vsa3janes

What about some Christian cds. There is a wide choice of music for tweens. Check out Christianbooks.com for some ideas. They have a great choice of items for all ages. Books, music, figurines, games, etc.

I have a question - if your limit is $30 and you find a deal on a gift with the value of $30, say for $15 do you feel you need to spend another $15 or do you count the value not the dollar amount spent?

Wish the deadline for secret santa was Oct 1st. I am ready to start shopping for my person.

For my daughter and her family I don't really have a limit I buy what I want them to have. But usually it is somewhere between $100 - $150 each. This year will be much less probably $75 each. Nieces and nephews in the past $30 this year $15-$20 Mom and Stepdad in the past $50 this year $30 Sister in the past $50 this year $25 Cousins & their kids $10 (of course the value of the gifts range from $25 - $50 I bought them all with drastic discounts) Of course even though the dollar amount spent will be much less this year the value of the gift will be greater for all of my gifts because of great deals found here & other places. They will never know I have cut back on my spending.

So why does your sil get to tell you what or how many gift to give her kids?!?! I would make the decision and do what I wanted to do. A game for the family to play together, a book they could all enjoy, a family dvd. If she gave my child used items I would send her a thank you note and say "Thank you for the thought but if you choose to give my child used or partially eaten gifts please don't they won't be missed." Maybe she will get the hint. If she sends gifts I would open them first to see what they were and decide if I would give it to my child or not. Would he really miss a gift from them? Sorry I think this is terrible of her. Why worry about impressing someone who treats your son so poorly.

So why does you sil get to tell you what or how many gift to give her kids?!?! I would make the decision and do what I wanted to do. A game for the family to play together, a book they could all enjoy, a family dvd. If she gave my child used items I would send her a thank you note and say "Thank you for the thought but if you choose to give my child used or partially eaten gifts please don't they won't be missed." Maybe she will get the hint. If she sends gifts I would open them first to see what they were and decide if I would give it to my child or not. Would he really miss a gift from them? Sorry I think this is terrible of her. Why worry about impressing someone who treats your son so poorly.

A tradition I started the year my granddaughter, now 9, was born and will now do for my grandson is to purchase an ornament each year that has a special meaning or is related to an event from the year. In the ornament box I place a note from me to her explaining why I purchased the ornament and date it. Then I pack them away in a plastic storage container. When she has a home of her own I will give her the ornaments to decorate her tree. Neither my daughter or granddaughter know I started this tradition so someday in the future it should be a good surprise for both of them.

Since I was 5 yrs old we have each had a bird ornament to hang on the tree. Even as we have grown Mom still saves the birds for us to hang when we stop by. As the family has grown with spouses and kids I have bought each new person a bird to hang. This year we will proudly be adding my new grandson's bird to the tree. Christmas morning when we open gifts the stocking must be opened first. No matter what Santa brings unwrapped the stocking have always came first. Funny we always had stocking Christmas morning but for my sister in law and her husband this is so exciting. They never had stockings as kids. Each family brings a tray of cookies to my Mom's house for dessert. It must be a different type of cookie, Mom make the traditional choc chip, peanut butter and snowballs.

duplicate post http://forums.gottadeal.com/showthread.php?t=119370

Our family started out small (3 siblings, parents & 2 cousins) but since the kids in the family grew up and married, then had kids we now have 25. We leave it up to everyone to buy for which adults they wish at Christmas but we buy for everyone on their birthdays. Of course, all the kids under 21 receive gifts. My buying theory is; if they are married they get a together gift. I shop all year round and usually buy the adults gifts in Jan or Feb when the holiday gift items go on sale. This year one couple is getting a $40 Christmas platter that I pd $5 for, another is getting a panini set $25 that I pd $7 for and one of my grown nephews is getting a paint can that is a hot wings kit was $19 I pd $7.50. This way I am able to give nice gifts on a budget I can afford. If it wasn't for bargains I would not be able to buy for everyone. Now one year when I my cousin was on hard times she made an old family fudge recipe and divided among everyone. I have made gifts many years in the past. Some years Christmas ornaments, jar recipes (all the dry ingredients), one year mason jars with pine cones and tiny lights inside. There are many things you can give that don't cost alot, just take a little time and imagine. After all isn't it the thought?

Cigar boxes can be decorated for each person to keep their "treasurers" in. It could be decorated in a way that would reflect each person's favorites/tastes. They can be spray painted or covered with scrapbook paper on the outside. Then embelish the top with items the person receiving it would enjoy. The inside could be liner with felt or fun foam. Our local cigar/smoke shop donated boxes for the girl scout troop to make these. Picture frames are easy to make/decorate. Right now Target had a 2 pk of metal frames on clearance for $1.74 (from the college dorm collection). Similar to above they could be decorated with the receiving person in mind. Check you local scrapbook store for embelishments or check the Dollar Tree they usually have things to use. Micheals and Hobby Lobby will be having weekly sales and coupons the closer the holidays get.

No offense but, I work at a tv station and worked at a radio station, they will not direct you to sponsors. They may have promotional items they will give you but most of the time they are looking for sponsors for themselves. A place to check is the Editoral Dept of a local newspaper. They receive movies, books and cd to review. I know when I worked at the paper they were always looking for good causes that would come pick up items.

When we were kids my Dad shared a story about his childhood with us. His grandparents raised him and they were very poor living on a farm. One year under his grandparent's bed he found a red flyer wagon full of presents. He was very disappointed Christmas morning when he received new gloves, an apple and toy truck. When he asked his grandparents about the wagon they explained it was for a kid up the road. Moral - never sneak a peek, it might not be yours, how disappointing would that be. We never looked for gifts. I told my daughter, niece & nephews this story at a young age and they have never snoped. I always put my daughter's gifts in my closet floor in bags and boxes. Now I have storage shelves for my bargain shopping. Everything is in copy paper boxes. They never look.

Start now and contact the Marketing Dept of local distributors (clothing, food, liquor, meds etc.) for donations. Many will give products to you because they receive them free from companies they buy from. Also, contact the Marketing Dept of local sports teams they always have give away items that can be used for gifts. Contact local Doctor's offices, talk with the Office Manager it is amazing the items the drug reps give them, clocks, calculators, travel bags, cups, etc. I have had a lot of success from these resources collecting to fill baskets for the American Cancer Society events and the only cost is driving to pick them up. You might collect enough items to give everyone something. When you contact them make sure you mention these people are low income but struggling to work and support themselves. Door prizes are great but having a gift for everyone is wonderful. Maybe you could wrap the gift and top it with a scarf as a bow. The Dollar Spot had really nice men and women's scarves last year.

I, also, hadn't thought about it until the OP. Sounds like a good idea and surprisingly I even know where the ones I bought at 90% off are. Has anyone purchased Forever Stamps incase postage goes up before Christmas?

I had to read this post twice. First I thought it said AMEN....

check out this thread before you order from this company http://forums.gottadeal.com/showthread.php?t=112152

:lolrun:

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can't find $6 dollar deals but thank you for the $1.99 shipping code

Use code FESTIVE to take 60% off dining gift certificates good through 9/21

Maybe start new traditions for them to remember. Perhaps earlier in the day you could go to a shelter and sever lunch. For the evening choose a special movie to watch that will be your "every year" movie. A movie you only watch on Christmas eve. Have a fun dinner that they help prepare. What about breakfast food for dinner? Before bedtime read a holiday book that will be your "every year" story. To help lessen the pain of missing their siblings maybe they could chat over a webcam before going to bed to wait for Santa. The first Christmas my daughter was married the house was so empty! It had been the 2 of us for 15 years. Now, I use that time to get ready for the next morning, fill stocking and relax with It's A Wonderful Life.

A couple years ago I put a small spiral note pad in my purse, when we are out shopping and she sees something she would like to have we write it in the book. This helps her understand you have to wait for things and can't have everything when you see it. She likes it because then she doesn't forget what sees. Last year she said she wasn't going to write a letter to Santa, he was magical and already knew what she wanted. One day later on we read over the list and she told us which items she really hoped to see under the tree. We do this for her birthday, too. I have probably 90% of my shopping completed. I always wait until a little closer to the holiday to make sure there isn't something really special I need to pick up before I finish.

My cousin's daughter is an older 12 and I am giving her a manicure set. I bought a battery operated nail dryer, a set of different color nail polishes and emblishments and a finger nail file set. Got it all last year after Christmas at Walgreens, I spent a total of $15 and it is worth $50. For my other cousin's daughter who is 11 I bought a Twister DVD game. She always has sleepovers so I thought this would be a fun game for them to play. Now my neice who is 13 going on 20, I am giving her a photo printer to go along with the new digital camera she received for her bday. My hardest one to buy for is my nephew that is 28. I hate to give gift cards, I'd rather find a good deal on something they can open. But he might end up with one.

see the OP the code is provided there