Tara3117

GottaDealers - I'm really sad about this. I just started a new job last week and you can imagine how upset I was when I found out that I'm not elligible to take a day off for 3 months! 3 MONTHS! So no BF, no Christmas Eve (which means no hosting Christmas Eve), no day after Christmas and I better not get sick between now and January 20. It makes me so sad every time I look at these boards that I'm going to be stuck working. Get some good deals for me this year! I'm going to be in the malls in December. Isn't that what we try to avoid???

I usually bring about $700 or so with me. I like to do all of my Christmas shopping in cash and not have to worry about it. I usually don't bring my purse, just a sweatshirt with pockets and a vest. I keep my shopping money in a bank envelope and zip it in my vest pocket. I keep my debit card and my AMEX on me in case I see something for me and those other incidentals like breakfast and whatever. Then I bring my Macy's and Old Navy cards for those special deals for cardholders. I haven't had any problems or lost anything, but I'm also crazy-pocket-checker-girl, so I guess that's why!

Santa always brought stockings growing up. My parents wouldn't let us wake them until 10 AM(how mean is that???) but we could open stockings without them. Now my brother and I are both out of the house but we still do Christmas morning at our parents' house since neither of us have kids. (I really don't know how it's going to play out after that!) We still have stockings and there's usually candy, socks, underwear, razor blades, lotion, etc. I kind of wanted to start doing them with my boyfriend, but where his parents also do stockings, we kind of felt that it was a little overkill.

That sounds so sad! My family is pretty small. My aunts and uncles still give small gifts to me and my cousins. This year, one of my cousins will have a brand new baby and I am definitely planning on getting her something small. I'll be lucky if I even see my Dad's family at Christmas, and if I do get to see them, that would be present enough for me. We're so out of touch with that side that we wouldn't know what to get! My boyfriend's family is much bigger. His mom's side tried drawing names, but everyone got everyone something anyway, so what's the point. We just get presents for his grandparents and don't worry about his aunts and uncles. We're much closer to his dad's side (it's actually how we met). We give presents to his cousins' 3 kids and this year we're doing a gift card swap. We used to draw names by couple but everyone ended up doing gift cards anyway, so we figured it would be more fun this way. So, long story short, if your husband is comfortable getting everyone a gift (and your budget allows), go for it. If it's a chore or you don't feel like the favor is returned, I would just do the kids and the significant people and forget the rest.

Okay Brad - I posted a comment, gave it 5 stars, subscribed to the channel AND posted it to my Facebook account! Anything else?

That's the best thing about shopping in a group. Last year we tried this at Kohl's, but my shopping buddies took longer than the line and we ended up back at the end. That totally stunk!

I remember them being graded, so it was like 50% off your order from 6-8, then 40% from 8-10 and 30% from 10-12 or something. I definitely remember being there and the manager initialing all of our coupons when we got in line so we'd get the right discount. But I seldom go to Michael's on BF, so that might have been awhile ago. AC Moore's was definitely off 1 item because I did go there with a friend to get her wedding invitations and we each bought a box.

I never even think of Christmas shopping until BF, but I did buy my dad something to give my mom from a catalog. The thing about Christmas shopping that I HATE is that I'm always doing other people's shopping too, like getting my mother things from my dad. Every year, I over-buy on BF and "sell" that stuff to my other family members for them to give on Christmas and that's kind of my own fault. Last year I got into a bad place where people were counting on me for their Christmas shopping AND I had to buy my boyfriend things to get my family because he was clueless. It really took away from the spirit of gift-giving.

Can you call it a donation if you aren't a non-profit? Because I've always thought that some Girl Scout troop should get out there with a hot chocolate booth. I don't think you need permits for bake sales and stuff, do you? Unless maybe that's for established fairs and where this would be a one-off kind of thing, you would need something. PS. I wouldn't buy something from a private citizen out to make a buck. I'd be much more likely to support a fundraiser than to line someone else's pocket, but that's just one girl's humble opinion.

I read all the ads when they come out and I kind of have an idea, but I have a Thanksgiving night strategy session over pie with my friend that I shop with and his family. I can barely get my brother and his wife to send me a list before I leave BF morning, so it's kind of hard for me to really make my final plan.

Depending on where you live in NY, it might be just as close to go to MA, which is also always tax free on clothes. (However, those of us lucky enough to live on the NH border will be shopping there as always!)

The only other thing I would add to the Nano discussion is that most of the stores have the same prices, but they offer different bundles that might be more attractive to you. There might be a gift card for that store, or iTunes, or maybe earbuds or armbands or something. If you can't catch a break on the regular iPod price, those little extras might be worth it. (Though if you DON'T want any of that extra stuff, Brad's right, try Amazon!)

Just curious - for those of you who work ft and have a 2nd part time job, how do you pull it off? I have been thinking about getting a second job for the holidays, but I'm not sure how to do it. I work 8:30-5:30(ish) now. What time do night shifts usually start? Do you tell your boss that you've taken the second job? How many nights do you usually work?

I went to Big Lots probably two years ago for a tool set that my Dad just had to have. It was the most depressing shopping trip ever! There were a few people there and they had Christmas music and a dancing Santa, but no one was very happy to be there. I couldn't help feel badly for the cashiers who should be home with a turkey hangover, not ringing up sale items! I vowed never to do Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving ever again!

I think I'll be spending just as much as last year. I have a Christmas Club, so I save a specific amount from every paycheck and that's my Christmas shopping money. Last year, my list doubled when I started dating my boyfriend, but I think I did okay building that into the budget this year.

My boyfriend and I also have a Wii and a (brand new) Xbox 360 and we're both 20-somethings with no kids. Both have their good and bad points. Wii is a great system for play while Xbox is a better system for gaming. My bf uses the Xbox more for his shoot-em-up games and anything that has graphics as a selling point. I typically use the Wii because it's more fun for me and I don't care about the graphics. I also like not having to push 10 buttons to get my character to go places or whatever, but that's just me. I also think that Wii will stay at $250, but I bet you'll see some good bundles or gift card promos with it this year.

I always forget to bring my one "green" bag with me to the grocery store. I don't want to buy any more until I can actually remember to but it back in my car. I'm thinking of bringing my big LL Bean beach bag to BF this year. Last year we brought trash bags, but they broke before we made it out of the first store. If there are a lot of little things, I think the canvas bag would be great. That would free up our hands for the big stuff.

Just got a new job that does Friday as a paid holiday and half day on Christmas Eve. It's part of the reason I took the job, although my last company was really cool about letting us blow a vacation day on Black Friday.

I figure I should be getting my Christmas Club check in about a month and then I'll be on here every day! Last year was probably my worst year yet, so I'm hoping to redeem myself!

This year, I'm giving my boss a "World's Best Boss" mug like Michael Scott's from the $1 bin at Target, a 2008 Office calendar, and a gift card to Dunkin Donuts. We have a really good relationship and I think he'll get the jokes. The gift card is his "real" gift. I normally hate gift cards, but I feel like this one fits a theme and required some actual thought.

I hate wrapping gifts! I usually put it off until the last possible second. I'm sure I'll be wrapping on Christmas day! Since I moved this year, I don't have a good hiding spot though so I might need to wrap sooner. I started hiding things in my closet, but now I can't shut the door!

Every year, my parents want to go visit my brother in Texas for Thanksgiving, but I won't go. Who will I shop with? So, I guess I'm willing to sacrifice a trip to Texas, seeing the family, and 8 hours of vacation time.

I wonder why they feel the need to do this. I think either the sales are going to be crappy this year and they don't want people to discuss that ahead of time or if there's going to be something really good that they don't want their competitors to copy. The ad does come out officially on the Monday before BF, so we still have some time to plan. I wonder how many GD-ers there are and whether our anger will affect WM's sales or not. I personally don't care what they do because WM isn't on my BF route, but I don't want other businesses to follow WM's lead.

In my family, there's just me and my married brother, no grandkids. We both live out of the house. My parents spend the same amount of $ on us both, so some years I get more packages and some years he does, depending on what we ask for. We know that my mother works hard to figure out her budget and the difference between our gifts is within $10. She spends much less on my SIL, maybe only $50 or $75. She always buys a gift for whomever I'm dating at the time, but it's more like $25 or $30. My brother doesn't get tons of gifts from his in-laws either, so it's pretty fair among the families.

Now I take BF off, but I have gone to work in the past. I worked at a bank and had to be there for 8:30. I went shopping dressed in my work clothes and made it to just the basics - TRU, Macy's, Kohl's and Sears. I was afraid I wouldn't have time for the big electronics stores, so I skipped those all together. Work wasn't so bad that day. Shopping recharges me so I actually felt pretty good. I slept well that night though!