AuntJamelle

My BF wish list is pretty vague right now! :) I will be watching for deals on items for our home - bedding, towels, etc. Clothes for DS (toddler) will also be up for consideration. I don't plan to buy a bunch of toys this year - but if there is a deal on something fun then I will try to snag it! As far as gifts for DH goes, I'll have to play it by ear. He is really hard to buy for - has everything! - but you never know! I'm just excited to go out shopping on BF!

We have always tried to keep our Christmas expenses low - and most of the shopping on BF is for Christmas. Overall we should be able to keep $ spent low this year - which is partly due to being mindful of the economy and partly just trying to avoid spending on items we don't really need. Our only child is going to be just shy of 2 yrs this Christmas and he will be happy with whatever we get. I'll have to talk to DH about keeping our heads on what we buy for each other. :)

This year I will be doing the online shopping routine again. Last year I was heavily pregnant and this year I have no babysitter option that would not disrupt our son's routine but still allow us to get out in the wee hours of the morning. I am happy to hear that the online deals may be really good! That could work well for us. DH and I have always enjoyed shopping together on BF - making it an event - "hiding" the things we get for each other - going out to breakfast, etc. I would like for us to be able to do that again - but maybe next year. :)

I love spending time with DH the most! It is the one day of year he loves to shop!!! We have our little rituals - getting Starbucks, going out to breakfast afterwards, etc. - and trying to hide presents from each other is fun too! :)

Whew! Lots of strong feelings about this topic!!! I am just sharing a couple of thoughts: If pregnant, are the alcohol based hand sanitizers a good idea to use heavily? I had heard - and this could be totally wrong - that you do absorb some alcohol from it? So if you are using it ALOT in a short period of time - could that be similar to having more than the "allowed" glass of wine that most doctors say is okay for pg women? I had been told by a friend that using peppermint oil, diluted in water, is an alternative to the hand sanitizers since peppermint is a natural disinfectant. However, another poster mentioned that only alcohol based sanitizers would do any good against flu like germs? ACK! All so confusing! That is really the thing with H1N1 this year - all the information and misinformation and rumor. It makes it really hard to know whats what! I am going to be at about 31 weeks when Black Friday rolls around this year and I personally have made plans to try more online shopping this year. More because of the 3rd trimester exhaustion I'm expecting than anything else. I am considering going to our Meier this year - a couple of hours after BF prices start - because every year the store on our side of town is EMPTY at that point. The first rush has gone through and there are usually plenty of doorbusters left to be had. We're talking walk up to a register with no wait kind of deal - which is so nice! That is the kind of thing I would totally be able to handle that day. Waiting in long lines in the cold - not for me this year! But maybe I'm just a wimp!

I've gotten those notices before and just ignored them. The magazines stopped coming for a while, then started again. Go figure! :)

It is usually the same stores each year: Kohls Target Sometimes Walmart Meijer KMart Our Walgreens is so hard to get in and out of - on a normal day - that we usually skip going there...

It has become a fun tradition for DH and I! And the rush is fun too!

I always have the following: Credit/Debit Card and License in a badge lanyard worn around my neck and under a layer of clothes Good shoes Chapstick My lists/ads (LOVE the index cards idea, BTW! Will remember that!) Bottled Water/Snacks in the car Blankets in the car to put over large purchases I don't want prying eyes to see I think that is it!

I guess I am lucky or really absent minded - because I can't remember buying anything I later regretted. However, after reading these posts and remembering the Moon Sand I bought for someone else's kid, I have a feeling they may regret my purchase! Ooops!

Great thread! I'm debating going out this year myself since I'll be about 7 months along. I was thinking of maybe just waiting to hit stores shortly after they open - the lines of people outside are gone and the main thing is just waiting in line at the checkout. The side of town we always shop on is never as crazy as the stories I've heard. I've also noticed that going to our Meijer an hour or two after the deals start is so easy - no one is there but plenty of door busters left to be had. I'm hoping it is the same way this year! But depending on how I feel in November, I may just skip the whole thing and do online shopping only. We'll see!

What about mashed potatoes? You can load them up with butter, sour cream and/or cream cheese, bacon, cheese, etc. I have a killer recipe that includes French Onion dip being stirred in - along with lots of other fattening things, then you bake the whole mess in a casserole dish - after topping it with more cheese and French Fried onions. Insanely bad for you - but oh so good! Let me know if you would like the recipe!

I like to do some sort of egg/meat casserole that can be put together the night before and baked in the morning. This is a no-fail one! Breakfast Strata 1 lb. pork sausage, browned and drained 8 slices of bread, cubed or torn 2 cups of shredded Cheddar or Mont Jack 2 1/2 cups milk (1% works fine) 6 eggs 3/4 tsp dry mustard 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1/2 cup milk Brown and drain sausage, set aside. Fill a lightly greased 9 x 11 pan with the bread pieces. Sprinkle bread with cheese and then sausage. Mix 2 1/2 cups milk, eggs and dry mustard in a seperate bowl, then pour over top of ingredients in pan. Cover pan and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, mix mushroom soup with 1/2 cup milk and spread over top of chilled strata. Bake for 1 hour or until set.

I always go with DH, although one year my sister came along too. But it is usually just the two of us and we enjoy ourselves. No intense pressure on gift buying - since I do most of our shopping early - it is just a fun time for the two of us! :)

DH and I usually go to KMart on Thanksgiving Day, although we did not go last year. DMIL has always hosted Thanksgiving, which makes it easy enough for us to go shopping either before or after the "big meal". This year, there is a very slight chance that we may have everyone over to our house, which would mean definitely no shopping trips... But we will see...:)

Year 5 for me! I never used to go until I met DH - he loves to go - the only day of the year he looks forward to shopping!

DH and I will plan out our "schedule" the night before - although we've been talking about it for weeks! We try to get to bed at a decent hour, but that doesn't always happen, of course. In the morning, our first stop may be a store, may be Starbucks, depends on which is open first. We usually shop pretty steadily, until about 11 AM - then we stop and go to Hacienda (local Mexican restaurant chain) for a huge lunch. Then we go home and sleep. Then I wake up and start decorating the house for Christmas while DH continues to sleep.

DH and I typically end up wanting items from the secondary stores and make those are main stops. We might hit Walmart or Target, but its our last stop of the morning. I don't think I could ever want something badly enough to start out at Best Buy on Black Friday - my girlfriend worked at one last year and boy did I hear some stories! But to each his own! :)

I don't know if you have a Menards anywhere near you - but as I wandered through their unopened boxes of Christmas merchandies earlier this week I noticed that pretty much ALL of their trees this year are pre-lit. Menards will usually offer sales - even during the holiday season - but I agree with other posters on the best deals being found right after Christmas is over. Good luck!

Seems like Macy's is taking over! Our L.S. Ayres store just became a Macy's - I was in for the first time yesterday and other than some new department signs hung from the ceiling it looks exactly the same inside. Our Marshall Fields was purchased by Macy's too - but it's still standing empty and closed. I usually avoid the mall on Black Friday - but I never say never!

DH took me there once a few years ago and I LOVED it! I really, really want to get back up there again but it's about a 4 hour drive from where we are in northern Indiana. :)

South Bend, Indiana! And maybe - just maybe - we'll venture into the insanity that is the Grape Road shopping area in Mishawaka, Indiana...but I doubt it.

I pull out the ads for the stores we are going to and make sure we take then with us in the car. I wear my badge lanyard around my neck and fill it with driver's license and debit card instead. I also have a seperate, typed list, of the must have items from each store. I don't usually need to take the ads into the store with me - but I like to have them just in case.

DH and I map out our route the night before - after going through all the sales ads together. We'll go to the stores with our must have items first - then play it by ear after that. We do avoid the major shopping district of our area if at possible though - traffic is a nightmare! Luckily there are enough smaller districts scattered around the area to keep up quite busy! And our side of town has gotten bunch more stores over this summer/fall. Actually, in about a month, the store phyiscally closest to our house will be Walmart! But I don't know if I want to make that our first stop - the thought frightens me... LOL!

The hustle and bustle - the excitement - the feeling that Christmas is right around the corner!