ilikefree

My favorite part of Black Friday is the thrill of the chase. I also love spending the day with my sister, people watching all with no kids for the day.

Cream Cheese Delights Ingredients: 2-8 oz. packages of crescent rolls 2-8 oz. packages of cream cheese 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup brown sugar cinnamon (amount up to you) Directions: Cover bottom of 13x9 inch pan with one package of rolls. Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla; spread on rolls. Top with second package of rolls. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let cool slightly, then refrigerate. When cool through, cut into small pieces to serve. Very rich but very yummy!

On the same subject but the other end of the spectrum...where can families go for help? I know...church is the number 1 place that came to my mind, but we haven't' been attending church like we should and I just don't feel right asking for help when we haven't been there in a long time. I am ashamed to ask for help; no one that we know knows we can't afford Christmas this year with all our bills and oldest is in college this year.

My son LOVES Transformers toys but it seems like every time he gets one they break right away. He's not rough on them--it seems to me that if toys are meant to be played with, they'd make them so they lasted longer than 1 or 2 times being played with before they break.

1- Christmas Vacation 2- The Santa Clause

1. Christmas Vacation 2. A Christmas Story 3. The Santa Clause 4. Mickey’s Christmas Carol 5. Polar Express 6. 1994 Miracle on 34th Street 7. Die Hard 8. Christmas w/ The Kranks 9. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas 10. Deck The Halls 11. Elf 12. The Grinch 13. It’s a Wonderful Life 14. Home Alone 2 15. Muppet Christmas Carol 16. I’ll Be Home For Christmas

I went to 4 or 5 different Wal-Mart stores and none of them had the boys' jeans. That's what my son needs the most!

Wore mine that I won last year. I love it!

Menards here is CRAZY!!! My sister and I will take turns holding our spot in line (letting people go ahead if necessary) while the other one shops. That way it doesn't take us as long to check out. But last year it took us over an hour just to get out of the parking lot! Great deals, but crazy, crazy busy!

If I remember right from last year, they did the same thing...had the link but didn't have anything there yet. Maybe in a few days.

Silly question...I see in the Wal-Mart ad that they have the DS Lite for $89. It says it has built-in-Wi-Fi. That means that it can access the internet, correct? We have a wireless router...does it work with that or what? I'm totally clueless when it comes to things like this!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who feels this way! We're Christians, yet haven't been to church in a while. The thing is, my kids don't really complain when there isn't much for Christmas (they feel bad, I know, but they don't say much), but when the extended family comes over, my 2 nephews will open gifts and ask if there's more. Their parents can afford to get them a lot, then when they come here I feel like a real heel not having much for them and don't know what to tell them. I'm so not looking forward to Christmas this year, even Black Friday, which is normally my favorite day of the year!

In my opinion, the ads aren't that exciting. I figured that with the economy being what it is, there would be a lot more and better deals than what there actually are. That coupled with the fact that money is very tight this year is making me feel like a Scrooge this year. I normally love Christmas and buying gifts for everyone, but this year is just so different.

Meijer just didn't have the stuff I was hoping for; not as good as past years in my opinion. Just waiting for Menards, Wal-Mart and Meijer Thanksgiving day and weekend sale.

Looks like Target is mostly where it is for me this year. Too bad there's not one near enough to go BF shopping. Target: Westinghouse 40" 1080p LCD HDTV $298.00 Target Home Bloom Swivel TV Stand (up to 50") $99.00 Boys Legendary Gold Denim Jeans 3 @ $6 $18.00 Toy Story 3 DVD $13.00 Polaroid V720 Digital HD Camcorder $49.00 Target Home Down-Alternative Pillow (King) 2 @ 6.49 $12.98 Walgreens: Philips 6-Foot HDMI Cable $9.99 CVS Pharmacy: Philips In-Ear Headphones FREE * Total: $499.97

Okay, sorry. I guess with the lack of any major ads yet, I'm just getting jumpy! lol

We had some Meijer ads in our paper today, but not the Black Friday one yet.

Haven't seen it yet, but BF is getting close so hopefully we'll see it soon!

Findlay and then Lima, Ohio

I'm getting anxious about not seeing the Meijer BF ad yet...that's where I usually find my best deals!

Do you mean on Black Friday? I know in our area the stores that aren't normally 24 hour stores DO open for 24 hours through the Christmas season. That way people don't have to wait outside in the cold. However, they don't let people put items in their carts till the sale starts, which I believe has been 5 am the past few years.

That's funny! I've noticed their rollback prices too...ridiculous!

I always get my grandmas a book of stamps. One of them is in a nursing home and writes letters to family so I get her stationery, envelopes & stamps. Other than that for that grandma, she really doesn't have room for much since she shares her room with someone else. We get her snacks, a calendar and money for the snack machine they have there. My other grandma, besides the stamps, I buy gift cards for the grocery store or Wal-Mart since she's on a fixed income. I also buy and put together a box of taxable stuff (toilet paper, soap, laundry detergent/softener, dish soap, tissues) that everyone needs but doesn't particularly care to buy for themselves.

I just hate seeing sleepy kids in their pj's being pushed around and yelled at by their parents. Plus, like what was said above, why take your kids with you if you're buying for them (not bashing you in any way). But that's just me.

My son is 11 this year and I think that everything that he wants is for kids younger than him. He wants Lego sets (he has tons already) and Transformers (also has a lot of these). I did buy him a bike at Toys R Us because it was on clearance and I had gift cards so I only paid a little bit of nothing. I have no idea what else to get him. He has a Playstation 2 that he doesn't play much, and I don't think you can even buy new games for that anymore. Besides the Playstation, we, as a family, have a Wii but he doesn't play that much either. I want to get him something that'll make him feel grown-up that he would enjoy. HELP! lol