more - we set the ABSOLUTE limit at $150 but both promised to try to keep it under $100. I got the Nintendo sneakers - I'm probably going to get something else smaller to go with them, then he's done.

Got some Vera Bradley bags for my mom & youngest sister at Marshall's back in September.
Got my other sister a cute hoodie from Primp. It's a sheep print, her sorority mascot.
I also sent them some goodies from Sephora for an early present - the philosophy cookbook & a pack of Stila lip glazes.
For my dad - TBD
For my husband - I actually may get him...slippers. He put on an old pair of loafers when he comes home and it bugs me. Maybe something like uggs??? I don't know... We're going away for the holidays to Paris so we're not trying to spend a lot!!

Seriously, I didn't think there was much worse than no thank you note. But there is- the thank you notes that my nieces send. One year it read "Dear Aunt FR, thank you for the outfit. I returned it for a sweater". Another year it read "Dear Aunt FR, thank you for the watch. I couldn't figure out what time it was with it so I returned it for earrings". Besides the disturbing thought that a freshman in high school can't read a standard watch, my niece actually had picked the darned thing out!

ETA- these thank you notes came from different nieces- they are sisters though!

We do a family gift exchange--my mother's siblings, their spouses, children, and grandchildren. There are about 20 of us, and we're pretty close and see each other regularly.

I don't think I've ever received a thank-you card, thank-you phone call, or even an acknowledgement of the gift's receipt. The past three years, I've shipped the presents to California, and the only way I know they receive it is when the UPS shipping confirmation e-mail comes into my inbox.

Why do I still do this blasted exchange? :mad:

I haven't started shopping yet. Thank goodness what my family/friends want shouldn't be out of stock.

But I WILL NOT be going shopping on Black Friday, I'll be working it instead.

I <3 Christmas and everything about it. I've only gotten one present so far cause I saw it and I thought of my friend. (It's a lyre ornament for my A Chi O friend.) I'm planning on making some scarves, and I have yarn for that already.
I know what I'm getting for a few people but I have NO idea what I'm gonna get for my boyfriend. We haven't been dating that long yet...he said he wants a unicorn though. Lol! I was going to knit a scarf for my roommate but she told me how happy she is that she isn't exchanging gifts with her bff because of the cost and time...blahhh! Fine! She hates Christmas, too.

More on ungrateful nieces and nephews
 

When I went to Walt Disney World for my 40th birthday, I got all the nieces and nephews gifts - and my then-childless brother's dog a gift, too. The only thank you note I got? From the dog. :)

We have started a registry at Target. Seriously. One list for all three of us. No one bitching because we gave one side of the family a tip on something the little one wants before the other side could buy it. Just a registry. Once it's been bought, then it's time to just move on to the next thing on the list.

We've been told NOT to buy gifts for anyone this year except for Max. Our pretty well-off family says we need to save our money to spend on him. They say they'll still buy us stuff. Sounds like a plan. (Yes, we're going to give parents and grandparents gift certs. to eat out. But, that's it...)

This is the least stressful Xmas yet.

Ohhh and we're doing a chapter gift exchange (voluntary, of course). I got a new initiate who I don't know very well so...I guess I'll do some Facebook stalking.

I got my mother's gift on EBAY, and when I went to pay for it I found I had money in my PayPal account. It makes me feel like I didn't spend anything on her because I thought my account was empty. :cool:

I keep asking my sisters to do "secret santa" - where at least the adults pick names and give just give a gift to one person - but they said that sounds cheap.

Between hubby and I, we have 5 parents, 10 siblings/sibs-in-law, and 8 nieces/nephews. We don't have kids, so in essense, all the $$ we spend on the kids during the year and on Christmas doesn't really get reciprocated. I know that sounds harsh, but there seems to be such a sense of entitlement and competition, when it comes to getting gifts for people's kids. Heaven forbid one kid gets something more expensive than the other (the parents can tell), or if one kid's gift has several things in it (like action figures) and that kid's sibling's gift has one "thing" - the kids complain.

Hubby said that everyone is getting $10 gift cards this year and that's it. Part of me likes the idea, the other part wants to shop around for the "perfect gifts". But we always end up spending almost $1000 on other people and putting it on credit, and this year, that is NOT happening.

I bought BF a new wallet and am making him one of those no-sew fleece blankets so he stops stealing mine. I will probably buy my brother letters, and I still need ideas for my mom and dad. Sorry folks, but those are the only people I can afford to buy for this year. My christmas card list, however, is approaching seventy.....

I hate Christmas shopping, so I'm asking you all for ideas! Every year, I am invited to several "Dirty Santa" parties (not the ones with "naughty" gifts). What are some suggestions for generic gifts in the $10 - $15 range? I really have a hard time finding nice things in this price range. Christmas ornaments don't seem very original, and some of my friends have themed decorations and wouldn't use just any ornament. Help me, please!

Dirty Santa (we call it White Elephant): We have one at work every year. Are you sure it is suppose to be "nice"?

Last year the "prize" gift was some kind of plastic gun that shot discs at people. Other great gifts were a bag of marketing give-away pens, post-it notes, and hand outs that you get from sales people, one guy framed an 8x10 of himself and autographed it, ugly Christmas Sweaters, CDs for Polka music, and lava lamps.

My SIL and I were also chapter sisters. She always got a giftcard from one of the stores that lets you put a picture on it. Always of her making a goofy face.