AuntJamelle

I really want to get one of these - or something like it! When we went camping for Halloween this year, several people around us had them and were projecting green lights into the trees around their campsites - it looked awesome! Love the idea of being able to use it both for that AND at Christmas-time!

I've made these as part of my cookie trays for the last couple years and they've been a BIG hit: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/02/24/soft-baked-peanut-butter-chocolate-swirl-cookies/ I make 10-12 kinds every year but I make and bake them ahead and then freeze. Only do a small amount of baking as desired once December hits!

I have fond memories of the the Yankee Candle Sugared Plums scent that they did away with years ago...miss it! After that I would say an orange/citrusy with spices like cinnamon and cloves would be my next favorite!

I also get "The Big One" throws and/or blankets each year. We have plenty for us, but I'll get a couple as gifts this year for sure! Other repeat purchases are gloves, hats, scarves for our immediate family - including Magic Touch Gloves for $1.99 from Kohls I also always get a winter coat for DS in next year's size. Didn't do it last year and guess what I'm going to have to buy this week? Cheap DVDs always sneak in too! I usually get some basic tanks/tops for me... I usually do the gingerbread kits too but DS wasn't really interested last year. He wanted to decorate gingerbread men cookies instead...

UGH - and the XBox 360 I put in my cart yesterday jumped $40 today...not loving the "sale" so far Kicking myself...

Ok, thank you so much!

Is it just too soon for this to be out there yet? Just haven't seen official discussion of when online sales start for each store. Most of the ads I've looked at have listed somewhere in the fine print when the online sale starts - but I don't see it for Target. Just curious!

This was my last "big" ad I was waiting for! SO excited! I'll be there all three days!!!

Our main tree is a mish mash of all different ornaments but the overall color theme is red, green, gold and silver. It is pre-lit with white lights but I add a bunch of multi-color lights as well. In our room we have a smaller tree I call the "Tree of Us" with all ornaments that speak to the likes, hobbies, etc. of both DH and I. In our son's room this year we will have an outer space theme tree to match his outer space themed room! I can't wait! Got all the ornaments purchased or made and just need to put it together!

Super excited to see this ad already! LOTS of things I have my eye on!

I have to cut various candy bars up for some of my Christmas cookie recipes and the best way I've found is to chill them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Then I use a big knife on our cutting board and it seems to work pretty well. If they are too hard to chop when you pull them out of the freezer I just let them sit out on counter for a minute or so and then try again. Good luck using your Kitchen Aid though! Maybe that will do the trick!

My husband is the hard one on my list, he either has it already or it is something super expensive. I usually fall back on some funny T-shirts, a new really nice sweatshirt or hoodie, food items he likes and then hope I can find something else he'll like that won't break the bank. A new movie he's wanted to see is problematic because he'll often just buy it when he sees it and then I have to make a return! For others that are struggling, sometimes Gift baskets are a really great way to go. Even for those folks with no hobbies, they've got to eat right? There are a ton of food theme gift basket ideas out there - I'm doing breakfast gift baskets for several people this year. Another idea to fall back on is that of a "consumable" - something they'll use up like stationary, envelopes, stamps, etc. Or an experience type gift, like others have mentioned. At the end of the day, some folks are just STILL hard to buy for though!

If it were up to me, I'd put it up the weekend before Thanksgiving. But DH doesn't want it up until after Thanksgiving. So I start on it when we get home from Thanksgiving dinner while he lays in a food coma on the couch.

I have usually purchased at either Hobby Lobby at 50% or from Home Depot with a really good sale. We got a 12 footer from them a few years ago and it is a really nice one! Good luck in your hunt! TIP: I've come across Christmas trees at garage sales, nice ones, that are in the sale because they are missing some branches. These are the old style, not pre-lit, where they come off the "trunk". If the artificial greenery is nice enough, those "branches" make a killer addition to your greenery decorating supply. Just tuck them into your garlands, up on top of cabinets or shelves, behind larger items so they fluff out on either side (makes a nice framing effect), they can even be used to fill any larger "holes" once you've fluffed the branches of your pre-lit artificial tree. Just stick them in there! Once you get all the lights (if you add extra like I do) and ornaments and garland, etc. on there you can't even tell. Any "cheaper" looking artificial tree can look like a million bucks using this trick - IMHO Just thought I'd mention it in case it helps someone!

I would NEVER go into our Kohls on Black Friday - it is INSANE! BUT, I am eagerly awaiting their ad because their online shopping experience has been awesome the last two years. No issues! I'm waiting on Meijer, Kohls, Walmart mainly. I'll of course look at all the ads, but those tend to be the stores I shop at for sure!

I use a screen capture tool to take pictures of all the items I want from the ads, saved to different sections in a Word document. I print that and take it with me to the stores. Last year I also typed up an Excel document to keep a handle on the $ amount I was looking at spending, but that was mostly just for me ahead of time. The other things I do are make sure I have clothing I'll be wearing planned well and ready to wear, a badge lanyard to hold my ID and credit/debit cards, that I have water bottles in the car and a few snacks to tide me over as needed.

I make this for the holidays every year as well. I love that I can make them ahead and freeze, then just pull out and throw in the oven for parties, etc. Pioneer Woman Cheddar Puffs http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cheese-puffs/ Another appetizer recipe I make every year is a Blue Cheese Ball. The secret is in the butter! I've had cheeseballs with butter and without and by far the ones with butter just seem to be better! In fact I'll add at least a half stick of softened butter to other recipes that don't necessarily call for it - hey, it's the holidays! lol Blue Cheese Ball 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temp 8 oz cream cheese, softened 4 oz. crumbled blue cheese, room temp 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion (or you can sub a couple tablespoons of freeze dried chives instead) 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 1/8 tsp garlic powder 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1 tsp brown sugar Very important that butter, cream cheese and blue cheese are all at room temp! Stir together butter, cheeses, onion and seasonings until well blended. Press into a small bowl lined with plastic wrap (like a cereal bowl). Chill at least 8 hours or overnight. You must do this or it won't have good flavor. Before serving, make topping: Combine sugar and pecans in a non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook until the sugar melts and the pecans began to toast. Add the bacon and stir. Remove from heat and cool. Invert cheeseball onto serving plate. Press bacon pecan mixture on top of the cheese, covering well. Serve with crackers, etc. Okay, last one! Made this for our Christmas party last year and people went nuts! I'm making it again this year and will have enough for a double batch! Pomegranate-Champagne Punch · 1/2 cup water · 1/2 cup sugar · 2 750-ml bottles chilled brut Champagne · 1 1/2 cups white rum · 1 1/4 cups pomegranate juice · 1 large lemon, thinly sliced · Pomegranate seeds · Fresh mint leaves · 1 ice block · Bring 1/2 cup water and sugar to boil in small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes. Cool syrup completely. · Combine Champagne, rum, and pomegranate juice in punch bowl. Add enough syrup to sweeten to taste. Mix in lemon slices, pomegranate seeds, and mint leaves. Add ice block to bowl.

This is a tried and true I make for Thanksgiving every year! Herb Cream Cheese Crescents 1 Tb Dried Chives 1 Tsp Dried Dill 2 small Garlic Cloves, minced or pressed (Or Garlic Powder to taste) Onion Powder to taste ½ tsp Dried Parsley or 1 T Fresh 8 oz Cream Cheese, Softened 1 box Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed in fridge overnight Mix herbs with cream cheese. Roll out first sheet of puff pastry until it is as large as possible without making dough too thin. I sprinkle my rolling surface well with flour. Cut into 3 long rectangles. (Pizza cutter works great for this) Cut each rectangle into 3 squares. Cut each square into 2 triangles. Spread all triangles with cream cheese mixture. Roll up each triangle starting at wide end. Form into crescent and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with other puff pastry sheet. Once all crescents are formed they can be covered and placed in fridge until time of baking. Can brush with egg wash or a little milk just prior to popping in oven to get a better golden brown color on baked crescents. Oven = 400 Bake approx. 10 -12 minutes or until just golden brown.

I'm doing Christmas Breakfast Gift Baskets this year - You can purchase or DIY your own pancake mix cheaply and from there the sky is the limit. Muffin mix or baked muffins, mini loaves of quick bread, jam or jelly, fresh fruit like bananas, oranges. For local gifting you could pop in a bottle of champagne and a bottle of OJ. Line the basket with kitchen towels from the dollar store. Depending on your budget you could add a small bottle of real maple syrup. Aldi has a decent size bottle of 100% pure maple syrup for $6.79 in my area. A bag of coffee beans or grounds is another option, bagels, anything! Some other food related gift basket options are below, picking and choosing what to put in will vary the cost: Italian Gift Basket: Fancy-shaped or flavored pasta, jar(s) of tomato or pasta sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, a wedge of Parmesan cheese...spend a little more on an Italian cookbook, a bottle of wine, etc. Other options are bottle of olive oil, some bread dipping mix, jar of roasted red peppers, container of sun dried tomatoes, etc. Pizza Gift Basket: Jarred Pesto, Pizza Sauce, Potholders, Packages of Pepperoni, Black Olives, Canned Mushrooms, Pizza Cutter, Grated Parmesan, Olive Oil, Pizza Stone, Pizza and/or Garlic Bread Recipes, Pizza Crust Mix, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes Chinese Food Lover: bamboo steamer OR wok filled with ingredients readily available in the Asian section of your grocery store, chop sticks, Chinese tea, small Chinese tea cups, chop stick rests, fortune cookies, etc Mexican Olé Basket: Jars of salsa (red or green), flavored or plain tortilla shells, hard taco shells, refried beans, DIY Taco Mix in Mason Jar, Green Chiles, Jalapenos, Tortilla Chips, Nacho Sauce, Black Olives, Rotel, Mexican Rice, Cornbread Mix Salad Fixin's Basket: Cans of artichoke hearts and olives, herbed or balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic bulbs, a wedge of Parmesan cheese, herbed croutons (homemade are nice!), decorative salad tongs or utensils, a can opener and a pepper grinder with a jar of colorful peppercorns. DIY the dry ingredients for salad dressing mixes packaged with cute labels. Homemade breadsticks. Infused olive oils and/or vinegars. Some Like It Hot Basket (for a cook who likes spicy foods): spices (cayenne pepper, white pepper, black pepper, crushed red pepper, chili powder, paprika), hot sauces (chili, Tabasco, etc.), salsa, hot Asian pickles, fresh hot peppers, recipes, and an antacid … a little joke Fruit Basket: Not the most original but a lot less expensive to put together yourself. Forget trying to get the perfect *tower* look and purchase a deeper basket to mound with favorite fruits. Don’t’ forget a pomegranate or two and add chestnuts, nuts in shells, and wrapped candy to embellish. Apple Snack Basket: Assorted apples including Honeycrisp plus homemade or storebought caramel dip, jar of peanut butter, apple cutter, etc.

Thanks for the heads up! Just ordered the K'Nex 100 Model Building Set!

I'm with you! I'm intrigued, but waiting to see some reviews!!!

I never really got started BF shopping until I met my now DH. He loves it! Unfortunately his work schedule has prevented him from going many years. Now that the sales start on Thursday evening we are often able to go together. Our family dinner is always at 1:30PM (just the way his family does things) so we have plenty of time between that and going out if we choose. Last year we skipped the stores and just stayed up and shopped online.

I've been picking up things here and there. A few T-Shirts for DH, some welder pencils for his stocking. The Pajama Elves book for DS, a BB-8 Droid from the Disney store and a Bull's Eye (Toy Story) plush for him as well. For his stocking I have a few Minions Surprise Character packets, a Finding Dory "grow" washcloth (you put it in water and it gets big), a Minecraft Surprise Character box and some Disney Cars temporary tattoos. I also ordered a couple of books for my girlfriends. Picked up a special fancy soap for another one at Tuesday Morning. I've also made several ornaments so far from felt for various gifts. Looking forward to getting more shopping done!!!

As I looked at the various ads this year, I noticed the same themes others have commented on. Electronics and toys are huge of course - same toys in most of the ads - and then the clothes and house ware items and some good deals on holiday decor - lights, etc. I have moved away from using Black Friday as my Christmas gift buying go to. I may get a couple things here and there - but by far my purchases are for our household. Every year I buy a winter coat at BF prices in a size up and put it away for the following winter. This year I'll also be picking up snowpants and snowboots for DS as well - wish me luck on finding the right sizes! This is a great time of year for me to purchase comfy around the house clothes at great prices, yoga pants, plain long sleeve crew necks, etc. Socks! Underwear! All the boring things! Between online sales a couple of trips to Meijer in person I'll have our family pretty stocked for the coming year. My husband and I decided to skip getting a sitter and trying to go out in person to stores Thursday night because there is nothing in the ads "worth it" to us personally. I think it just varies depending on where you are at in life. Last year I used the house ware deals to really restock us since we had lost quite a bit in a house fire and after insurance coverage ran out we needed a lot of the basics still. BF prices were great for that! I also think that BF prices are great opportunities for stretching your giving dollars farther. Women's shelters, homeless shelters, etc. can really use a lot of the little, boring, basic stuff that you can get during these sales. Or maybe you are doing an Angel Tree or whatever - I've seen others mention using BF sales to make their $ go farther which is brilliant! I will miss going out with DH this year (he is going to stay home with DS while I run to Meijer) but maybe next year!!!

Thank you! I will take a look at Walmart the next time I go!