Grassy

That's what I thought..... He NEVER did cards before, so obviously they know it is technically coming more from me than him, and they would never expect ME to write mom or dad, so I guess I'll stick with writing their names...since that's what I call them.

Hi Everyone, This is my FIRST thread I'm starting because I have this problem every year. (Well, actually a few times throughout the year for various occasions, but just came across it again this morning while doing Christmas Cards). I do not call my Mother and Father in law "mom and dad", I call them by their first names. My husband and I have been married 10 years now, we are fairly close, but I've never flet right, so seen reason to call them Mom and Dad. So when I fill out their christmas card, I want to write in their first names, but I also know it is from their son, and to get a card from their son that does not say mom and dad might be strange for them. Once in a while, I've had my husband fill out that one card, so that it is ok to have it say "mom and dad" if it's in HIS handwriting...But sometimes I sit there, filling out the cards, and he is not home and I just want to "get it all done" and not wait for him... What do any of you do in this situation...just put their names since they know I'm the one doing it? THANKS EVERYONE!!!!!!

I agree with Caitlinn, I have the SS ready to ship, but just cannot bring myself to ship it until Thanksgiving is over! Still need to find the perfect ornament though...

I was going to say the same thing, my boys are 3 and 4 and I LOVE to get them matching new pajamas, and they open them early so they can wear them together for Christmas. I might even give them a couple days before Christmas Eve...but not much earlier, because I want them to be FRESH for Christmas morning. As for toys...I really try hard not to let them have anything early.

Can't go wrong with a bet Buy gift card for MEN! My oldest is in Preschool this year, and has two female teachers. My son and I are making the layered cookie jar recipes, and wrapping the tops with ribbon etc. I make them every year for my aunts etc. and they are always a big hit. People started giving me the empty jars back to re-sterilize and re-use...almost like they want to make sure I do it again the next year.

My Dad ALWAYS drove my mom nuts with the "strange things" in the box. He'd get her perfume, or a nice sweater, but wrap it in a nice box, inside a Bigger box with bricks and loose screws etc. She was always SO intrigued! Until after about 3 years...she always knew that her real present didn't actually sound like that... That'd be a fun thing to do to your kids...keep them on their toes! I do that occasionally to my DAD now just to get back at him for doing it to HER! HA!

I received my names for secret santa and ornament. This will be FUN! I have new friends to spoil! Thank you Eve!

My husband grew up opening gifts on Christmas Eve. I grew up opening gifts on Christmas morning. We celebrate with his family Christmas eve, and open presents that we exchange with them. We celebrate with my family on Christmas Day (like around 1pm) and exchange gifts with them. My husband and I (and now our kids) open our own family presents under the tree when we wake up in the morning. We wake up, brush our teeth, and freshen up, get the coffee going, and get ready to get started. Traditions...traditions...huh? It's hard to change!

I give the layered jar recipes to my aunts, girl cousins, and sisters in law. I also have another gift for the sisters in law, because that isn't quite enough, but it seems to be enough for the aunts and cousins, because it is just the thought of it. Plus-my cousins do not give presents, so it is my way of acknowledging them and I don't ever expect anything in return...I just like to do that... The favorite (that I've gotten feedback for in past years) is Gingerbread rounds. If anyone want the ingredient list, Id be happy to type it in for you.

Overall, if they are a coffee drinker, I think Starbucks is a great neutral & enjoyable gift. Or you could--- go to starbucks and buy a nice bag of coffee, and a little box of the special little caramel chocolates with a 10.00 gift card, and put it all in a nice little gift bag. It'll cost just under $30.00. JUST NO POPCORN TINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGh!

The last week of November. I can never wait until Dec! Our Christmas music starts playing the day after Thanksgiving. LOVE IT! Warm 106.9 !!

PINK? That is odd.

It depends on my mood the day I put up the tree. I used to do every other year colored or white, but now that I have kids, I've had Colored every year for the last 5 years. See, before I had kids, I had bought a "theme" of the sun, moon, and stars, and everything was blue and gold, and the white lights were a must. I overall prefer colored lights, but since I spent a small fortune on the themed tree, I put that up every other year. I can't really forsee using the themed tree anymore, unless someday, I have a bigger house and am crazy enough to do TWO TREES!!!!!! Oy-yoy-yoy! So to answer the question...I prefer colored!

Here is my situation on that if you want to compare a little... My Mom spends more on me than my husband, and he doesn't mind at all. She is the type that goes overboard anyway, so he still has plenty...I just have MORE. It's a bit ridiculous. She doesn't seem to spend as much on my brother and his wife---theirs seem pretty equal, but I think it is the mother/daughter thing where she find the extras that she thinks are cute and knows I'd like, but kind of just sticks to clothes and movies etc for my brother. I always get the cute little candy cane socks, body lotions, kitchen towels etc...things that my brother wouldn't want anyway... My in-laws definitely spend more on their own kids, than they do for their kids-in-law, but that is fine with me. I like to see my husband get spoiled by his parents at Christmas, because they don't show much care through the year, and I like for him to get that special "wow" feeling for a change. I think it is great that they still acknowledge me, but I'd rather them spend more on their son, than me. So it is fine. Personally, to try to compare myself to your situation, I feel like I am willing to spend a bit more on MY Brother, and my husbands actual siblings, and then I get a nice thought gift for their spouses. The spouses are special people too, but I think it is natural to want to spend the money on your actual family, and just acknowledge the spouses...am I rambling? Anyway, that's my situation. Note: He should be embarassed to have counted the PRESENTS!!! YIKES!!!!

White Christmas & Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation. Those are the 2 my husband and I watch every year. Well, and now the kids watch Polar express like 102 times during the season. I could probably recite that one from start to finish without it even being on!!!

Thanks Eve, I can't wait to do this this year! How FUN!

Can I just share my First Black Friday Experience real fast? 10 years ago...I didn't know what Black Friday was. It was my first year working at Fred Meyer (Anyone know what that is? It's owned by Kroger, but it is not just a supermarket, it is a "One Stop Shopping", more like a Walmart Super Center or Target Plus Groceries?!?!) Anyway, I was a cashier. I got my schedule and saw that I had to be at work at ready to cashier at 6:00 am the day after thanksgiving because there was a "5 hour sale". A bunch of us were scheduled that way to be there that early and I thought it was the craziest thing! I thought..."ok? How many people are REALLY going to be up at 6 in the morning just to buy something on sale?" (I can hear you all laughing!!!) We'll I drove to work that morning (still thinking this was strange, but whatever) and pulled into the parking lot and couldn't find a parking spot. Now--let me add that this is one of those types of stores where any other time of the year the parking lot MIGHT be HALF FULL on a busy day!!! So I freaked out and thought HOLY CRAP, what is going on???? I parked in back, went in through the employee entrance, went onto the sales floor and I was blocked with shoppers!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes!!!!! I was late getting to the front of the store, because I COULDN'T WALK THROUGH THE STORE!!!!!! I was shocked, but as I talked to the customers as they paid, I realized that this was REALLY a tradition with MANY people, and I had SO much fun that day! The customers were crazy, but they were having fun! They were stressed out, but they also knew it was silly and funny, but the were on on mission! I've never shopped on Black Friday. I've usually just worked (But I'd get the deals on my 15 minute break, of course). I LOVED workign on Black Friday, I looked forward to it! It is truly a shopping experience like no other! Enjoy Black Friday everyone! I'll be sleeping!

Oh, and one year my Mom (I mean Santa) gave us hand written letters about what good little kids we were, and I was probably like 7 or so...I said "MOM! SANTA HAS THE SAME HAND WRITING AS YOU!!!!!!" I thought it was either cool - or NOT cool. I was confused. The next year she had my Dad write the letters like --- maybe with his LEFT hand or something!

I'm 30, and when me and my Mom talk about "Santa" and what to tell my kids, my mom STILL tells me that there is something VERY magical about Christmas! Does SHE still believe???

I LOVE wrapping presents. I have to resist the urge to wrap each present as it comes in the door, but I just remind myself how much fun I'll have to set up shop and do it all in one night. See, if I have a ton of presents to wrap, it is worth the effort to haul EVERY wrapping paper roll, ever type of ribbon and bow, every present etc out to the living room. I make my Grandma's Hot Buttered Rum Recipe and turn on the Christmas music and sing along and TOTALLY enjoy the whole experience. I LOVE it, and it is one of my favorite holiday things to do. When my husbands bachelor friends both realized I liked it so well, the actually brought all of theirs for me to wrap one year...however, I found that it is not NEARLY as fun to wrap presents that don't mean anything to you...Half of the fun is wrapping something you've picked out for someone you love (or that you HAD to buy for ) and imagining them receiving it and all of that...so I didn't offer to wrap presents for the "guys" anymore. I just do my own...all in one night. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

Fake, but I put my own lights on so I can change between white lights and colored lights depending upon my MOOD that year! Also-for those of you that say you miss the pine smell of a real tree--- Just buy some Glade Potpourri Pine Sccented aerosol spray and spray your tree down when people come over!!!!!!! That's what I do! (I actually use the "Christmas Tree" from bath and body works-YUM!)

HI, I've found the KEY to it all! I hope this helps you! My Mom used to have separate blinky lights and the top, middle and bottom would all blink at different times and I thought it looked SILLY. I didn't really care when I was little, but just the fact that I noticed says something. :) I use about 300-350 lights, and what I do it I take a 100 ct string of non-blinking lights and start at the bottom (so the plug is near the outlet) and put them IN to the tree farther-not out on the edges of the branches. I wrap all the way around clockwise and stretch it far enough up each time so that the end will be at the very top. Then I take a string of 100 ct flashing lights and start at the bottom again, and put them on counter clockwise but a little farther out on the branches then the last string, and I put each layer in between where the solid-on lights were, and I make it stretch out so the end once again reaches all the way to the top. It should look pretty even each time you finish a layer. Then I take another sting of 100 ct blinkies, and start at the bottom again wrap it clockwise (like the first string) and wrap it so it again reaches the top, and strategically place each layer wherever the tree needed another layer the most. You said you use about 700 lights? Wow! That will be bright! So just keep alternating layers, filling dark spots as you work up, and keep changing back and forth between clockwise, and counter-...That way if you have running lights, you won't see different patterns in the tree, it will just make the tree sparkle all over. (I acutally use running lights, not just blinking lights. But either one is good). The reason I use at least one string of solid on lights is because no matter how the tree is flashing, there is ALWAYS some sort of light on ther tree. Then with the layers ALL wrapping UP to the TOP, you'll never get that "Bottom On, Top Off" look. That is my fear, and this is what I do every year, and my husband is always so impressed!! I'll keep an eye on this forum and see what other tips people have. What a GREAT question!! Good Luck!