'Tis the Season to Be.... Broke

'Taint Xmas for us, but we're still on the gift-giving merry-go-'round because of Chanukah. And, this year, my folks' 50th wedding anniversary is in December. So, we are throwing them a party (splitting the costs with my brother) and that also involves travel plus the gift which is a charitable donation to Sloane-Kettering.

Plus the gifts.

Each other.
Our parents.
Our siblings, their spouses and kids.

Might not sound like a lot but we never see the nephews (well, rarely), so we like to get 'em something nice. Board books for the little one and more grown-up fare for the big fellow, so long as it's about baseball.

Amazon has started a gift organizer thing and we love it. I've been adding all sorts of possibilities to the lists. Of course we don't have to buy all or even 1/2 of it, the main idea is to have ideas and be able to have ideas for the future. Plus Amazon will generate suggestions based on past purchases so that can help, although their program sometimes spits out weird suggestions.

We'll probably get just about everything through A2K's Amazon link this year. The main exception is a few non-Amazon gift certificates.

You could take that act on the road to earn a little extra cash.

Well done Bella!!

Sometimes I have patient, sometimes I dont.

I went to New York on a school trip a few years back, we went to a shop and wanted to try a top on, I was fed up of waiting and took my top off whilst inside the changing rooms but still in the queue.A lady that worked their asked me not too but I was so annoyed i had to wait.
Looking back its not something i owuld ever do again adn I must have really embarrassed the people I was with but its something that really narks me off having to wait so long just to try on one thing!!!

I make a ton of stuff. That sounds like it could be tacky, but really, it's usually nice, I swear. For example, my mom's family has a gift exchange -- name swap among adults (I buy for someone, E.G. buys for someone), then the kids get presents. (We do until they're out of school, too, these guys are almost there. Teenagers are hard!!!)

So I have my aunt's name, she's kind of flowery and gardeny, I painted a birdhouse for her (nicely!) with various words on it; "Welcome to Marigold's Garden" on one side, "Make yourself at home" on another, "Stay awhile" on a third. It's her kind of thing.

Emailed cousins to get their jewelry preferences, and custom-making some stuff for them according to what they said. (A leather bracelet with a charm, pink and silver bracelets.)

Shutterfly has this thing where you send in a photo and make notecards, I'm having sozlet do some superlative art, and sending that in for notecards for grandparents. Etc.

I actually buy-buy, like give it in the same form I bought it, very little. Most of what I do buy is for sozlet, which as DrewDad says has been collected pretty much since last Christmas.

My dad has declared he's not celebrating Christmas this year which is a bit of a relief, (grown-ups, anyway, he's getting something for sozlet) but we'd already planned on giving him and his wife a sozlet-painted birdhouse so we're going ahead with that. As Bella says, the giving is as fun as the getting and sozlet was looking forward to it, want to encourage that.

Christmas is the purest form of worshiping Capitalism.

Can I sell you a plastic Jesus?

<snicker>

<squints>

<blows raspberry>

<reconsiders "blows">

<gives up>

Sooooo true but its nice once a year to get together with family and eat until bursting.

I'm an online shopper...why don't I EVER think of shopping Amazon via a2k? I like bargains and love to shop for them, but I also like to shop in small stores.

We send presents to a couple of places across the country, but this year i have a new plan (I'm tired of spending big bucks on postage). This year, I'm shopping for stuff that can fit in those $3.85 envelopes. Our preference is to give consumables, but I don't think a wine bottle will fit.

Nothing like opening up a pair of irregular socks.

My nephew still loves Pokemon and Harry Potter, so we're OK for now.

Lucky.

Actually the jewelry thing seems to going over pretty well, thankfully. One of 'em said she was "so excited!". (Now I have to actually make it to her specifications... I think I can...)

Girls are easy. Pre-paid phone cards....

Ooooh...!!

$$$, though. The amount per gift for this family exchange is supposed to be around $25 (a "limit" of $25, but in effect everyone hovers right around there), I usually try to spend less for something that could feasibly be worth a lot more. I'll be spending a total of about $30 I think for the three presents.

We got our phone card from CostCo. $.03/minute. Sweet.

We aren't doing to much for Cristmas this year. We are just to busy and are trying to save up for more important things.

It is kind of sad... we both really enjoy Christmas. More often then not though it is more about getting together with family than anything else. This year the only gift we are giving is opening up a college savings program for my nephew/godson... it's never to early to start saving.

sexist


JUST sexist







wheres mine??

My hubby's family decided to draw names this year, so that really cut down on the number of gifts we need to buy. There are three of us, so that means we only have to buy for three people. To make it even easier, everyone agreed on a $50 limit per person. We're already finished with these. Two online purchases, one trip to the nearby Border's for book/CDs.

We also exchange gifts with three people in my family, our best friends (1 gift for couple, 1 gift for each of 2 children), a couple of son's buddies, and a couple of good family friends.

I make chocolates (fancy, molded ones) for about a dozen people, too.

I'm hoping to find time to make handmade gifts for several people this year. We celebrated our Thanksgiving early (this past Sunday) while my sister and brother-in-law were here, so that means we have five days in a row off, starting tomorrow. I should have enough time to get all the Christmas decorating done as well as start on the gifts.

At least, that is the plan.

Miss dEVA cleaver over there..

making all her gifts..

>sigh<

Im off to the malls tonight and tomorrow.

Did you know that some of the BIGGER sales happen the day before thanksgiving?

simply so stores can make 'ROOM' for thier sales products during the day after rush...

Where? Where????

Oh, I have no intention of making ALL of them! That would be absurd!...but funny. I can just imagine the look on one of my son's friends' faces if he got some handmade craft project instead of a Blockbuster gift card!!! (It would probably put a quick end to exchanging gifts, though...hmmm...thinking.... )

There are some people, though, who really do appreciate hand work. And those people are also very hard to buy for, because they don't like the crass commercialization of the season. So, if I can make the time, I'm going to try for something more personal this year for them. That's all.

I couldn't have even imagined doing this when my son was Bean's age. Now he actually helps me, and we enjoy making stuff together. Just wait a few years, Shewolf....