mcapel4444

7 out of 9. Woohoo! :)

Not yet. I was going to do cookies this weekend, but my niece & nephew want to come help us, so I am thinking of having them spend the night next Saturday. We will make pumpkin rolls, and for sure lots of sugar cookies. I have tons of leftover kits from Halloween. :) We also are making Tree shaped rice krispy treats, dipped in chocolate & sprinkles, for their teachers. I need to sit down with my 474354398593 cookie & candy cookbooks, and see what other simple things to make. I'm sure I'll end up making fudge too.

Same here. While I am waiting for my packages to make their way to their destinations, I love reading what others received. :) I participated in several swaps on my sweepstakes board, last year. But only did one this year, so I'm glad I was allowed to participate this year. Thanks again Eve for doing this! Can't wait til next year..........

I can't remember if I did or not. lol I think I put my screenname on the card enclosed w/ the SS box & the ornament box.

I wanted to post a thank you to my SS. I'm not sure who you are, but I do know that you live in Riverview Florida. :) I received Bath & Body rasberry lotion & body wash. Thank you so much!

All of my stuff is in the post office's hands. lol Sent confirmation numbers to Eve. 3 & 1/2 packs of stamps, and I still have a few more cards for family & friends to send out. I love all the cards I've gotten so far- my little ones are loving them too! Our phone line is messed up, so our internet has been down for the last 4 days. Ugh. I'm on my parents computer, so I could check in. Haven't received my ornament or SS gift yet, but I can't wait! :) I really hope both of my buddies like what I sent them.

Beautiful trees! I still haven't put ours up yet. Going to try and get it out tonight.

I have my ornament buddys stuff, and almost done with my SS person. Have a few more little things to pick up. I am hoping to sit down tonight or tomorrow to fill out my cards. Mine won't be able to go out until next Tuesday. Dh's boss is being a bigtime flake, and told them they won't be getting paid til then. Grrrrrrrrr. Can't wait to start getting cards! That is one of my favorite things about the holidays!

Pulled up to Kmart, just as they were opening. Line wasn't too bad. Went straight back for 12 inch bikes, but they only had 2 pink ones left. Also were out of dvd players & a few other things we were looking for. Found my sewing machine, but wasn't going to put just one thing on layaway, so we ended up leaving with nothing. Hit up Target next-picked up the 300 movie $6, one pack of playdoh- 50 mini containers $5. My brother picked up a couple of movies & some socks from the dollar spot. He also grabbed one of the $30 Robo Raptor toys. Next to Walmart- I bought a cup for a swap. I didn't buy anything else, because I had a couple of things I needed to return, so I could use the credit. Brother price matched axe body spray sets from Kmart. They had plenty of the doorbuster toys left. Toys R Us was next- they had absolutely nothing, except for a huge line that snaked thru the whole store. Hit up a different Toys R Us, where we were able to get 2 of the DS accesory packs $5, and one of the $10 DS games. Waited in line here for about a half hour. After we left TRU, we hit another Walmart & returned my game & book- credit for $82!! Picked up Ratatouie & Shrek 3 for $12 each, Bon Jovi Cd for $5, a $5 Barbie & $5 Hotwheel pack to donate, pullups & wipes. I tried to pm the Monopoly Banking, but the CSS wouldn't do it, because Walmarts had a bonus box of pieces. @@ A quickie stop at Circuit City, netted 2 of the game boy advance $5 games. We had brunch at the casino (only cost us $5 out of pocket, after using points on our gaming cards), to end the day. I was home around 1:30pm. Came home and took a 3 hour nap. lol Money was really tight this year, but I'm glad I still got to go out for a while & pick up a few things. I'm really proud of myself for keeping up with my brother- I'm 6 months pregnant, and it is hard enough to keep pace normally with him. lol The only thing I am disappointed in, is that I really wanted to get my tree out today. Can you tell that didn't happen. lol I need to pull my stuff out and see what I have to still get. I should be almost done! Yay! Now to get wrapping. Hope everyone had a great day- can't wait to start planning for next year!!! :)

I think the best family gifts, are theme baskets. You could do a movie one- popcorn, candy snacks, stuff to make smore, and a few family movies. You can pick up some really cheap movies on BF. Or you could do a game night one. Different board games, card games, and snacks. You could also add a pizza gc to each basket, depending on your budget.

I haven't started wrapping yet. Thought about it, but haven't really been by myself too much, to get a start on it. I did manage to dig out part of my wrapping paper. I still have a big box, that is buried in the garage. Also need to find my tape. I swear I have 34578435 rolls of scotch tape, somewhere in the house. lol

ugh- just what I need- more recipes to choose from. lol Seriously though, that is a cool site. Thanks for posting it! :)

Good thread! Hmmm, I really want to get a new digi cam. One with optical zoom. I am hoping that dh will buy my plane ticket, for my moms weekend in January.

Our kids only get one present from santa. It is usually something big- a bike, video game system, etc. It is unwrapped, setting out for Christmas morning. The rest of the presents are from us. This is the way my parents did it when I was little. I think it is interesting to read everyone's traditions.

Hmmm. I thought I replied to this ? already, but it's not showing it. I love Christmas music! I'm trying to find out when our one radio station will flip, to all holiday music. 2 years ago, they started Nov 1st, but apparantly some people complained. Last year, I think they waited til closer to Thanksgiving. I would so have it playing in the car now, but my cd's are all packed up with the decorations.

I have a variety of ways-depending on the gift. I love pretty paper & cute gift bags! I also have a ton of boxes to disguise the little things. I will pick 2 to 3 nights in December, after the kids go to bed, usually have a glass of wine, and start wrapping. I love sitting with the christmas lights on, and listen to christmas music while I wrap.

Our kids usually get one big gift from santa, and lots of little things-clothes, movies,toys,etc-to open under the tree. I don't have a set amount that we spend on each child, but I do try and keep present number pretty even. I have a bike stashed away for my 13 year old. But he may end up with a new computer, if I can pick up one for real cheap on Black Friday. He really really wants an xbox 360, but it just isn't going to happen, unless I can win one. I will get him a few movies, and I already have some shirts & an axe-body spray, body wash & deoderant collection put away for him. My 3 younger are still pretty easy. We tend to buy more for them, because I am a big time thrift store shopper, and find Rescue Heroes, Power Rangers & cars for really cheap! This last weekend, I picked up a whole garbage bag full of the BC Builder Dinosaurs & cavemen for $10. :) I think it is harder, as they get older. My 2 oldest nephews-15 &17, will be getting money. lol

Ugh- I hate computer problems. Hope they fix them fast for you Eve!

I think we will start on Thanksgiving this year. Usually I am working that day, so this year will be a nice change. :) I really want to get the tree put up that day. It will be nice to start a new tradition with the kids.

I love everything! I love the smell in the air, the Christmas lights & displays, baking cookies with the kids. I'm one of those weird people that actually like to wrap presents. I love the eggnog & the food. I love shopping with family members, and all of us getting together for Christmas.

Definately colored here. Although I so use white lights as accent lights around the house. But color rules the tree. We might have white snowflake lights for the house- I bought a bunch last year on clearance, just can't remember what color they are. lol

We have a couple of different light up stars that we can use. I also have an angel or two. It really just depends on what I feel like at the time.

Our schools aren't really allowed to do too much. The kindergarten class last year had a holiday party. I made ornaments for each of the kids & teacher. I bought the fake apple ornaments, and wrote each childs name on it w/ the year. My mom made ornaments for each of our classes when we were little, and those are still my favorite ones to hang on the tree every year. :) We also like to take in gift bags- filled with the usual stickers, bubbles, pencils, and candy. Not sure what I'm going to do this year as all 4 kids are in school - 2 in preschool, 1 in first & 1 in 8th.

I'm patiently waiting for eggnog to come back. This pregnant lady really has been craving some! lol

I would get the kids some toys & essential clothing items- underwear, socks, the things that always seem to wear out fast. For mom & dad, how bout a gc to the grocery store? And a basket of Christmas dinner?