Bopeep

I admit it. I hate wrapping presents! I'm just no good at it. So, I wait until the last minute to wrap anything. I should probably start now, if I didn't have to everything at once I might not hate it so bad. My mom, on the other hand, starts shopping for Christmas the day after Christmas, and she wraps as she goes. It's kind of fun to see a box of wrapped gifts in August and start shaking and guessing .

Does he drive his own truck? How about Sirius Radio (I've never used it, so I don't know anything about it, but it's a thought).

maybe a helium balloon instead, to get rid of the liability of a broken stick?

Wow. That's on DS18's list, but I didn't plan on being able to afford it. Unfortunately, walmart.com is telling me "Not available at this time" .

I figure the BEST you'll see is maybe another $5 off. I jumped on it, myself.

I hate the early start times as well. Having said that...Am I excited about Black Friday? You bet I am! Yes, we are having to change our game plan as we have the last 2 years and probably will again the next 2, but it's still the hustle & bustle and kicking off the Christmas season! I am so ready! Also, I get excited about this time of year every year because of this site. I have so much fun reading all the forums. I follow GD all year for good deals (of course), but when the BF site is opened I feel like I'm reconnecting with old friends. Even though I've never been one to post much, I feel like I "know" so many people here and I only get to catch up at this time each year .

I don't think it's that strong a heater. It's perfect for right now, because I haven't lit the pilot on the heater yet and it'll heat up the living room, but it's not something that could completely take the place of your furnace. It does warm well enough to keep the heater from coming on, but that's not necessarily a good thing because it doesn't heat the other rooms. I should also mention I have a very small house, so just because it'll heat my living room comfortably doesn't mean it would in a larger space. I did not notice a difference in the electric bill last year, but like I said I'm not using it as my main heat source in my house. Basically, it's a small space heater like you might keep in the bathroom, housed in a big pretty cabinet. I'm not wording any of that very well, so I hope it helps some.

Thank you Pogiporkchop! I know you didn't feel well for a while there, and you came thru for everyone anyway. We really appreciate you.

Direct TV's guide will show the next 2 weeks, so I went thru the Hallmark channel a couple days ago and set everything to record that I either haven't seen or want to see again . Don't wanna miss a thing.

I bought the one in the WalMart ad last year. I haven't have any trouble with the heat messing with the electronics. It knocks the chill out of my living room and looks pretty doing it . I don't know the regular price for that particular one, but Big Lots carries several styles (or at least they did last year) and that one was a good $50 - $75 cheaper than the cheapest one Big Lots had a the time. Also, I put it together myself and didn't have too much trouble. Hope that helps a little.

I've never looked for those items on Black Friday, but if I may make a suggestion? Look for a reputable resale or consignment shop in your area for the Pack & Play or clothes (never for a carseat, of course). If there's a Once Upon a Child anywhere near you, they only take items that are well taken care of and clean and you could pay 1/2 or less what you would pay for new.

Can't beat that!

The Wal Mart ads were different in the OKC area as well. But when it came time for the sale, they went with the prices in the national ad. The law said they couldn't ADVERTISE at the lower prices, but they could still SELL at the lower prices. I don't know why they wouldn't do that with the Saturday sales though.

Genuinely curious, how did that work? Aren't the start times different, but they all run thru the same time (like 11:00 am)? I'm wondering because this is one of the (many) things I don't like about the staggered start times. If I want a big item that goes on sale at midnight, I can't shop for the smaller items that go on sale at 8:00 because I better already be in the midnight line.

I had not heard of this, but it is good news. The deal with the old law was the stress of not knowing for sure what the prices would be. They could not ADVERTISE the lower price, but they could give it. I've never actually encountered the prices being higher on Black Friday than the national ad prices (for example, at the OKC metro WalMarts on BF last year, they had signs posted at the door that said "We changed our minds" or something to that effect, and everything was at the national ad prices), but when Walmart had their Secret Saturday sales a few years ago I did run into the law and missed out on some of the better sales.

I always have a hard time answering this question, so I've taken some time to think about it. I want/need a new washer & dryer but no one in my family can afford THAT . . I've been asking for a mother's ring for years, but I don't see that happening either (I would be happy to "loan" them the money to get it, but I want them to design or pick it out.). I'm about to move in to a new office, so anything to decorate the new space and walls would be good. Scentsy bars, earrings, Amazon gift cards, bubble bath or bath oils, etc. I'm sure I will be happy with whatever they come up with. I love it when they actually put forth the effort to pick something out, whatever it is, instead of my mom buying something and saying "this is what you got your mom for Christmas". (I hope that didn't sound ungrateful, because I'm not really).

The more I read the more confused I get. I just can't decide which tablet to get my dd22. She doesn't have a tablet now, and hasn't asked for one, but I think she would really like it. She reads a lot of fan fiction (is that what it's called?) on line on her phone. I think she would like the bigger screen. I've read all the threads in the technology forum, and all the posts here in this thread. I guess what I want is someone to say "BUY HER Xtablet" and take the decision out of my hands . SO, having bored you with the backstory, I'm comparing the Nexus to the Galaxy to the Kindle Fire (with a side eye on the ipad mini but only if I found one REALLY cheap). Other than the SD card on the Galaxy, is there ANYTHING you can do on one of these tablets you can't do on the other 2? They all 3 get good reviews and it seems to me that they all do the same thing. So it'll just come down to the best deal, right?

My kids' stockings are usually full of nothing but candy. Half the time I buy more than will fit. There's always a box of Nerds, a box of Gobstoppers, a Hershey's Kisses candy cane, a box of Starburst, and then whatever other individual serving candies I find. I think that started because my oldest doesn't like chocolate (except Hershey's Kisses - go figure), so I went out of my way to load up on stuff he would like since I couldn't do the big chocolate Santa Claus. I swear, some of it never even gets eaten. Every once in a while I will put a gift in the stockings, usually if they get a gift card or something, but mostly it's just the candy. Reading about all these people that put toothbrushes in the stockings makes me feel a little guilty. LOL

I agree that Thanksgiving doesn't have to be celebrated on Thursday, but it's hard to coordinate a change like that when dinner is aunts and uncles and cousins and their in laws and every lost soul in town and on and on and on. They don't want to change Thanksgiving for those of us that are avid BFers . You are absolutely right though, that this is the way it's going to be and we can adapt or get left behind (you didn't say exactly that, but...). We'll Grinch about it for a few more years though before we decide to embrace it.

Personally, I don't like it, and my reasons are all selfish. Starting Thursday night brings out a different class of people for one thing - I never saw the fights and stuff that I've always heard about until the shoppers got to start "staying up" instead of "getting up". I think the troublemakers are less inclined to get up to hit the early bird specials. Also, If I have to start on Thursday night, I'm WAY too tired to enjoy shopping all day on Friday. 2 years ago I caught myself wanting to nod off at the wheel, and promptly went home and went to bed. It wasn't even 9:00am. Napping on Thursday afternoon isn't an option because we have dinner, then going thru the ads, making the plan, etc (GD helps oh so much, but the paper ads are part of the tradition). It sounds funny to say this, but there's just not enough time to get it all done when they start earlier.

I remember those. I wonder if they can still be found anywhere, that would be fun with the grandson. My wishlist: Barbie Dreamhouse Handheld electronic football game. It was just little red dots on a little bitty screen, but I probably played that thing for more hours than my kids have played with the most expensive of their game consoles .

There are very few Christmas movies I DON'T like . My favorites would have to be Miracle on 34th St and White Christmas.

Hard Candy Christmas. I love the song, but it really annoys me that it's only played at Christmas and included on Christmas albums. The song isn't about Christmas at all, it's about hard times being "Like a hard candy Christmas".

I can't remember exactly how long, but it would have been the early 90s. My oldest was born in 91, and he was little when I started. I agree with everyone else, it sure has changed a lot in the last 20 years or so.

#1 - "Let's go shopping, they said. It'll be FUN, they said." #2 - Swing your partner, Do Si Do... #3 - My family sent me to get that big screen TV so they don't have to listen to me "entertain" them anymore.