aleighc1

My daughters have reached the point that I think we're going to start buying stuff for their activities as gifts. My oldest daughter is a competitive gymnast, so she'll probably be getting new grips & wrist guards, leotards, shorts, and a huge supply of kinesiology tape and ace bandages! (lol) My second daughter is a competitive dancer so she'll probably be getting new dance shoes (she does 3 different styles of dance which means 3 different types of shoes plus spare pairs), leotards, tights, skirts, sweaters, a bigger dance bag to keep everything in, etc..... My boys activities aren't as expensive, so they'll probably get new video games or something. Honestly, I'm so over the mass accumulation of "stuff" that my husband and I are seriously considering having their main gift be tickets to Disneyland.

I shop in spurts. Doing it all at once is too overwhelming! There were two times that I've done a marathon shopping trip, and both times I was ready to just walk out of the store and leave my cart full of gifts.

I do two different things with my kids to deal with this issue. First, I tell my kids to ask Santa for 3 things. In our house Santa brings 1 special gift and fills the stockings, so by having them ask for three, chances are they will hit a price point I can work with. Second, I do what others have already mentioned and tell the kids that parents have to chip in with the cost. There are a lot of kids in the world, and Santa needs a little help. None of my kids have ever questioned or complained, and everyone is always happy on Christmas morning

This isn't that unique, but I'll share anyhow. I don't like to do a ton of holiday baking (due to a mix of having a child with food sensitivities and not wanting the temptation being a sweets lover myself), so a few years ago I started a new cookie tradition with my kids. Each night for the week leading up to Christmas, we bake a small batch of cookies- a different one each night. The kids get to have a couple while we read a Christmas story, then the rest get saved. On Christmas Eve, we put a cookie from each day on a platter for Santa, and the remainder get put out on Christmas Day. The kids always get a kick to see which of the cookies Santa liked the best. (he'd get a tummy ache if he tried to eat all 7! ) Also, when I was in grade school my mom started doing cinnamon rolls and sparkling cider for a quick and easy Christmas breakfast, and it's something I do with my family now.

We started doing artificial about 6 years ago, after we found out our son has severe allergies. As much as I enjoyed the smell of the real tree, I love not having to water it, sweep up the needles, deal with sap, etc......

We do this every year, and I love it. I started doing this about 5 or 6 years ago when our family started getting rather big (we have 8 kids ranging from 10 months to 11 years) as a way to control the amount of stuff that comes in the house. It also makes my kids think long and hard about what they really want for Christmas, and as a result, I do not have a ton of unused toys cluttering up my house. My kids all play very well together and share, so I try to get my kids things they can will play with together. (for example, last year both my older daughters got American Girl dolls because then they could play together with their dolls all day. My 2 and 3 year old boys have really gotten into building with Lego Duplo blocks recently, so this year they will probably both be getting Duplo sets so they can build together) However, in addition to the 4 gifts, they do get a pair of PJ's on Christmas Eve, Santa leaves one gift, and Santa fills their stockings. (Santa leaves pretty nice stocking fillers ) Sometimes I will also fudge the "something to read" gift and do a puzzle, art supplies, science experiment kit, or a board game instead. We have so many books already, so if my kids aren't interested in a particular series when Christmas rolls around, I'll just go with something else that I consider to be educational and fun. My kids have never protested our system, and they seem to appreciate and enjoy their gifts every year; I would say that it works well for our family.

No Christmas baking yet, just a single batch of cookies for tonight. I actually don't do much holiday baking, instead for the entire week leading up to Christmas, we bake a different batch of cookies each night. (just a small batch) Then the kids get to have a cookie while we read a Christmas story. On Christmas Eve we set out a plate with one cookies from each night for Santa, and then put out the rest of them for family to enjoy on Christmas day. (I love sweet treats, and I'm pretty sure I'd put on 20 lbs if I did any more baking than that! lol!) I think my kids are officially ready for the holidays after tonight (and I'm ready for shopping! ); summer christmas 2012 turned out great!

My kids are going to start working on their lists tonight. Today is our "summer Christmas" (a tradition I started years ago, but I'm a bit late doing it this year). The kids went and saw Arthur Christmas in the theater this morning ($1 summer movies where they replay movies from the last couple years), and tonight we will be making christmas ornaments while eating christmas cookies, and then I'll have the kids write up some lists.

We don't have any teachers to buy for (homeschool! lol!), but my kids all have gymnastics coaches they adore. My daughters (age 7 and 10) have good basic sewing skills, and asked if they could make fleece scarves for their coaches. I figured I'd bundle the scarf with a gift card to Starbucks. I'm not sure what to do for my boys' coach though. He's a super awesome coach, but as far as I can tell, he's not really "into" anything. (he's sort of a minimalist hippie) I'd like to do something for him since he's been coaching my autistic son every week for over a year, and my younger son joined his class this summer. He has made gymnastics a really fun and positive experience for my boys, but especially my autistic son. Any suggestions?

For us the holidays kick off when we put up the tree, which is usually Thanksgiving night. My younger daughter's birthday is 12/12 though, so every year I ask her if she would like us to wait to put out holiday decorations until after her birthday. I couldn't have hand picked a better child to be born right in the middle of the Christmas season though, because she LOVES the holidays. Every year she wants the tree set up early, and always asks to have her birthday presents put under the tree. I always hold back a few special decorations, and put them out the night before her birthday so it looks extra festive when she wakes up. (if she ever requests us to hold off the holidays until after her birthday though, I will respect her wishes 100%) I've already started listening to Christmas music on my own though; it helps put me in the holiday mood and this year I need to have most of my holiday shopping/tasks done before Thanksgiving since I'm due to have a baby around 11/26. We don't have cable, and all of our Christmas movies were on VHS, so we don't have any Christmas DVD's to watch. Last year we mainly relied on Hulu for Christmas specials. This year though I'm going to give my kids a big basket of their favorite Christmas movies when the new baby comes home; can't wait!!!

My sister is 16, and wants these in her stocking: http://www.archydesigns.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/category&path=53 My kids are all 10 and under and will get things like a DVD, shirts, gum, candy, chapstick, toothbrush, leotards for my girls that do gymnastics, small denomination gift cards, new ear buds, lotion, underwear, water bottle, hair accessories, video games, etc.... My 10 year old is asking for bath stuff from Lush this year, so I'll probably toss a shampoo bar and a bubble bar in her stocking. My husband and I don't do stockings every year, but when we do I usually put in an iTunes card, card game, DVD, plain white T-shirts, small hand tools, gum, or his favorite candy.

Pre-order it now, and it won't charge you until it ships. When you pre-order it, it will show you your estimated delivery date, so you'll have an idea of when it will be charged. Someone else mentioned they were going to add a small amount of money to their Amazon account weekly so when it came time for their shipment, it'll already be paid for. (sort of like a lay-away) If you don't think you'll be able to pay for it, just cancel the order before they prepare to ship it, and there are no penalties.

I plan on getting my husband an XBox 360 this year, but since I know my kids are going to play with it too, I'm getting the kinect bundle and a handful of kinect games. We have a Wii already that gets a fair amount of use, I just thought it would be fun to have a bit more variety. Does your 5 year old already have a nintendo ds? That's one item that my 5 year old son has been asking for ever since his older sister got one last year for Christmas, and there are tons of kid friendly games for the nintendo ds.

What about the new LeapFrog Explorer Tablet? Or a Bitty Baby or Bitty Twins from American Girl, with some accessories?

I thought these looked kind of fun for young hot wheels lovers, plus it gives them a place to store all their little cars: http://www.amazon.com/Neat-Oh-Hot-Wheels-ZipBin-Ramp/dp/B003C6ELEU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317852144&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Neat-Oh-Wheels-ZipBin-Collector-Playmat/dp/B004R5APEA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1317852144&sr=8-2 I have a couple young car enthusiasts at my house and thinking I'll get these for Christmas with a big pack of cars for each.

What a fun idea!

This isn't very creative, but I just wrap up gifts as I buy them, and then stick them in giant black garbage bags and stash the bags anywhere I have space. I just tell my kids very simply, if you peek at your gifts I'll take them back and get something else, and most likely I will replace them with something less cool. Luckily my kids love being surprised, so I've never had to deal with serious peekers, lol!

Amazon offers free shipping on many of their items already, for orders over $25. However, if you sign up for Amazon Mom, you get 3 months of Amazon Prime which gives you free 2 day shipping.

dsi or ds lite?

I'm pretty sure this system is being discontinued, unfortunately. I would be thrilled if the dsi was dropped to $90, but I'm not hopeful that will happen. I bought a ds lite last year when the list price was $129, and I got it on sale for $89. I'm not a BF expert though, so I may be wrong. (I hope I am!)

My 7 year old played with one at TRU and really liked it, but I quickly decided that would be a toy we would "visit" at the toy store only and not be bringing it home! I think my kids would lose interest in it very quickly if they got it as a gift, and I agree it's not worth $50.

Thank you!

Last year we gave our daughter a doll house from Costco, I believe it was KidKraft brand. (it was a 3 story house with lights and sounds for $85) It has held up very well. My godzilla sized 2 year old has even climbed inside and curled up on the "second floor" of the house and it didn't break! I've been very pleased with the quality, and it came with plenty of furniture and details to make it super fun right out of the box. It did take a while to assemble though, so if you do buy a KidKraft doll house, make sure you put it together the night before! I found a giant gift bag at the dollar store that fit over the house perfectly, and my daughter's face when my husband pulled off the bag to reveal the doll house was absolutely priceless!

The ds lite was price dropped to $99 a few months back, but I suspect this system is being discontinued. I asked about it on the tech forum, but didn't get a response. (they are nearly impossible to find online for the lower price, and most stores seem to no longer have them in stock) The dsi is the next system up, and is currently $149. Last year the ds lites were $129, and I remember we got one for our daughter for $89, which would lead me to believe you'll be able to find a deal on the dsi system this year. For the ipod with gift card deals, are these only in store or can you get the deal online? I'm looking to get an ipod for my husband, but since I'll either be extremely pregnant or have a newborn come BF, I'll be doing all my shopping online.

I always keep the number of gifts the same for everyone, and I try to keep the amount spent reletively equal. Sometimes though, one child wants things that are much cheaper than what another child wants. For example, this year my 3 older boys only want dinosaur toys. No big fancy, flashy dinosaurs- just regular plastic dinos. I've found some great dino play sets for each of them, but it's only going to set me back $25 per boy. My daughters on the other hand want American Girl dolls. I could buy my boys something more expensive that they didn't ask for, or overload them with TONS of dinosaurs, but what would be the point? If $25 of dino toys is what will make them most happy on Christmas morning, then that's what I'm going with. I've posted this before, but I buy for my kids with a "system". Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. They all get PJ's on Christmas Eve, and Santa leaves one gift next to their stocking that he fills. I always have a book to keep track of everything, and make sure it's small enough to fit in my purse so it's always on hand when shopping. Each of my kids has a page with their wish list, and a page that I have divided up into the catagories I posted above. As I buy things for each catagory I just fill it in so I don't lose track of what's been purchased. As for deciding what to budget, that fluctuates year by year. I usually know generally how much I can spend, and then just pick for their wish lists accordingly.