Tara3117

My boyfriend was telling me about an article that he read where the writers used last year's trend and said the best deals on tvs came out about 2 weeks before Christmas. They did say that this year might be different because of the digital tv switch, so it's possible that we might see the best deals after Christmas, but that would be unusual based on history. I'll see if he can find the article again so I can post it here.

My local paper published an article this morning saying this email is bogus. Here's the link: http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_323234535.html

Does anyone have a sense on where would be the best place to get deals on CDs and DVDs? I did a search through the ads and didn't really see a whole lot. My mother discovered Josh Groban and Michael Buble this year so I wanted to get her a few CDs. My brother also asked for Clone Wars on DVD. Amazon has them for a decent price, but I wasn't sure if it would be better to buy them now or wait until BF. I know we're only talking about a few dollars, but every little bit helps, right?

I bought jewelry last year. They have tickets that you rip off from a display (kinda like the deli) and you wait for them to call you. You have to pay for it at the counter. At my Kohl's, they would ring up your whole order at the jewelry counter, but I guess not every store does that. It's pretty orderly, but you have to make sure you're nearby when they call your number. If they skip you, you have to pull a new one. Saw a lot of people get burned that way!

We used to just leave Chips Ahoy and a juice box. My parents always said that the milk would go bad if we left it out for him, but years later I realized that it's because my mother is lactose-intollerant!!! We never left anything for the reindeers.

Chip - were you also able to get the mike and drumset at that price, or does that come separately?

Thanks for the tip! I just used it and was able to at least match if not beat the BF deals. I got jeans for my SIL $19.99 (same as BF price), a nightgown for Mom for $11.20 (I think that's the same as BF price since it's 50-60% off), and two pairs of earrings for a ridiculous markdown. One was originally $115, marked down to $44.44, with an extra 10% off AND the 20% coupon code brought them down to $32! The best part is that I was able to do it from my nice warm office and not have to wait in line, fight with crowds or search for sizes. I'm still not sure if I can even go to BF since I have to work, so every little bit I can do ahead of time is great. I did have to pay sales tax on the jewelry that I wouldn't have because my closest Kohl's is in NH, but I think the extra $2.50 was worth it. Thanks Kathy!

Are you hiring?

I'll admit that I'm kinda new to GH myself, but this is what I've figured out. The same guitar will work on all the games, including Aerosmith and GHWT. You don't need to buy a new bundle every time a new game comes out. I think the GH3 guitar also works with GH1 and GH2. That said, they redesigned the guitar for GHWT, so while the old ones will still work, I think the new guitar will be a little more fun. It has touch-pads for the solos in addition to the buttons. We don't have GHWT yet, but it's on our Christmas list! Also, GHWT has the drum kit and microphone components as well, which you can buy either in a bundle with the guitar and game or separately if you don't care about the new guitar. Each bundle also only has one guitar, so if you probably want to get a second one, which you can buy separately. And, to make things more confusing, you can also use Rock Band 2 equipment with GHWT. I've heard that the Rock Band guitar is better for lefties, but the general consensus among my friends is that the GH equipment is better. I'm sure someone will correct me if any of what I said was wrong/incomplete. I hope that helps!

We're transitioning to a gift card swap this year. It's getting harder and harder to buy for the "kids" in my family since we're all adults now, and it's not really fair to my aunts and uncles to keep buying for the kids and we don't traditionally buy anything for them, even though we all have full-time jobs. I personally hate the idea of a swap because it makes it all about the gift and not about the giving, but it would be hard to get us all together to pick names and if we do gifts by couple, that just lends itself to a gift card anyway, so we might as well make that the rule. In your situation though, I would still give gifts to my grandparents, mom, brother and sister in law. I couldn't imagine not getting the people that are that close to me gifts. So if that's the case, you don't really have that many names to choose from and what's 4 more gifts, especially if feelings are going to be hurt. (Although, I imagine that your cousins would be just as happy not to have to spend the money either.)

The one time I played Apples to Apples we must have done it wrong because I pretty much hated it! Catchphrase is our stand-by game. I also like Mad Gab (where you guess the phrase out of words that sound kinda like it). Scene It can be fun too, but you probably want to get one the kids can play like Harry Potter or something. I've also had fun with that LCR dice game with the chips (I've seen it recently at Barnes & Noble).

I remember feeling disappointed last year and last year's BF was my worst yet! This year isn't shaping up to be any better and I feel less and less bad about having to work that day. I'm a little worried that it's me and my lack of Christmas spirit. Last year I blamed it on finishing grad school, but this year I don't have any excuse.

Princess, you can't be #1 - I claimed it 3 days ago. Wait, what city are we talking about??? Yeah, that's absolutely the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. But I also wouldn't go crazy waiting in front of Target. They usually don't have doorbusters and their sales last two days. I've also been able to get rainchecks on some BF stuff in the past (but I've never bought electronics from Target on BF so that might be different). Obviously this gift is important to you and you have incentive to make sure you get it, so stand your ground. PS. You have to let us know how this turns out!!!

I went last night too. Didn't win a gift card or get a charger. I was disappointed with the event though. I couldn't figure out what was better about buying it last night as opposed to, say, today? Yeah, it was nice that the store wasn't crowded and people were available to answer questions. We didn't buy anything. I had high hopes for that event but I'm not sure it brought in the revenues the store was hoping for.

I grew up with a fake tree because my mother is allergic to pine, so last year was my first year with a real tree. I really liked the experience of getting a tree and putting it up. My heat comes out of overhead vents though, so the tree dried out REALLY fast, even though I watered it twice a day. I also kind of wish that we could have put it up earlier. I envision that I'll be back to a fake tree before long, but right now I kind of like having the experience of a real tree.

I just saw the Garmin commercial set to Carol of the Bells. Anyone see that? It's pretty funny, but I couldn't believe it was out already. It turned November and it's already Christmas! I also cut out a coupon yesterday for Kebbler Town House crackers that had a Christmas scene in the picture. Namco's ad had a bunch of Christmas trees and decorations as well. I haven't spent much time shopping recently so I haven't seen anything in the stores. That's when it will be a big deal!

My boyfriend and I set a limit and then I always overbuy! It's like this for every gift-giving occassion. We usually do $100 each for birthdays, anniversary and Christmas.

It looks like none of the MA or NH stores are closing, which is great. I like some healthy competition!

Here are two recipes that my family loves: Cranberry-White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies (this is basically a really good shortbread recipe and you can throw whatever you'd like in it) 2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened 1 cup sugar 4 cups flour 1 pkg. (6 squares) BAKER'S White Chocolate, chopped 1-1/2 cups dried cranberries HEAT oven to 350°F. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour; mix well. Stir in chocolate and cranberries. DROP rounded tablespoons of dough, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets; flatten slightly. BAKE 10 to 14 min. or until lightly browned. Cool 5 min. on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. AND Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies 2 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup sugar 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 cup margarine or butter, softened 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 eggs 1 cup chopped pecans 48 Rolos 1 tablespoon sugar 4 oz. vanilla-flavored candy coating, if desired (I almost never do this step) DIRECTIONS In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; mix well. In large bowl, combine 1 cup sugar, brown sugar and margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture; blend well. Stir in 1/2 cup of the pecans. If necessary, cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes for easier handling. Heat oven to 375°F. For each cookie, with floured hands, shape about 1 tablespoon dough around 1 caramel candy, covering completely. In small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup pecans and 1 tablespoon sugar. Press one side of each ball into pecan mixture. Place, nut side up, 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375°F. for 7 to 10 minutes or until set and slightly cracked. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes or until completely cooled. Melt candy coating in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Drizzle over cookies

On my niece's first Christmas (she's 2 now), the Babies R Us near me didn't open early and didn't have any sales. But since then they have started opening early, so I imagine they have started doing something. Or maybe you can check the BRU section of Toys R Us, if you care to fight the crowds.

We always have those Pillsbury cinnamon rolls from the tube (well, one cinnamon, one orange). It's tradition and I don't think we'll ever get away from it. I LOVE monkey bread though (recently found a recipe that puts cream cheese inside which is amazing) so I wouldn't mind shaking things up for that. For those of you who haven't tried it, you should! You'll love it! Scrapple is a meat dish. There are some people who love it and some people who think it's really nasty. It's basically pork scraps being held together with flour and fried. From what I understand, it's pretty much a mid-Atlantic state kinda food. (There's a whole Ace of Cakes episode where they make a meat cake for Duff's birthday and they talk about scrapple, if any of you are Food Network fans!)

I went to LNT this weekend and it wasn't great. My store wasn't on the original list to close, but after the auction two weeks ago, I think they're all closing. The store was so picked over! I couldn't believe how empty it was after only 2 weeks! I was looking for some bathroom stuff and they didn't have anything. I ended up getting a few random things - some cleaning products, a few cooking accessories and a creme brulee kit, but overall it wasn't worth the trip.

You are amazing! Why didn't I think of that??? You guys are right, I am lucky to have this new job. Just before I left my last job, they annouced a forced 8.5 day furlough where employees would be forced to use vacation time for the week of Thanksgiving and the week of Christmas, but I didn't have 8.5 vacation days left. I would have been without one week's pay at Christmas (the worst possible time ever). I'd rather give up BF (or change venues) than go without pay.

Is that on the council level that applies to all troops or do the troops have to secure their own permits? If that fundraiser works out, ask them to tell National! I need girls in Salem, NH to get in on it! When I was in high school, the Key Club ran a bake sale at our town's Christmas Stroll. We were able to set up in a bank's vestibule and sold hot chocolate and various baked goods made by our members. I wonder how we were able to do that legally? Maybe because we were on private property? Or maybe the high school had a permit that we were under? One doesn't think of these things when they're 16, but now I'm curious...

I thought about trying to squeeze some shopping in too, but I need to get on the train to work by 6:45, so that doesn't leave much time at the good stores. Of course, I work in Boston and all the department stores are outside of Boston, so the best I could do is Macy's! Hopefully there will be some good online deals on BF and there's always Cyber Monday. This will be the first year I've missed since 2001, so I'm a little sad about it. I imagine work will be dead that day because the rest of the world can use a vacation day. I'm just as sad about Christmas Eve. I keep trying to remind myself that it's just a temporary thing and next year I will be able to take all the days off I want. This is just a crappy time to have a waiting period.