Christmas planning and saving ideas?

[bdnjdsmom]

Hi! Thanks for the many great ideas. This year I grabbed a couple of reloadable WM GC's and every time I shopped there I threw $5 sometimes $10 on the cards for my two teenaged nephews(who I find extremely hard to shop for). Now I have a great gift for them and I'm sure they would prefer to buy there own Xmas stuff anyway. I think I'll do this for most of my gifts next year as well because I think I'll save alot on shipping costs as well! Hope this helps. : )

[S J]

Hi! Thanks for the many great ideas. This year I grabbed a couple of reloadable WM GC's and every time I shopped there I threw $5 sometimes $10 on the cards for my two teenaged nephews(who I find extremely hard to shop for). Now I have a great gift for them and I'm sure they would prefer to buy there own Xmas stuff anyway. I think I'll do this for most of my gifts next year as well because I think I'll save alot on shipping costs as well! Hope this helps. : )

very mature idea! I am gonna go hand made too this year for friends.

[kelso114]

Im actually done shopping for my boys! Just stalking stuffers so far. Basically I wait for good sales and buy then, or if theres a great deal online I order from that. Usually my xmas pressies are 65% bought online at least!

Sally
Where do you buy your toys and such online? I have been looking for sites that ship to Canada and that are reasonably priced. Have any suggestions?
Thanks

[kayj09]

OMG I cant go over there for a couple hours without spending $150+++++ !!!

Although I have heard there are some wicked deals.

Ok that does it. I ask for the day off. Or at least the afternoon?

How is black friday there? Does it last through the weekend?

[kayj09]

Also costco has itunes gift cards i think 4 $15 ones for around $50

[Nice Sass]

A few notes:

1. While there are great deals to be had in the States on Black Friday, they last all weekend (with the exception of "door crashers" or hourly sales, as noted). But, they also tend to keep discounting beyond Friday on those items that aren't moving as fast as desired. So by going on the Sunday you may miss some deals, but you'll find others to make up for it, and it won't be anywhere close to as busy.

2. I've been saving up points to use towards gifts: PC points allow me to buy a whole range of giftcards; I'm using HBC points to buy Chapters stuff and items from Zellers and The Bay; SDM points to buy some electronics; Canadian Tire dollars just bought some toys as well.

3. I was trying to figure out what to do for my DD's daycare: Just about every one of the ladies there (about ten) takes care of her because of how they rotate rooms. I was going to buy some 1/2 price gift bags from Bath & Body Works ($9 each and includes 4 items), but this still would cost about $100. I told a friend, and she suggested that we tell them not to bring lunch one day, and send a sandwich platter - you can buy these for about $45 to feed that many people, and it's very appreciated. Great for when you have to gift a group of people.

4. I am anti-baking for Christmas gifts: I did this for years (home-made treats) and find that the cost of supplies (chocolate wafers, nuts, cranberries, etc.) broken down per person still equals spending a good chunk of money. It's not cheap! Unless someone can tell me where to get better deals on supplies (I go to Bulk Barn), I really don't find this to be advantageous financially.

I love bdnjdsmom's idea though with the gift cards; what a great way to prepare yourself for the season by doing this through the year. As long as you know which stores you'll be purchasing from, this works well. Thanks for the tips!

[islandlakes]

Same

A friend of mine has a book called "Unplug the Christmas Machine" and I was leafing through it one day at her house. It's all about how Christmas has become too commercialized and how to bring meaning back to the holiday.

As far as gifts go, I do think they are an important part of the holiday because it's nice to exchange gifts with people you care about and to show a spirit of generosity. That said, the most meaningful gifts are not necessarily the most expensive.... some people are very talented artisans and it means more to me to receive a one-of-a-kind gift that I knew was a result of many hours spent making it, than something expensive and mass-produced off a store shelf.

Unplug the Christmas Machine is a wonderful book! I got it for a friend with three small children and read it while I babysat for them. She loved it and often referred to it.

I love how it helps you to figure out how to spend the most money and time on the things that give you the most joy.

This is a great thread!

[barberella]

i used to exchange gifts with the two girls that i used to work with....now we all go out for supper together and get lots of laughs.we found exchanging gifts we just passed over the gift and left now we get to visit

[Justine]

We did Black Friday two years ago in Auburn Hills area of Michigan...mostly at Macy's...omg...it was tooo much fun! You have to go with the attitude that there will be line-ups, and yes, never enough staff, and that it'll take at least twice as much time to buy anything as it normally would. With that frame of mind...it's so much fun rounding up those deals!

Not to mention someone gets killed every year from being trampled waiting in line for the stores to open up.

[kris10]

i hav a few ideas. use coupons for freebies or freebies from the mail and make your own gift baskets with a cheap basket from somewhere. this sounds mean lol but you can regift unopen past gifts if you are smart about it.like make sure the original gifter wont know new gifty.im bad but some stuff i get ive no use for or already had n didnt have the heart to tell. also try to shop where u get rewards.like shoppers ,canadian tire hbc.

[kris10]

oh.had another idea.ipersonally was never fond of it but theres this thing we did for my 1 side of the family called a chinese xmas where whoever wanted puts 20 $or so in.someone buys those gifts with $ and at xmas they draw names for gifts. secret santa would probably work better though.no 1 woulfight or be mad at what they got.

[thecountess]

Unplug the Christmas Machine is a wonderful book! I got it for a friend with three small children and read it while I babysat for them. She loved it and often referred to it.
I love how it helps you to figure out how to spend the most money and time on the things that give you the most joy.
This is a great thread!

[thecountess]

Christmas Day is exactly one month from today!

[Lynnie]

I'm only a teen, so my friends don't like things like smellies and stuff in jars, so I usually go to the store and look at the clearance and find cheap stuff on sale Sometimes I run out of money tho O.o

[Lynnie]

Oh, but I use discounts as much as I can... e.g. coupons, GCs from trades and I'm making a few things also