raven20_79

I have been looking forward to this all year long! I'm in! I would like to offer a word of advice for those who wish to participate in the exchanges....actually read what your recipient likes/dislikes. Don't just shove stuff in a box that you are trying to get rid of. Put a little thought in to it. And if you are stumped as to what to get them, you can always ask for more info! Also, wrap the gift(s)! For some, it is the only real gift they get to open at Christmas.

I ordered on October 12th or 13th, and still haven't received my order.

I let me 6 year old pick his teacher out some things from Bath & Body Works. He picked out a mini hand lotion, a couple of hand sanitizers, and an apple shaped soap dispenser with Country Apple scented soap. I am going to wrap them up in a little gift bag that we got from Bath & Body Works, and add a mini bag of Lindt's milk chocolate truffles that I picked up at Wal-Mart.

Just tried this offer. It is not working. I am going to assume that since some people are doing this more than twice, that they caught on to it, and canceled the code.

I received an email from them this morning telling me that they want me to pay an additional charge to get them to resend me the watch I never received. I emailed them back that if they can't resend the watch without charging me for someone else's mistake, that I would rather have my money refunded to me. (I swear...I haven't had very much luck this year with ordering things online.)

I ordered on 10/13/10. I still haven't received anything. I emailed customer service on 11/19/10 to let them know. They responded on 11/22/10 telling me to wait an additional 1 to 2 weeks to see if I get anything. I waited a week, and emailed them again last night. I told them that this was beginning to become a huge hassle. Their response? They told me that it must have gotten lost in the mail, and that they could send me a new one if I wanted them to. Ugh. Will not order from them again. I have ordered many things from China, Hong Kong, Japan, and the like, and it has NEVER taken this long.

It comes up as sold out when you try to put it in the cart.

I am in the same boat. I made less this year than I have in previous years. Plus, my husband hasn't worked in almost 4 years. (And hasn't really tried to get a job during that time.) We lost our house 2 years ago, and have been living with hubby's parents since then. They aren't big on the holiday season like I am, so it's hard to get into the spirit here. They don't decorate that much, and it just doesn't feel like "home" to me. On top of that, I just don't have the money to spend on my kids like I have in the past. I think I have $100 (maybe) to split between the 2 of them this year. I have a few small presents tucked away that I bought earlier in the year, but nothing much. Thankfully, they are only 3 and 6, so they aren't asking for the really big ticket stuff, but they still want more than I can afford, lol. (I haven't even thought too much about the other 30+ people we normally buy for. Some of them expect to get something for everyone else, but have NEVER bought anything for anyone. Ugh.) I am sure everything will be fine, but I just can't get into the Christmas mood this year.

Fred's has them, too. Just saw them in their Toybook.

Yummy Chocolate Chip Coookies 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened (I like using Crisco butter sticks) 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs 2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup chopped nuts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. 2. Bake in preheated 375-degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (>5,200 feet): INCREASE flour to 2 1/2 cups; add 2 teaspoonfuls water with flour; reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookies for 17 to 19 minutes.

That is how my hair is, but after I straighten it (whether it is wet or dry to start out with) with the Wet 2 Straight, it stays straight. And my hair is a frizz magnet.

My youngest son (3 years old) told me a few nights ago that he wants pots and pans, girl flowers, and a clothesline. Yes, a clothesline...and he was serious. When I asked him if he wanted a Tinkerbell phone (since he had thrown such a fit about wanting it earlier in the year), he told me, "NO! That's a girl's toy. Boys don't play with girls toys!"

I actually own the Remington Wet 2 Straight Iron. LOVE it. I have natural super curly hair, blus it borders on beng dry and rough. This iron sraightens it out in NO time (wet or dry), and it makes it soooooo smooth. (If you have hair that tends to get static-y like mine does, get a Conair brush that is made to keep the static down, and you can't lose.) With this iron, you can adjust the heat setting, and it gets pretty darn hot. Definitely worth it. And I got it for under $30 at Wal-Mart.

Mine JUST went through. I didn't clear my cart, but used the search feature on my Windows, and looked for the folder "cookies". I deleted it, and then went to my recycle bin, and made sure it was empty. I closed all of my browsers, and then went to the B&BW website. It showed my cart still there, but when I clicked on my cart, it had the $15 price. I was able to only use one code, so I chose the SHIP40 code to get free shipping. Hopefully, you can get it to work for you.

I have put the bag in first, and then added the $40 of product. Still shows at $107. I have put the $40 of product in, and then the bag. Still shows $107. I haven't entered in any codes for fear of it messing with the beg, and still $107. I then added the "SHIP40" and it still shows at $107. I just don't know what to do.

This is beyond frustrating. Please let me know what they tell you. I am getting ready to call them myself.

I am getting that here as well. I even emptied my cart and went back and added everything. I am getting so fed up with their site today. I spent 3 hours earlier trying to get the tote via an email they sent me, and now another 30 minutes, and still nothing.

I am still waiting for Bath and Body Works.

I understand this all too well. I grew up with sort of thing. When my mom was 9, her sister died on December 23rd. So, every year was hard on my Grandma. She still put her Christmas stuff out, but we rarely saw her during the month of December. She just didn't feel like celebrating like she once used to. When my mom was pregnant with me, she lost her two year old son to the same thing her sister had died of. He died December 8th. So, growing up, I know Christmas time was hard for both of them. They did the best they could to accept it, move on, and to honor their memory during that time. It's hard. It really is. But you know that your loved ones would not want you to be so sad....espcially during this time of year. I hope your pain lessens over time.

Nothing jaw dropping for me, either. I did like Old Navy's ad, but not worth me getting up early for. I will just go to the mall later on in the day, and if there is stuff there, great. And if not, great. I am waiting to see what Bath & Body Works has. Hoping it is something good. I have a $50 gift certificate that I am hoping to use. And hopefully, Wal-Mart has something good. Otherwise, I will be getting up at a normal time.

Sounds like my niece. Last year, I spent the same amount of money on her as I did for her other 3 sisters. She counted the number of gifts, and freaked out that one sister had more than her. Things like that bother me.

I always try to get an equal amount of presents just because I want things to be equal. My boys are 2 and 5 years old. I know the younger one won't care how many presents he gets, but the older one will.

I started a tradition the year my first son was born to always include a family newsletter in my Christmas cards. I would include interesting facts about Christmas, Christmas jokes, and family recipes used during the season. 5 years later, I am struggling to write one. We have hit hard times, and hubby has been out of work for 2.5 years. I don't want to bring anyone down, but I also don't want to stop this tradition. My question is, do any of you do a newsletter with your cards, or something similar?

I seen them at my local Target for $24.99, and they had plenty of them in stock.

Every year, I tell my oldest son (5 years old) to tell me the one thing he REALLY wants Santa to bring him, and I make sure to get that. Then, I just buy him a bunch of other stuff that I know that he would like. This year, he told me that he wants Star Wars Legos, or the Space Police Legos. The youngest (2 years old) told me that he wanted a train set.