tntsmomie

I just got back from running up there. Spent $45 (saved $45), got slippers for the kids and myself, and 2 pair of shoes for DS4. Looked for boots for DD6, but without her there, I don't know what she'd prefer. She doesn't really need shoes right now.... It was fairly busy, but the clerks were very efficient. Gathered your boxes while you were still shopping and took them up front to expedite check-out.

We have 1 AG doll and "Santa" just got another one for DD6. I have to say they are WELL WORTH the $100. Right now, there's a code for free shipping. :) What's so nice is that, should anything every happen to the doll, you send it to their "doll hospital." They repair the doll, and she comes back with goodies (a hospital gown and such). If you're looking for quality, stick with AG. You can always find clothing cheaper by using outfits from the other dolls you've mentioned. Even Michael's has a whole line of doll clothing for the 18" dolls that fit AG dolls.

1. What garden doll was the trendy and popular toy of 1984 Cabbage Patch Kids 2.Traditionally what carol will you hear most often at Christmas "White Christmas" 3 On what network did Frosty the snowman debut CBS 4. what song contains the phrase prosperno anno? Feliz Navidad 5. in the movie babe what gets stolen from farmer hoggett on christmas day? Sheep! 6. in the night before Christmas how many times does santa whistle? 2

Thank you so much for posting this. I've been wanting a new pair of shoes, and I have shoes for the family I need to get.

My DH wants a new yoke and pedal set for his flight simulator game. We've agreed that we can only fill each other's stockings this year, but those are not going to fit....we may have to change the rules.

My kids have been asking for things since the end of summer. That's when I would say, "put it on your list." They officially started last month, and we have them all typed up (easier for me to keep track of). I actually put a deadline on them for Halloween. By then, they pretty much know what they want. My kids are still quite a big younger than yours (DD6 and DS4). DD6 wants Chrissa (the American Girl Doll), a few Webkinz, and lots of Barbie stuff DS4 wants a Trio set, a few webkinz, Geotrax, and a few Cars cars

Got mine last week. Hasn't started any conversations yet, though....but I love it!

One thing I've learned about in-laws and holidays as I've gotten older, is that as long as everyone is together, it's a good thing. Perhaps you could make it an early dinner? Or lunch? That way, you could still go home and enjoy your usual festivities with your family, especially for your DD's birthday. We've never gone out to dinner for Xmas Eve, but it might be fun! :)

Santa brings ONE present in our house. The rest are from us. Typically, Santa presents aren't wrapped, but this year, DD6's will be in special paper. DS4's will not be wrapped.

DD6 and DS4 still believe STRONGLY and I'm not gonna tell them otherwise. I'm 28 and still get tears in my eyes when we see Santa. We have one of those huge Yankee Candle stores near us that we go to about every other month. They have a full-time Santa on staff and I LOVE him. I get hugs from him when I can, and always thank him for being there. The kids love it, too. :) They get lollipops from him, and he'll stand under the snow with us when it falls. We have had talks about why Santa doesn't build all of his toys (for example, this year, DD6 wants a Chrissa doll from American Girl). We say that sometimes he works with the toys companies to help with gifts that his elves can't build. We also stick with Santa only bringing one gift. I hope they believe forever.

THANK YOU!!! Just ordered DD6's "santa gift". She wanted Chrissa this year, and I've been waiting and waiting to find a code to save a little bit. :) Saving on shipping made me want to spend the $6 to have them wrap it special for her, and include a gift message from Santa. Also grabbed her a set of matching PJs for her and 1 of her dolls. Thank you for posting this!

IMHO, at 10 & 7, kids really should be pulling their weight in regards to chores around the house. I do not agree with cutting back on presents simply because they're not cleaning up. I just don't see that it would help the issue. Work with a chore chart, make up a rewards system, find another way! :) Christmas is supposed to be for happy, fun memories. I'd definitely sit down with the two of them and talk about what's going on....and what's expected of them in the house as far as chores go - especially cleaning up after themselves. And I stress the TALK part of that. No reason to yell at them b/c they'll likely tune it out (mine do if I'm yelling too much). Actually, I think I'll be doing this with my own kids today (who are 6 & 4 and having the same issue).

My kids LOVE their Christmas Eve pajamas. They've already started asking if I've gotten them yet. :) And this year, we started the tradition of going to the Christmas Mouse and picking out an ornament for the tree.

I don't have many wishes this Christmas. I don't need/want much. Just a shark hand steamer.

I am so thrilled to find this thread! I'm listening to it right now! Thank you!

Let's see...I just went over the kids lists and lists for things for the relatives. DS4 - Geotrax (both the Cars kind and regular kind), Firefighter dress-up kit, 2 Webkinz, FP Trio Airport Set, a few Cars cars, a Cars "body pillow" DD6 - American Girl Doll Chrissa (and maybe matching pjs for her and her doll), several Barbies, Barbie clothes, Barbie case, new Barbie movie, 2 Webkinz, Tinkerbell "body pillow" Plus, whatever little goodies I decide to get for stockings. No clue for DH. I don't even know what I want yet! :)

THANK YOU!!! Found some great GeoTrax sets for DS4. Very cute ones...and the big one he's been asking for with the new Eric & Aero train set. (they're painted differently) I saved a bunch!

Although we've been donating to Toys for Tots for years, and DD6 just started to really understand last year when we talked about it again. Both kids (her and DS4) enjoy picking out gifts for the bins. I can't wait to do it again this year! I'd also really like to look into donating our time to a good cause...any suggestions?? This year, we're also doing something a little bit different for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. My husband is an instructor at his Coast Guard base here. Often times, there are students left on-base for these holidays (family lives too far away, no transportation, etc). He came home yesterday and said he'd like to adopt some of these Coasties and bring them home for the holidays. This holds a special place for me b/c I can remember being in Basic Training over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. We were adopted out to local families and able to spend the majority of Christmas Day with their family (and many of these families had no military affiliation. They were just local civilian families with rather big hearts). We could call home, eat what we wanted, take a nap. And the families would be given a list of acceptable gifts they could give us (envelopes, paper, pens, stamps, etc). Granted, the men and women in his classes have much more freedom than you do in Basic, but I'm very anxious to share our home and family with them, especially at Christmas, as the base essentially closes for 2 weeks. Could you imagine being on-base for 2 weeks, no classes, not much to do, at the holiday season? And with my family now having moved away from the area, we're alone this holiday season. It'll be nice to have a full house. :)

Those DO sound yummy! Thank you for sharing the recipe!

Well, the whole thing is that I never even knew what a buckeye was until I started searching for a peanut butter ball recipe last year. Then they looked so darn good. I did actually make some that weren't covered all the way...they still tasted WAAAAAAAAYYY too sweet. Isn't there a difference between a buckeye candy and a peanut butter ball??

I actually should start wrapping soon. We're out of room to hide things, and the kids are getting "peeky." They know I have things in my closet, and although they won't just go open the door, they try to run in when they know the door is open. :) Our front closet is a mess, and I actually have to clean it to get to some of the gifts and the wrapping paper case. Sounds like a good project for the rest of the week!

Yep. But instead of just covering part of the ball to give it the "buckeye" effect, I cover the whole ball.

We like to use those chocolate melts you can get at Michael's. They harden really well (that's what we use for our lollipops and chocolate covered pretzels). And we're going to use these new chocolate chips for the mint pretzel bark. None look like they'll melt. So I imagine if we use the same chocolate on the outside of the pb balls, they'd be okay.

I'm starting to gather recipes to make goodies for the holiday season that are able to be mailed. So far, we're making: Mint Chocolate Pretzel BarkChocolate Lollipops(possibly chocolate covered pretzels) I'd really like to include some peanut butter balls. Last year, the recipe I used was just awful. Too dry and too sweet (it called for a crazy amount of powdered sugar). Does anyone have a really good one that doesn't have to be refridgeratred (except to harden the chocolate briefly)?