msomnipotent

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do this year. I used to do get the bulk of my money from gift cards from credit card rewards, surveys, and discount gc sites. My main survey site kicked me off for no reason and deleted my points, 2 others are giving me so much grief with delays and not posting points that I quit them, Chase raised the needed points to use through Amazon, and I'm getting a LOT of problems when trying to use the gift cards I bought from cardpool and cardcash. I don't think I will be buying them any longer. My bank doesn't offer a Christmas club. So far I'm just buying things here and there and setting money aside mentally. I think I will open an online account for next year.

I'm hoping for some cell phone packages/calling plans now that competition seems to be heating up. I promised my daughter that we would add her to our plan and get her a "real" phone if she didn't lose her starter phone we gave last Christmas. My S4 is acting up and I would like a new one, too! I think accessories like attachable camera lenses will be big. I'm starting to see more and more ads for 3D printers. I have a feeling they will be big. I have a few in my Amazon wish list as gift ideas. Not sure I want to spend $300 or more, though.

I forgot what year it was, but it was between 1999 and 2001 and I had never heard of BF before. DVD players were still pretty new and I saw a good deal on one at Circuit City. I decided to get there when the store opened and grab one. My uncle asked if I could pick up a computer on sale. Thankfully, I lived in an area that was just starting to have communities built and the big box stores were just opening, otherwise I would have had no chance. I did get all that I needed (even the cheap computer!) and really had no clue how lucky I was. My husband and I were wondering out loud why everyone was out and about so early. I don't do a lot of BF shopping anymore. I got hurt the last few times I went out and things were just getting crazier. I will do most of it online and wait until after the crowds for a few little things if I have to go out. I started to notice that a lot of what I wanted to buy was cheaper before BF, especially Macy's last year. My interest has been waning the last few years and last year got me so frustrated that I just stopped shopping. But it doesn't seem like Christmas for me until the ads get leaked!

I think the prices would be better right now because it is out of season and it will be considered last year's model when it starts to get cold again. BF would be near the beginning of the season, so I wouldn't expect great markdowns. If your closest Uggs and NF are in a Premium Outlet mall, you can sign up for the VIP program and get some coupons and advance notice of their sales, but it is for all of their stores. I'm not sure about NF, but our PO has Uggs.

So far I only have flasks that are made to look like tampons for one of my sisters, but I have started my lists. Most of my relatives are hard to shop for, so I think of things months in advance and then rig the name picking raffle to my advantage. I'm planning on buying plasma lighters for the smokers in my family once I find a reliable product.

I have already started Christmas shopping. I'm always on the lookout for good gifts. I'm both excited and worried for this BF because we decided to go away for Thanksgiving. I have no idea what shopping will be like.

It looks like they are on sale now for a decent price. I just bought a pair of Bearpaws (Emma short) at Shoebuy.com a few days ago for about $45, shipped. I see now that they are having a 25% off sale, but they are $10 more! The Emmas are about $45 at Dicks online now.

If I am hosting Thanksgiving, I usually wait until after to decorate. Since this is the first time in a while that it will not be at my house, I will start to put decorations up within the next few days. It takes a few days to unpack everything and another few days to pack it back up so it isn't worth it for me to have everything up just a few weeks. I just don't put anything near windows until closer to Christmas!

My family does a grab bag for anyone over 18 and if you don't get in the grab bag, you don't get a gift, even from the parents. Before the grab bag, one relative had a habit of eyeballing everyone's gifts and get mad if someone had more than her. So one year I opened a box of Andes mints and individually wrapped each one, then made her sit there and open each one while everyone watched. Everyone made a big fuss about how she finally had so many more gifts than everyone else, and she finally realized how ridiculous she was being. CVS and Walgreens usually has Andes on sale for the holidays. Stock up!

I had a problem like that with Target, too. I ordered a pair of shoes for my daughter (along with about a year's supply of tp that I used coupons and Target gift cards to pay for) and they sent the wrong size. They said since no store near me had that shoe in the size I needed, I needed to mail it back to them and it would take 4-6 weeks for them to "investigate" and "perhaps" they would resend the correct pair. They acted as if I had broken into their warehouse, purposely put a toddler's shoe size into the size 3 box that would go to my house, and then try to distract them with my absurdly large order of Cottonelle. How this would benefit me, I don't know. I assumed they didn't like that I got a great deal and wanted to play with me. Or perhaps they wanted to get me so worked up that I would spontaneously purge whatever intestinal parasite I had that would cause me to need so much toilet paper at once. My daughter needed the shoes now, not in a month or two. So the shoes returned to them and I haven't. Honestly, if I can find a teal Fitbit anywhere other than Target before Christmas, I would be willing to pay more to avoid that store.

I have a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50S/LE and I love them with all of my heart. They look as good as they sound. The regular ATH-M50S is the same thing only not a limited edition, and they are different colors. I also have the M50x and they are just ok. They don't sound as rich as the M50s, but I am certainly not an audiophile. You have to get used to having something so big on your head if you haven't worn over-ear headphones. I thought they were huge and too hot at first, but now I can sleep with them on. I think a proper stand is necessary too, just so the cord doesn't tangle and the ears are not mushed together. I don't have much experience with in-ear headphones. I bought a pair of Shure SE110 probably close to 10 years ago and haven't felt the need to buy anything else. I would advise you to buy something that has interchangeable ear tip things (whatever they are called) if you go that route, because you can't get a good sound without a good fit. And they get gross over time. I agree about the Beats. I bought a pair for my daughter last year with the Radio Shack deal. Thank God I didn't pay full price. I think I still overpaid for them even after rebate. They are built like a tank but sound awful! WAY too much bass and everything sounds muddy. I made the mistake of letting my daughter compare the M50s to her Beats and she tried to trade with me. HA! Never!

I collect nutcracker ornaments. I collect all sizes of nutcrackers but I have a tree with just nc ornaments. I have to buy a bigger tree this year. Not only do I have too many ornaments, but the smaller tree is too easy for my jerk cat to topple. I used to collect Swarovski ornaments, but they would attract the aforementioned cat within seconds of being put on display, so I sold them.

I've been a couple of times. We have stayed at the Bavarian Inn before. It was good enough, but the kids want to stay at the hotel closer to Bronners with the big water park. I think it was called Zehnders, just like the chicken. In my experience, Bronners is usually a little crowded, but I have also been told it is off the chain nutty nuts on BF. One cashier told me they get 10,000 customers just on that one day. I'm pretty sure I would tear my hair out.

I just slather my turkey with mayo (not Miracle Whip) and throw some herbs in the cavity. It sounds gross but it comes out nicely browned and juicy as long as it is tented with foil when it starts to get too brown.

I can't believe I'm excited over a sale on Fancy Feast. What has my life become?

I'm having the opposite problem. The online price is $10 more than the store price, but none of the stores have the bike I need. One store said to order it and do the price match when I pick it up, 3 others plus my sister that is a Walmart employee said that they can't do that. It is the perfect gift for someone so I guess I have to pay extra, but it ticks me off that each store said the other stores had several in stock and then there are none when I get there.

I see things I want, but I have seen then the same price or cheaper already. Nothing is screaming, "Black Friday special" to me.

I'm kind of disappointed because several items I am interested in were cheaper on 11/7 than BF. And of course, I putzed around thinking about things and comparing, and it was past midnight when I put them in my cart so the price went up dramatically. I didn't see the Bare Minerals, though. I will have to look through again.

I don't work anymore, but I worked at a gas station, a restaurant, and a hospital on various Thanksgivings and BFs. My advice would be to expect crowds and be patient. You would be surprised how many people are shocked that other people are out and about when "they should be at home". It was unreal. I really wanted to ask people what they were doing out if everyone should be at home. Another great piece of advice is to not drink alcohol if you are going shopping. The ER fills up every holiday with alcohol related accidents and not all of them are car crashes. A lot, but not all. My sister and a friend work at Walmart. Their #1 piece of advice was already mentioned. Don't come late and expect doorbusters. You can't even expect them when you show up early. And they have noticed an uptick in customers that have clearly celebrated with one or more toxic substances. I'm wondering if it is because more stores are opening on Thanksgiving and people are coming straight from dinner instead of sleeping it off for a while.

I don't really have a budget, but I might try one this year. We are really trying to save this year. Not that I didn't before. I know about how much I spend per child and how much I want to spend on each item, but I also buy a lot of things we use throughout the year that do not count as Christmas gifts (like appliances, magazines, clothes, etc). It also helps to stick to a list, and if someone doesn't give me their list in time then they wind up with a discounted gift card or lottery tickets.

Me too!! My Rheumatologist gave me a handicapped parking pass one year and it was heavenly, except that I had to get out of my car and ask people to get out of the handicapped parking while waiting for whoever to come out of the store. I also usually do the holiday cooking too, mainly because no one likes how my other sisters cook. It just isn't worth it to me feeling wiped out for days afterward, so I try to do most of my shopping online. I also guzzle green tea for energy and it seems to help with the stiffness a bit, too.

It was 15 or 16 years ago. I told my husband I wanted to get to Circuit City early, so we left the house 15 mins before they opened. My uncle asked me to pick up one of the computers that was on sale, and another person asked for a tv. Why does everyone in my family need me to get them a tv on BF??? But anyway, there was maybe 10 people ahead of me and we got everything we needed. I bought myself a fax machine! I still have it!

I'm surprised they are already handing them out. I got one today along with their Veteran's Day flyer when I bought a jack.

I try to do everything online, unless I need something from JC Penney. They have screwed up my online order every year for 4 years straight so I just avoid them if I can and buy in person if I truly have to. Other than that, I have only had a few problems with orders being cancelled/delayed and the shopping portal discounts combined with not having to brave the Midwest winter makes it worthwhile for me.

I start to panic because I know some relative of mine will ask me to get some major item for them at the last minute and then get mad when I don't manage to get it. It happens every year, even after I started giving the same speech every Thanksgiving about "If you wanted the TV/laptop/video game console, you should have been in line hours ago and I cannot get it for you". I even got a phone call last year asking me to get something on BF, on the day AFTER BF! My favorite was last year. I cooked a full Thanksgiving meal for 25 people without help, no one helped clean up, and then my sister and a BIL asked me to go to Walmart to get TVs for them because they were too tired from all the food. Needless to say, I'm not hosting the holidays this year.