tinkrbel

Up TOO early on Thanksgiving to get paper from gas station on corner, then compare ads to gottadeal print outs and make any adjustments needed. help mom cook while scanning internet for deals/sales, while cooking my mother will review ads and note on front page what she's interested in. family comes over to eat, after dessert I distribute my gottadeal printouts to cousins/aunt so they can review, we'll discuss their plans or specs of this vs that and where they/we would be most likely to get something without having had to camp out. After everyone leaves me and mom go over the list of stuff and store plans I've made, ocassionally accomodating things/places she wants into my list. She usually goes for non door busters and sales at walgreens etc which we can just add on to bottom of list with no problems. Then we're up early depending what we need to get and where we need to go. I really wish we had a BigJim around here this year:( If laptops are priced well I'd like one but I know my bladder will just about explode. I guess I could get a cheap tent and use one of the portable toilets as a last resort? BestBuy's around here are madhouses. I guess if I see anything will speak with store managers and see what rules/regulations they have.

I think I've seen a few sales for around that much throughout year so BF should at least match it. I'm still considering netbook/laptop and while I don't need much don't like limits of netbook yet at the same time don't want to pay for a laptop.

Amazon's bluray sale got a lot of gifts taken care of. B&M last year would have been KMart too. I got some nice jewelry sets for parents and little brother plus some tools and mp3/4 video players. They gave me a model up since the ones in ad never came in and I stood at electronics waiting a while and speaking to two different managers. Not quick of efficient but got the job done and wasn't in too much of a rush last year. Ooh I also got myself and mother some nice leather jackets there too.

OY! I just realized I'm going to be away from a pc between 10/12-10/18. Hope I don't miss the 1st ad coming out:( Someone will save in case it gets pulled right? Last years came out a little later than that.

My local walgreens had loads of Pillow Pets today for 19.99. It looked like 3 kinds but for the life of me can only remember ladybug one.

the secret sales were great. I snagged the last 46-inch tv about a week after the sale and then couldn't get it out of my car. It was a mission but well worth it, I can't promise I won't have store assistants shove huge tv's into my sentra's backseat if I find another deal like that :)

I'll probably do most of my shopping online with mandatory wake up early/stay up and go out before 4 anyhow. I'm hoping BB gets rid of shipping charges this year.

I like the design and can also help with shipping/packaging if needed. I'm thinking maybe "black friday" and "elite" should be larger than the rest of the words but I'm not good with design and current wording wouldn't work/allow for that.

I am hoping they will be better as last year didn't really have any "MUST HAVE" items for me. Maybe I'm a little spoiled by previous years prices and year round clearance shopping?

I'm thinking a cheap laptop and new home theater system would be nice, but need to see what specs I want for each. Maybe a wireless access point and new router and depending on cost/availability a new tv for aunt.

switched email address to gmail which I can access from work and made sure I was on bf notification list. Still need to find xmas list from previous years to get ideas of what to get ppl and what's already been given and see what extended family we still need gifts for. Still need to convince myself to clear clutter and make way for sales else will be like previous years and end up on thanksgiving table for the weekend(or longer).

I'm not sure when you are due but my brother and SIL got all the adults 3D pics of baby sonogram framed for Christmas which kinda cut on costs and was appreciated by all. Could work with newborn pics too and don't even have to be studio done. My bestfriend did some with my godson at home in a "my 1st christmas santasuit" on a white blanket and came out very good. I'm not sure how you're family/friends think but when bf gave birth to her first she got a lot of stuff left on baby registry or needs(diapers, etc) for christmas too. She didn't ask for it but was very appreciative. Of course we threw in some chocolate cookies etc for her too.

I'm looking forward to the comparison of laptops when ads are released but still have to decide what I actually need/want.

I don't think you can recreate a BF type setting realistically although the lines recently due to back to school shopping are enough to make anyone go bonkers. I think BigJim has the right idea, find the videos and hope it will either smarten them up quick or get them to realize they wouldn't be capable of handling it. Also, not to be a downer but you may want to find articles etc about the tramplings/picked purses/stolen bags etc so they know WHY they have to be 100% vigilant. I've never experienced anything remotely similar but I'm always superaware of my surroundings and those around me, a deal is not worth serious injury or death. Plus make sure they know its a day to pack light, fanny pack/wallet vs full on purse etc. If I remember will look at previous posts, I'm sure there was a guide or tips to BF somewhere.

I got digital ornaments and frames from walmart.com year before last and used them last year. They were tiny frames but you could take out of xmas themed frame and use plain black one and leave on desk/nightstand year round. Digital Frames were priced about $20-30 last BF I think. Walgreens clearance the older model digital keychains every so often so you can get them for $5 sometimes. Maybe just keep an eye out for sales and just bulk buy whatever catches your fancy. While I like the same gift idea for the purposes of list keeping, it seems like it would be a downer at gift opening time. I don't think I'm creative enough to get something like this to work but following on movie thread maybe a home movie kit for each person/family. DVD/Bluray to their liking with some popcorn/candy. There was a thread about similar stuff for teachers a while back I think.

EEEK...that would take longer I imagine and be more messy but I suppose could split into two groups and hit more places that way? I just meant to make sure they understand the urgency of speedy shopping and an absolute plan of what is wanted/needed, i.e. ad scans, newspaper print outs and clear lists.

he made a post in random thought his camping gear is all good, probably just not checking in much yet

Nothing yet although I should start with the Christmas list with ideas for people and stuff we already have. BF tends to be stuff for me and immediate family (usually gifts from me) or stuff that we actually need. The extended family list is so huge and compiled in a spreadsheet somewhere to avoid giving similar things from year to year.

Definitely stress the importance of the game plan and speediness. A coworker told me she went one year because her daughter wanted to look at some jewelry at Macy's and after spending 30 minute finding a spot and finding mayhem in store they couldn't browse and gave up on BF. It's not for everyone and last year there were great deals online too. Make sure they and you KNOW what you're getting yourself into before setting out. I'm afraid if I took a newbie and they were dilly-dallying I might leave them there.

that's what w do but with ad mentioning coupon and raincheck mentioning .19 don't know if I should be honest and take both as usual and hope they honor sale since were out of stock all week or just take raincheck and try it that way?

The cashier that eventually gave me and parents rainchecks wrote .19 on the raincheck but doubt someone else will be stupid enough to accept. I found some simialr ones slightly cheaper at staples the following week after rebate. That two pack is on sale for $3 in other stores seems crazy for 2 pens.

my father stole the coupon. Hopefully he saw CVS ad too otherwise will go into his stack of coupons that expire.

I want a good spec laptop, good spec home theatre system and a wireless access point but only really holding out hope for laptop and access point. Wouldn't mind a cheap 32-40 inch lcd tv for my aunt with a nice organizer/stand if my parents chip in, she needs something with AV inputs as she has all the hand me downs and is technically challenged. Everytime she needs to switch between over air antenna and dvd player I get a call

staples rebates are mail in or online. It's easy to submit but still takes a while to get money back. Filler paper is a penny this week with purchase of $5 with own brand post its, some highlighters and pop up tape being free after rebate so they would allow you to get paper for 0.01. The pen drive is a staples "rewards" item for $1. I would recommend against REWARDS only because it takes so long to get them and when I did battery offer over last BF/Xmas never got my coupon and they refused to accept return or sesend me my coupon. I bought 2 packs of batteries at 9.99 expecting to get full money back and got stuck with overpriced batteries.

staples had pencils a few weeks back with copy paper (after rebate)and has something this week I think.office depot or office max has something this week. this year they require a $5 purchase at staples but they have stuff nearly free after rebate which counts towards $5.