mello

Exact same scenario here with the movies - BB & Amazon. And some jammies & house pants at Shopko.

Did most of my shopping online Wed night: TRU: Disney DVDs & a couple games Best Buy: Kindle Fire $99 Sony Wifi BluRay Player $59 Sony Headphones 9.99 DVDs & BluRays (lots of James Bond's, etc) Tried GameStop online for the Disney Infinity characters BOGO, but got caught in a loop and most were sold out by the time I got out of it. So, we had to go to GameStop at midnight to get those. They had everybody but Woody. Decided to get the camo XBox controller while we were at it. It was busy but not horrible. Stopped by Shopko on the way home, around 1am and it was completely dead, nobody in the store. Got jammies & house pants for everyone, and picked up a couple more cheap dvds and a blanket. They had pallets of door busters still sitting around. DD and I were going to go out early Fri morning for some minor things, like the 3.50 popcorn tins at RiteAid, but we were too tired to get up, and figured we missed it, oh well. Went to RiteAid around 4pm and they still had them, so got those. Oh, and at some point on Fri I got on Amazon and picked up Despicable Me really cheap, along with a couple SD cards. And that was it! Combined with all the things I'd found on Amazon earlier in the week, this made such a nice low-key shopping experience. We didn't go out on Thanksgiving at all, and we got plenty of sleep. I love shopping online!

Yes!

Bummer, I had all the Infinity figures I needed and it wouldn't let me check out - just looped over and over... I never did get them and several sold out in the meantime.

Fantastic! Got a kindle, a Sony blu-ray player, some headphones, XBox Call of Duy Ghosts and a bunch of dvds. Checked a ton of stuff off my list. Now I have so much less to do on Friday. Thanks GD!

Same here... I wanted the Infinity playsets at BOGOHalfOff, and they didn't show up. Darn it. I was going to get a couple movies, but don't want to pay shipping for those, so guess I can't order.

Same here.

Everybody at our house likes Minecraft too - from DD10 up to DS20 and even DH. They're enjoying the new incarnations of it - Skyrim, Mass Effect, etc. DD saw a Minecraft phone cover the other day that she liked! I commented the other day that it is really like video game Legos in a way... one of those open-ended, timeless things that you can build with and that has wide appeal.

It seems like most teenage boys we know are into video games and music, and they love to eat. Some are into sports as well, others are into computers or sci-fi stuff, anime, photography, etc. Pretty much anything electronic seems to make them happy. We have two (well, one is 17, one is 20). The 17yo wants an "old school" stereo, and I found a sony that also has a smartphone hookup, so best of both - "old fashioned" media (cd's, radio) and mp3. He also has a few XBox 360 games in mind. New controllers are always appreciated, as are Game Stop gift cards so he can go there and pick out things, and Microsoft Points so he can download stuff. He loves to meet friends at places like Starbucks, Subway, etc. so he likes gift cards to those places. The older one is in college, and he asked for a tablet reader so he doesn't have to carry his heavy books around. So he's getting a Kindle Paperwhite, and gift cards to buy himself some ebooks. He also wanted Cartel Coins for his online Star Wars game, so he'll get a gift card for that. He also likes to meet study groups at Starbucks and fast food places, so he likes those gift cards too. They both have laptops, so accessories for those are usually appreciated - chill pads, wireless mice, flash drives, etc. So, in short: They love video games and electronics - iThis and iThat, tablets, phones, laptops, music, games, etc, along with accessories - chargers, memory cards, etc Some love sports, so like gear related to that - sports equipment, lift tickets or passes, backpacks, water bottles, duffle bags, etc Some like spectator sports - so things with their favorite team logos - hats, shirts, etc They love to eat - so gift cards to food, drink & ice cream places They like to buy stuff on their own, so money, or gift cards to electronic & game stores & food places Have fun!

Darn I missed it. Out of stock now and showing 16.99.

So many Skylanders packs, but no Infinity packs! I got the Infinity starter set; now I just need a playset or two. Hopefully Amazon will come through so I don't have to fool with TRU.

Online in which timezone?

Same here. Thank you!

Wow, that is fantastic! You put a lot of work into that. Thank you!

I'm probably about halfway finished. I need 2 more big items, a few stocking stuffers, a couple gift cards, a few movies and one video game and I could be finished. But then, like the pp's upthread, I will probably keep shopping. Mostly from Amazon as it gets closer and the discounts get better - I tend to stock the b-day gift cupboard for the year with their good toy, game & movie deals every December...

Oh dear, I hope your health problems get resolved, and that you're able to enjoy the holidays : )

These are great - a lot of good places here.Toys R Us is an especially good deal. Thanks for posting these!

I'm going to do as much online shopping as I can between now and Cyber Monday. I've already ordered several of my big items. Even if I pay $5-$10 more online in advance for a bigger item, I'll know I have it, won't have to miss Thanksgiving dinner, fight crazy night crowds, waste gas, & stay up all night.Saving $ is important, but reducing stress has become equally important to me! I plan to get some sleep Thanksgiving night, get up early Friday morning and head out to just the stores that are near me - Shopko, Rite Aid, Radio Shack, GameStop, etc., *maybe* Walmart - in search of small things like heavily discounted dvds, video games, board games, popcorn tins, throw blankets & the like, in order to put together some family game & movie night baskets for friends & family who live nearby. I'm hoping to be all finished shopping by the end of BF weekend!

Kindle Paperwhite & accessories for DS 20 An "old school" Stereo Receiver & Speakers for DS 17 Disney Infinity & accessories for DD 10 Sound Bar for the tv for DH Those will be their big gifts. I was surprised none of them are wanting the new gaming systems. Yay! Then we'll be looking for great prices on the usual movies, tv seasons, video games, SD cards, etc. Personally, I'd like a great deal on Photoshop Elements 11 or 12.

Thank you. I hadn't even thought about groupon, so that was a good suggestion. Angleyez, I appreciate your thoughtfulness : ) I know gift cards don't work for everyone, but most people I know seem to love them for the following reasons: They already have too much "stuff" and would prefer the experience GC's can buy (going to dinner, downloading music, etc) Postage is getting so high to send "stuff" through the mail Far away relatives don't really know what they already have/need/want, so it alleviates duplicates, making returns, exchanges, etc. They work nicely to complement larger gifts the person is already getting - for instance nephews getting iPods for Christmas would appreciate iTunes GCs, or nephews getting an XBox for Christmas might enjoy going to GameStop to pick out a new game to go with it... Some people may want a high ticket item that nobody can afford to get them, but with combining GC's and their own money they can get it It still requires thought and effort to figure out which experience a person might like, or where they might shop, and find out if the store in question is in their area, etc. I actually LOVE receiving them! I ask my DH to get me GC's to restaurants, Starbucks, places we enjoy shopping together like Bath & Body Works, etc. so we'll have an excuse to go on dates after Christmas when we're out of money, (and that's way more fun than having to go out after Christmas and fight the crowds to return things he used to get me that didn't work out so well - clothes that don't fit, etc. LOL) We have a Grandma who lives far away now, and sends us either Baskin Robbins or Starbucks GC's for lots of occasions - it's a very thoughtful gift, because we used to enjoy going to those two places with her when she lived here. So now we go, and have a nice time, and think of her. I guess it's all in your perspective.

What deals are you finding on Gift Cards? I'm looking to earn something for buying them, or get them while buying other things I need. I want to give them to far away relatives (so easy to mail). So far I've found: The Walmart deals with Gift Cards back that have already been posted MyPoints has a few good rewards - I got 500 points for buying a $50 GameStop gift card - going to use that to buy DS a game - Also got 500 points for buying a $25 Gap gift card I need to get a few lower denomination GC's though - can't afford to give every relative $25 & $50 GC's. Would love to find $10, $15 or $20 GC's for Toys R Us, iTunes, Gamestop, etc for all the kids. So, what have you found so far?

I'm just starting. Got a few stocking stuffers - earbuds, phone car chargers, etc for the boys, and a glo-fish tank for dd. That's it so far.

I'm looking for it for my dd 10 also. She's really into Minecraft, and from what I can tell, the "sandbox" mode in Infinity is somewhat similar - imaginative building and play - but with Disney characters, so we're confident that she'll love it. It looks as though it might be one of those "fun for the whole family" type games. As far as "girly" goes - I found a Rapunzel character online at Walmart for about $12.95 and free shipping, to pre-order. As with everything Disney - it has the potential to nickle & dime you for sure. But since we like Disney, we'd rather be nickle & dimed with cute movie figurines than some of the other ugly stuff that's out there - lol. And we figure we'll be buying the kids something for their stockings, and something for their Easter baskets, and something for their birthdays, etc. anyway, so again, it might as well be those as anything else. But, I'm definitely looking for the absolute best deals possible on this stuff, that's for sure.

I'm debating on doing the same. I'd rather pay TRU's BF price (since the reviews on it are just so-so), but I won't be shopping on Thanksgiving, so TRU is out. And haven't seen it for less than Walmart's price anywhere yet. Wondering if Amazon will lower it later?

This is very similar to what we do. Our kids get 3 main gifts: 1 "Big" gift from Santa (varies, but generally around $100 give or take) 1 "Medium" gift from Mom (again varies, but generally between $30-$50) 1 "Medium" gift from Dad (same) Plus: Jammies on Christmas Eve and Stockings from Santa As they've gotten older, they like to get each other gifts too, but my contribution to those is limited to $10 or under. DH and I usually get each other between 1-3 items, for that we split in half whatever money's left after doing the kids & relatives. We've managed to trim down extended family and do drawings, so that helps some too. Our Christmas Club savings gives us around $800 to spend every year, plus we supplement a little, but try to keep it at $1000 or less total for everything.