Who started their Christmas shopping?
 

Anyone started?

HECK NO!

I'm almost done! :D I have 1 gift left to buy (for my mom).

I went shopping early one year and the holidays were beyond enjoyable, so goal is always to be finished by October.

I've been looking and have got some ideas, but other than that I really haven't been shopping.

Well, that's not true. I bought something for my niece from silverjewelryclub.com.

Mrs. DA finished hers yesterday.

Grrr....

Oh no. You so did not make this thread! It is far too early to go shopping for christmas presents.

I start my shopping in early summer....and get things as they are 1) on sale or 2) as a good inspiration hits me.

I heard the saddest/stupidest thing the other day...this woman was tossing a "Texas Hold'em" game set into her cart. Her grown daughter was with her...and said "why are you getting that" First woman said "it will make a good stocking stuffer....they will probably never ever play with it, but it will look good"

I just walked away shaking my head....what a stupid frame of mind.

I can't shop until I receive my November 18th pay check. That's the one budgeted for Christmas shopping.

ACK!!!

Actually, if circling things in a catalog is considered shopping, I'm off to a good start. At least, better than the years I've done it all on Christmas Eve!!

It's hilarious. I was picking up Halloween candy for tonight. Right next to the Halloween candy, the Christmas candy was already put out. Gee let one holiday finish before you start another one.

I have one done and ideas for others. I was impressed by my sis-in-law. Today she showed me the Christmas cards she's using this year.

I started back in July....gotta get kids toys cheap while I can!

Since I won't be seeing my close friends for the holidays... they got theirs for Halloween but wish to wait to open them til Christmas.

My mom's present is basically done. I'm taking the bf to Disneyland. And I'm doing a Secret Santa with some friends. The only one's left are dad and the brother.

We are skipping the gifts thing this year as much as possible. None of us can really afford it, and we all have so many blessings. I have already gotten several small things, and I am going to put up my tree this weekend. :)
Happiness.
Silver

We're treating our hockey tickets as our main family gift this year, so the majority of it is actually done as far as I'm concerned. Bought one gift for DH already, the boys are working on their wish lists. The remaining budget is set aside and I'm at the point where I'm checking Amazon and Best Buy for sales/promos each week. My FIL is set thanks to a great suggestion from my MIL earlier in the year. My mom and MIL are traditionally easy and fun to shop for, especially because I can get them little "spoiling" type things they don't need but seem to enjoy using :) So, all is great, right? I wish.

The worst part is buying for all the nieces and nephews. Each year I try to politely suggest that we stop doing so, or to make a donation in each family's name, or just draw names between the bunch of them and set a dollar limit, or something. Let's be honest, none of these children want or need for anything, including my own. I don't get it, but there's always one or two of DH's siblings who object when the subject comes up so I've given up. Has anyone else successfully resolved this type of situation without alienating your entire family?

I've gotten a few things. We just bought ourselves a car this week, so our budget is going to be tight. I have a feeling a lot of people will be getting a variety of homemade cookies from us, which will be good for those hard-to-shop-for people. I'd rather give them cookies that can be eaten than some gift for the sake of giving a gift.

I bought my dad a book (on sale) and my mom a little candle thing that went on sale at PB... That's the extent of the Christmas shopping so far... However, this is the first year that I will be flying home for Christmas, so if anyone has any ideas about how to get gifts home affordably (since I always try not to check luggage) they would be appreciated! :)

I'm one of those people who starts shopping for the Christmas after the one that's coming up. So I'm done. Last gift came about two weeks ago. The week of Thanksgiving I wrap everything and do my holiday cards.

Throughout the year I keep a list and have a system of ideas of gifts, the gifts I have ordered versus the gifts that have arrived, then wrapped. I even keep track of stocking stuffers and other stuff.

While I am organized I do it mostly for financial reasons. I simply can't afford to shop for everything in one or two paychecks and still pay my job. I may see something on sale in July and will buy six of them and give them out for Christmas, birthdays etc for the next few years.

I keep a gift closet in my home and as organized as I am, I always forget a gift or two so I'm always farther along in the gift giving than I think.

I works for me. And I buy my bodyweight of wrapping paper in March (about $.35 a roll by then!) so I have more wrapping paper than I can store but eventually I use it so it's fine.

I love Christmas!!

I've bought a few gifts already. I try to spread out my Christmas shopping so that it isn't too tough on the pocketbook all at once.

HA HA. My hubby laughs at me. I start the day after Christmas in getting the 75%-90% off stuff like wrapping paper, cards, such. I started in the summer getting ideas then getting things I knew people want. Right when Christmas stuff came out, Ive been buying things I need. I have a lot of presents done already. I wanted to get my brother a Fossil watch and went this early fall to the outlets and got him a very nice one 30% off. Buying from summer on to Christmas is great for me. I dont want to drop that much cash all at once and it is great to do it a little each pay so I dont feel it all at once.

Plus for me, I get very sick with major Christmas crowds. I cant take that many people in one small place, pushing, yelling, it gives me a bad migraine and I dont do it. I used to love the after Thanksgiving day, now I avoid it and send people I know going to grab me offers and such.

Im mostly done as well though.

I got my nieces done this past weekend.....wasn't even planned but it happend....well good thing I get paid Friday cause I used money thats suppose to pay a little of the car payment. Oh well at least their bought.

With as many kids as we have, plus our oldest's wedding coming up in early December, we've been shopping since spring. There's no way I could do Christmas unless I keep on the lookout all year for special things for each child.

Well, with just one online order, I'm about halfway done. Gotta' love coupons! :)

I have some gifts picked out, but not ordered yet.

The ones remaining are my hardest ones to buy for, such as my F-I-L and my dad.

2 more ppl to go and than i start my holiday baking. I even have my christmas cards done

I'm trying a new way to shop and prepare for the gift-giving this year. One of my younger brothers is addicted to eBay, so I e-mailed pics of things to gage what he would want there. So online shopping for him. I also fly home for the holidays and have space restrictions and can't have anything wrapped. Since I stay with my parents for the holidays, I started having my packages shipped to my parents house and giftwrapped already (for the places that offer it). Some places even offer free shipping for spending "x" amount of dollars, that's not too tough to get during the holidays. Since my name is on the mailing label, my family knows they are gifts. When I get there, I'll have the boxes waiting for me to open and wrap any remaining gifts. Granted if there is an issue/missing/broken, I'm pretty much $OL, but hopefully this will work better.

Our main Chritmas tree is up with two packages wrapped and under the tree! I hope to have the other three trees up today. They are already put together..they need to be placed and the ornaments added! :)
I went to my first Christmas open house of the season yesterday, and I went Angel Tree shopping ALL DAY!
I am so excited for the holidays this year!
Happiness.
Silver
<does a Christmas dance>

PS-ETA Hannah, dance your little heart out....

ariesrising, I'll trade buying a gift for your dad for buying a gift for my mother! She is totally impossible!!

She sees something she likes, she buys it. I don't think there's a woman on the planet with more gift certificates in her wallet!

I am trying to figure out how I am going to do Christmas shopping this year - I am flying home for break, but only two days before Christmas. I think I am going to start now, bring some home at Thanksgiving, and then send the rest with my boyfriend when he comes to visit during exams.

We did the Angel Tree shopping about two months ago (when coats first came out), and I did a lot of the Samaritan's Purse Shoebox shopping yesterday. My mother has friends who go to her church and all live in an apartment building that should be a senior citizens' highrise. I do their shoeboxes, too! Does that make me a little more organized?