wittenlover

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXUOHZE/ref=strm_fun_nad_11_1 For the Lego-loving coffee drinker in your life...?

There's actually one by me in the very same small shopping plaza as a Big Lots. Have yet to make it in there, though, as I'm not often over that particular direction.

I guess I'm seriously old guard... I don't stream a darn thing, TV or music-wise, and have no real desire to do so. Only thing I "stream" is Big Jim's webcasts and an occasional Instagram live. lol

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KR5CEN8/ref=strm_fun_nad_6_1 Kinda goes along with the mermaid makeup brush set? Cute stocking stuffer, especially if you've got one who's into either mermaids or fishing. Fun. (Fish-themed nail clippers)

Oh wow. Your post just totally took me back. I had completely forgotten about Ames! Ah, memories... I used to love KB Toys as a kid. My dad and I used to go to the mall every Saturday morning (along with my dad's other errands he wanted to get done - I was daddy's girl, so I always wanted to go - my mom called it "gallivanting"). I'd wander the aisles of KB and dream of things that would go on my Christmas wish list to Santa. Every once in a while, dad would actually buy me something from there on our journeys. Fun times. I am already missing Kmart, but not for the usual shopping-related reasons. My church, for the last several years until the store closed, always took Black Friday as our day to ring the bell in front of our local Kmart for the Salvation Army. I happily signed up to be a bell ringer for a time shortly after I knew my morning shopping excursion would be over. Seeing the joy on tired parents faces as they walked out with carts and bags full of things that they knew would bring smiles to family and friends always was such fun. Once my "shift" was over, I'd go in, warm up, and shop for a few things before I called it a day. Our Kmart closed a couple years back, so no more bell ringing duty nearby for me. I need to look on SA's website and find out if there's another local store I can have some fun ringing a bell at.

I'm in Ann Arbor area, Kanyon. The one closest to me was starting their set up over by the garden center, as usual. Looked like they already had an aisle of light sets (not Halloween) and they were working on an aisle that had some wreaths up, so likely those were going to be joined by other evergreen things. Haven't been back in since - been a busy weekend.

Saw that my Meijer is starting to dig their decor out. Was in there Wednesday night and they were setting up the aisles.

Yep. Been watching rtings.com a long while thanks to your posts in previous years here, Pnambic (thanks!). They have some really solid info. The trouble is when you get into store-specific models that you can't find the "mass-market" equivalent for. Also, there's the fact that rtings.com only has a limited number of makers/TVs on their site at the moment. For example, I have been unable to find any of the new Toshibas there, only one of the Hisense models, etc. They recently added one of the Element TVs, but have not rated any of the Insignias (I realize this is a BB-only brand, but you'd think the sheer audience of BB shoppers might warrant at least a look at 1 or 2 of them). I realize some (many?) of these are not top end TVs by any means, but it would help those on a more snug budget (like I was at the time I bought this one) figure out what best fits the priorities they have in the moment. (Do I get the larger Insignia or the smaller Samsung? Depends on what matters most, obviously, but the site could help someone paint a clearer picture, no pun intended.) Definitely would have helped me in my rush buy, I'm sure, to have known then what I know now about refresh rates and such. I could've opted to, perhaps, go with a smaller screen size in the interest of a higher refresh rate that would have given me better picture quality for the things I enjoy watching most. Now I'm using all the knowledge I've gained from you and others here, along with that site and other reviews to determine if any particular deal on a TV would actually be a deal for me or whether I should just keep looking. Not going to settle this time, as long as current set stays in good working order. My hunch, however, is that it's actually my cable box that's hurting my picture more than the TV itself. It may be a relatively new box (w/in last 2 years), but I know they're only broadcasting in 720p. That can't be helping. In any event, I'm enjoying having the luxury of time to really shop thoroughly this time and invest in a good quality set, be it this year on BF or sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Honestly, my current TV, while okay, was a very quick purchase with very limited research time, as my old TV died and, yippee, it was my birthday weekend, so I actually wanted to sit and enjoy the NASCAR race. I don't like the sports bar scene for watching races, didn't have local friends with any interest at the time, so new TV it was. Race green flagged just after 7 pm that night. My TV died around 10 am. (Figures, right?) I, for obvious reasons, had a limited budget to spend on a TV all of a sudden, so I chose one I could afford that was basically the same size as the dead one. As a sports-watcher, though, the fast-action capability on the one I ended up with is sub-par (something I would've known had I had more than 9 hours to research, shop, and buy). It drives me nuts when I'm watching races/games. Seeing as the prices on the 4Ks have become much more attractive in the past year, I've been doing more research and will have a bit more available to spend if I see one that truly fits my criteria. Hence, I'm at least looking this year.

Much as I love Christmas, it seems like retailers are rushing us through the year faster and faster each year by bringing things out earlier and earlier. I just wanna scream "SLOW DOWN!!!" sometimes. The year flies by fast enough for me as it is! lol That said, Meijer is already starting to get stuff out. Our local Walmarts have had stuff out for a while. I don't have a convenient Menard's to me (compared to the other stores), so I couldn't tell you what our local one has out (or not) yet.

Thanks for doing this again, Brad! And welcome to another busy Black Friday season!

Been resisting the urge for almost a full year now to go bigger & 4K. I currently have a 39" 1080p TV in my living room. Plenty big enough for the space (& still works just fine) but the 50-55" deals I've been seeing off and on have me considering an upgrade. Will wait to see what deals there are. If a decent (by my standard of what I need it for) 50" hits the $299-300 price point, I may make the jump. We shall see.

I think I have about 8 I buy for. Only one is blood relative. Rest are dear friends. I bake for several others, though.

Given the sales that have already been going on, would love to see a decent 50" 4K TV at the $300 price point. I don't need a new TV necessarily, but that could tip the scale.

Sent my info in!

Honestly, I admit I'm not easy to buy for. As a single, I buy most anything I want or need for myself as it comes up. What I love most are the gifts that come from the heart. Two years ago, one of my best friends sent me a picture of him and his family I'd not seen before because he didn't know what else to get. Told me he was sorry it wasn't anything better but he hadn't had a lot of time (he works in restaurant management - nuff said). I told him for not having much time he chose pretty well. That picture now sits in a frame on my desk. Last year, his mom sent me a picture of him with his nieces. Another treasured memory. Those are the kinds of things I love more than any "generic" material stuff.

Yay! Bopeep has posted the SS thread! Go go GO!!! Fun times start NOW! (I, too, sincerely hope & pray Pogi and her accounting firm are well...)

Woohoo! Knew it was time to visit the GD BF forums today! Thanks for hosting, Bopeep! Will get my info to you by Monday.

YES! Very glad you are safe, Dev. Actually had a friend evac to Dallas from Houston area (her house was safe and sustained only very minor damage, thankfully). Definitely enjoy the wenbcasts and no, last year was definitely NOT the same. Looking forward to hearing the famous words again... haha Saturdays can be tough on me, depending on actual time. I have committed to helping out with a teen group on Saturday evenings, but I look forward to joining whenever I can. Good times!

Agreed, nafcmf. Three cheers for Bopeep! Hooray! Hope pogiporkchop has had a nice Christmas after the rough year.

Many thanks, Jesusluvu! What a beautiful package! Of course, my Mew kitty headed straight for the box. She says best present ever. lol https://twitter.com/rowdygirl1851/status/813429076010614784/photo/1

Progress update: After a marathon baking session last night that pitted me and my oven against the task of making more than 400 cookies until 3:30 am, my Christmas baking is done. Just one more batch of fudge to make for my mechanics to be delivered Friday. NYE baking will be so easy compared to what I've cranked out in the last 48 hours. lol

Nope, nope, and nope. lol I will finish shopping sometime later this week. I have my list, no truly hard to get items, so it won't be an issue. I'll wrap about half the stuff tonight because I'm shipping it out tomorrow. Rest is local, some not bought yet, so I can wrap the rest Thursday or Friday once I'm done shopping. Baking for Christmas will be finished tonight, but baking as a whole won't be done until next week. Why? I bake/make homemade treats for the NYE party I host for our church.

It's a long-running battle. They want us to pick up our packages in a timely manner but we rarely know (unless we ordered it) when things get delivered, though they're supposed to notify us. smh Oh the irony... lol In any event, I did stop in at the office yesterday and, sure enough, there was a package there! I'm waiting to open till Christmas. :-) Thank you, SS!

Well given that, I'm guessing my apartment office is holding a package hostage that I haven't been told is there. Typical. I'll check tomorrow.