seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,838
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Aug 31, 2016 13:10:55 GMT
In our house Santa doesn't wrap presents! Lol. AND the kids only get one big present from Santa. They get 2-3 from us. Grandparents (3 sets) get them TONS of stuff. My siblings (3) get them something small. My SIL goes all out. Lol. I try to keep our end simple.
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quiltz
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,842
Location: CANADA
Jun 29, 2014 16:13:28 GMT
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Post by quiltz on Aug 31, 2016 13:18:12 GMT
In our house Santa doesn't wrap presents! Lol. AND the kids only get one big present from Santa. They get 2-3 from us. Grandparents (3 sets) get them TONS of stuff. My siblings (3) get them something small. My SIL goes all out. Lol. I try to keep our end simple. A few years ago I bought burlap fabric with Christmas motifs stamped on the fabric. I made 2 huge bags and in the bags are the gifts for each dgc, ds & ddil. They close their eyes and pull out a gift. These bags have been reused many years. These are also the bags where I put the gift for said person to store until Christmas. No more searching for where I had hidden that elusive gift. |
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sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,684 
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Post by sweetpeasmom on Aug 31, 2016 13:43:22 GMT
None wrapped. But that could be because I haven't bought any. I just can't get there this time of year. I will start in November, typically Black Friday (maybe a little before).
My biggest issue this year is that ds(14) wants 2 pretty pricey items (boots and an Enu). I told him to keep in mind that if he gets those 2 things, that will pretty much be all that is under the tree for him. He just didn't grasp that.
To be honest, I would rather start giving my kids (14 & 12) experiences vs stuff. Like this year a friend wants to go to Disney for New Years. I'd rather go with them for that and that be our Christmas. Maybe one year go on a tropical vacation for Christmas. Things they'll remember. One is on board with that, one is not.
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Aug 31, 2016 13:48:56 GMT
 We have a friend who never got around to taking hers down after last Christmas--and it's still set up in the front picture window of her house! I totally want to do this!  I hate taking that big ass tree to the upstairs of my garage every year. I hate wrapping gifts, and I swear every year I'm going to hire it out. My dh gets tired of hearing me bitch about wrapping every damn year. I purchased a bunch of gift bags and boxes one year.. at some place like Sam's. Now I reuse them every year. I say it's because its good for the environment.. but really its good for me! |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 31, 2016 13:54:55 GMT
So (hi-jack) those of you who buy really early - how can you weigh up the risk that people won't buy that item for themselves before Christmas? I'm not talking about a jumper or a lip gloss but an ipad or a box set or something like that - because by Christmas the 28 day return policy date (or whatever it is) will be long gone. I'm thinking that my Dh would just go and buy something if he wanted it, within reason, and my DDs change their minds about stuff  ...not so much these days as they're older but they certainly did as teenagers! The only people I buy stuff for early are the ones that I live with and DD's little cousins out of state. The people I live with are easy because DH hates shopping and doesn't go and DD is too young and can't buy anything for herself. Her younger cousins are easy too because their parents don't have a ton of money and their mom almost never buys them toys, or if they do it's garage sale stuff or hand me downs from older cousins. They usually get more practical things from mom and dad like clothes, shoes or pajamas and only one toy. If I really question something for any of them, I text their mom a picture and she gives it the thumbs up or down. Oh, I forgot, I buy stuff early for my one sister too. She's super easy though and I know exactly what she likes. I buy her handmade things from local boutiques or make her stuff myself. I know she doesn't have it because she doesn't live here! |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 31, 2016 14:22:42 GMT
I refuse to think about Christmas until November. Fromt the 8th of August to the 15 of October we are attending 5 mileage-birthdays, 5 normal birthdays, a 5-days trip to Berlin a wedding (all weekend) and I got two all-day crops. So we don't think about christmas just yet I used to do that, but with DH's birthday in November and mine in January, I always end up getting chumped. He usually will think of some nice hunting or fishing gear or something expensive that he wants for his birthday (usually before his birthday) and gets it--for himself, because it's usually more money than I would feel comfortable spending without talking to him first. If I wait and do all of my Christmas shopping in December, the bill for everything shows up right before my birthday. DH gets sticker shock paying it and I end up getting nothing for *my* birthday. This happened year after year after year. Not cool! If I start buying what I can for Christmas gifts now and sock them away, those bills are all paid off long before Christmas comes. So when my birthday rolls around in January, there's no monster holiday bill due to make Mr. Scrooge tighten up the old purse strings. It's totally about fairness! Plus, all the big stores tend to reset their toy sections for the Christmas season right after Labor Day and I can score some really nice things on clearance super cheap for the kids I buy for.  |
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PLurker
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,808
Location: Behind the Cheddar Curtain
Jun 28, 2014 3:48:49 GMT
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Post by PLurker on Aug 31, 2016 14:57:59 GMT
In our house Santa doesn't wrap presents! Lol. AND the kids only get one big present from Santa. They get 2-3 from us. Grandparents (3 sets) get them TONS of stuff. My siblings (3) get them something small. My SIL goes all out. Lol. I try to keep our end simple. A few years ago I bought burlap fabric with Christmas motifs stamped on the fabric. I made 2 huge bags and in the bags are the gifts for each dgc, ds & ddil. They close their eyes and pull out a gift. These bags have been reused many years. These are also the bags where I put the gift for said person to store until Christmas. No more searching for where I had hidden that elusive gift. That's a great idea, the burlap. I bought cheap premade bags once and they did not long. I may just make burlap ones. I have some reusable boxes that I use for the stuff that stays here, too, but I like the look and idea of burlap. The ones I wrapped last night are small rectangular and will fit right back in the canvas storage they were in and be put back in the cabinet. I won't forget what they are because they are 12 identical packages and wrapped in Star Wars paper. If it was something I could forget, I have a little notebook in cabinet with list. I don't put ribbons, bows or other embellishments on until Christmas time so they store well. The stuff I buy early are usually something fun, stocking stuffers or something homemade or highly doubtful that someone would buy for themselves. Things of any greater expense or the with the fear of being duplicated I wouldn't buy until within the returnable time frame. I love hearing about everyone's Christmas do's and don'ts and traditions. |
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Post by Crazyhare on Aug 31, 2016 15:00:03 GMT
I've bought a few things, but they are all in my gift closet. I usually wait to wrap them closer to Christmas. And I wrap my mom's, so I usually do them all at the same time.
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bethany102399
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,640
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Post by bethany102399 on Aug 31, 2016 15:11:29 GMT
So now I need to get creative with the other kids lists to increase the number without increasing the crap I'm bringing into my house! I suffer from the same issue. We follow the 3 gift rule in our house. We believe that there were 3 wise men, therefore there are 3 gifts for each kid. As I love to give, this rule is in place more for me than for them lol. Last year DS desperately needed a sleeping bag, and I refused to let that be one of the three gifts. That opened the floodgates and it was way too much on Christmas morning. This year, I'm changing the rules a bit, and one of the three gifts is going to be an experience gift. A trip to the clothing store (for my tween DD who LOVES to shop for clothes) a ride on the Amtrack or other real deal train, a trip to the jump place something that will make a memory, but won't bring more crap into my house. We'll see how it goes. Both kids have birthdays in late winter/early spring and it just doesn't feel like we get that far from Christmas before I have even more stuff coming in for that. |
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IAmUnoriginal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,894
Jun 25, 2014 23:27:45 GMT
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Post by IAmUnoriginal on Aug 31, 2016 15:37:33 GMT
Wow! I thought I was doing good when I went out and bought fabric last weekend and my brother sent out the matches for drawing names. I'm a very long way from wrapping.
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Post by justkat on Aug 31, 2016 17:10:56 GMT
That's great. lol
I have a few wrapped. I usually wrap gifts as soon as I purchase them. I then make a list for each person as to what I've purchased so I'm not buying things over and over. I store the gifts in huge boxes in the back of my closet so they stay nice looking.
Haven't done much shopping yet this year. I have about 6 items. lol I'm hoping to be done before Thanksgiving and then only tiny/impulse/perishable buys nearer Christmas.
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Post by deekaye on Aug 31, 2016 17:14:43 GMT
I hate wrapping gifts, and I swear every year I'm going to hire it out. My dh gets tired of hearing me bitch about wrapping every damn year. I LOVE to wrap gifts! Pretty paper, ribbons, bows, tags, doodads... I love it all. I would seriously love to be hired to wrap gifts. |
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Post by deekaye on Aug 31, 2016 17:17:36 GMT
Oh, and to stay on post: I haven't wrapped any presents yet but I do have a couple stashed away that I bought while on vacation. |
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Post by mystuffandnat on Sept 1, 2016 2:28:25 GMT
I have an Aunt who shops all year round...her spare bedroom has a pile of Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary presents wrapped and ready to go for each family member. One especially hot and humid summer some of the tags fell off her already wrapped Christmas presents. She was fairly sure what belonged to who...until the surprise gifting started on Christmas morning. She still does this but now your present will have your name in permanent marker somewhere on the package. Her son-in-law brings it up every Christmas "the best gift he ever got from her was a gorgeous red purse" |
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eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,252
Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Sept 1, 2016 11:27:08 GMT
I was thinking about wrapping a few myself, but I haven't decided what papers I want to use.
The first day of school is today and usually that's when I really go out and start looking at what's available so I can start making my serious lists. I do find small things all year long.
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Post by myboysnme on Sept 1, 2016 11:59:54 GMT
Not even bought. We have 8 family birthdays in June and July, we need time to recover. This is me. I had DS and DH birthdays just this week and I am not only broke, I haven't even thought about Christmas. In fairness to me, my family, especially my mom, make lists of what they would like or need. I try to fulfill the list. So I start asking for the list in time for online black Friday sales. My son graduates from college 8 days before Christmas so that gift will likely be money. My sons are grown but live at home. At Christmas they come down to a huge stack of presents for each. I wrap everything separately to make sure there is a big stack. Youngest DS may move away after graduation so I know this is only for now and I love to indulge them. I always have. |
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We have a friend who never got around to taking hers down after last Christmas--and it's still set up in the front picture window of her house!
I hate taking that big ass tree to the upstairs of my garage every year.
...not so much these days as they're older but they certainly did as teenagers!
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