Flutterbye

I have a 14yr old nephew and this year he is getting a Nike hoodie, some Nike socks, body spray/cologne and a gift card. That way he has a couple things to open but also has a gift card which he likes.

I am so sorry for your loss. I too, am just dreading the upcoming holidays. My sweet husband unexpectedly passed away this May and it is the first set of holidays without him. If I could, I would simply skip all of the holidays this year, but that is not an option since my son is only 4.

We are using Christopher Pop-In-Kins instead of Elf on the Shelf. Basically the same concept, but this elf is a little bigger and was cheaper. So far, my son is loving it.

I know for my hubbs, he would love a new motorcycle, flying lessons, or attending an exotic car tour where he was able to test drive the cars. A nice vacation would also be high on the list too.

In our home, presents are opened on Christmas morning, with the exception of Christmas pajamas and a Christmas book. Those are opened early in the day on Christmas Eve, so he can wear the pajamas that night ( I want cute pictures the next morning) and we read the book before bed. Santa comes Christmas Eve night once everyone is sleeping. I hope you are able to make it work for your little ones.

My son is tall for his age and has a tiny waist, so we make sure to buy jeans that have the adjustable waist. Our favorite places for jeans are Baby Gap, Old Navy, Children's Place and Gymboree. Target and Kohls also carries them.

DS (2) - Coloring books, 2 Thomas books, match box cars, a flash light, a Thomas train, m&m's, a toy airplane, a Santa straw cup, tooth brush, cookies and stickers.

We saw them at Walmart and my 2 yr old HATED them.

Sign up online, and sign up your family too. I did this when my son was born and was able to get many coupon/checks. I'll keep my eyes peeled for some for you.

Birthday express has Mario party supplies. I googled birthday express coupon codes and came up with one for 25% off, (25eoy). It says it's valid till 1/4/10. HTH http://www.birthdayexpress.com/

My DS1 loves his playskool busy gears and his bead maze. I was so excited for him to open Chuck the talking truck and he could give two hoots about it.

We go to my hubby's grandparents for a family gathering and there is usually bbq sandwiches, potato casserole, veggies and fruits, and lots of candies and cookies. Last year my hubby picked up take out Chinese on Christmas Eve afternoon and we warmed it up after we put our son to bed and was putting together Santa gifts. We plan on doing it again this year too.

Once upon a child is a great consignment shop to check out if you have one near you. I've bought tons of inexpensive, but really cute outfits for my son from Target, Old Navy and BabiesRUs. Walmart is a good place to buy the necessities like no scratch mittens, onesies, socks, etc.

I've found large coat boxes at Walmart.

This will be my son's 2nd Christmas ( he'll be 15 months ) and we have Santa's gifts unwrapped with bows and directly in front of the tree. Santa brings one BIG gift and then several smaller ones, as well as filling the stockings. The gifts from Mom and Dad are wrapped and under the tree. Growing up everything was always wrapped and just mixed in with the family gifts.