Tara3117

Fitbits are going to be the same price everywhere you shop. It's just going to be whatever perks the stores give away with it that will help you decide where to buy it. Some might give away a gift card with purchase, you could earn Kohl's Cash, etc. Fitbit just started selling smart watches this year (the Versa and Ionic) so it will be interesting to see what their Black Friday deals will be.

eBay is having a deal right now on some. Also check Groupon and Amazon. It will be hit or miss but at least you have time if you start looking early.

What Christmas Means to Me "Don't forget to hang up your sock"

Answer: A Christmas Story Quote: "I don't know what else to say except it's Christmas and we're all in misery"

Depends on the item. I bought some Fingerlings this weekend because I was really excited to see them in stock. I have my eye on some things at Old Navy and if they go down to 50% off before BF, I'm pulling the trigger. Otherwise, I'll wait to see the ads before buying anything I don't need to. I especially need a new smartphone, but I'm waiting for the Verizon ad before I make any moves.

Do we usually get a Verizon Wireless ad? I noticed that it's not on the dates page.

I went to Kohl's yesterday with my 30% off coupon and bought a bunch of toys. I knew the coupon wasn't going to work on the Fingerlings I got, but it also didn't work on the Play-Doh I bought either. I only got 15% off of those. The cashier said that they changed the rules once they got Legos that no toys are eligible for coupons. I'm not sure how I got 15% off the Play-Doh. Thought I would pass this along because sometimes it's better to do your shopping with the 30% off instead of waiting for BF, but not so much with toys anymore.

Sounded to me like they were going to bring a Geoffrey's Toy Box aisle to Target that would have the propriety brands (Imaginarium, Koala etc) but wouldn't be doing their own story this year. I guess the future remains to be seen. I'd love to see their stores come back because I really liked their events (birthday celebrations etc).

Streakers! When you consider that I live in New England where Thanksgiving is usually pretty chilly, it makes the story even funnier. This was a few years ago when Thanksgiving openings were still pretty new. I think Kohl's opened at 10pm that night. My husband and I weren't planning on going out, but we were driving home at the right time, so we jumped in line. All of a sudden, 3 naked young men started running past the store entrance, right as the doors were opening. It was quite a sight. We couldn't stop laughing!

Who has a real tree? I want to decorate BF weekend (or the weekend after) but I'm 90% sure my tree will be dead by Christmas. Any tips on how to keep it alive for a month?

Congrats to the winners! I want to put my 2 cents in for deals on the new Pixel 3 that was released today. Wondering if Verizon will come out with 50% off like they did last year.

Answer: A Christmas Carol Quote: "Light the lamp, not the rat!"

We open one at a time at our house and with my family. My husband's family is bigger so it ends up being more of a free for all as the little ones get restless. Here's one for you... Do you put the gifts in one big pile or do you separate by recipient? My husband and I debate this every year.

Answer: It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Quote: "Don't bother me with details. Just give me that hat!"

I count 32, which excludes any charity or Yankee Swap exchanges and technically counts my kids' teachers as one, even though there are like 10 of them between all the aides etc in both classrooms.

My Christmas budget is about $1600. I'm trying to actually stick to it. I've spent about $100 so far on some clearance gifts. Luckily I get 3 paychecks in November, so that's really driving the Christmas budget this year.

10/8 Harbor Freight (Since it rhymes!)

If you're a Dunkin Donuts drinker, one of the prizes from the Peel and Win promo they are doing now is 25% off at Fanatics.

I had PRK (which is basically Lasik for people with really terrible vision) and I've been pretty happy with it. I did it 7 years ago I think. I recently got glasses for night driving and I've been warned that I'll need reading glasses when I hit 40, but at least they won't be bifocals. As for the actual surgery, they gave me valium and a little stuffed turtle to hold and it was fine. That was the part I was most worried about and it wasn't bad at all. Then you just spend the next two days in the dark and you're basically fine. The healing time was longer for PRK than Lasik, but still worth it.

I got a few things on Summer Clearance yesterday. I got my brother a Tervis for $5.08 and some discounted Shopkins for my nieces.

I saw a commercial for Squeezamals and I knew immediately that my nieces would love them. I'm also keeping my eye out for Orb Molecules, Hot Wheels Corkscrew and the Untamed Fingerlings (dinosaurs) as hot toys this year.

Got a Kindle for my son for his birthday, some smart plugs and the veggie spiralizer that I've had my eye on. (PS. Send recipes please!) I was hoping to get a huge jump on some Christmas gifts, but my husband vetoed the 3 foot tall Batman for $48 that I wanted to get my 5yo.

Purchased my first gift off the Walmart clearance rack yesterday! Hoping for some Prime Day magic as well!

It's so sad. I hope the retail groups are able to stop this from happening to other stores. Everyone thinks it's TRU's fault for not staying competitive (and maybe like 25% of that is to blame) but the majority is the debt they got stuck with. It's so sad.

I started making a list of cool toys and their current prices so I know when to jump on them if I see any good deals. I seem to remember that Target does a toy clearance in the late summer, so maybe some of those things will be a good deal. Even if I can save $5/kid, that adds up! I'm also finding it a little embarrassing to say, "Hey, we're scaling back our Christmas gifts this year." Trying to figure out if I can get some great deals so that they might not even notice...