Christmas planning and saving ideas?

Dh family always has xmas on new years...(was great when most were young) use to go shopping after xmas..not on boxing day...wait a couple of days... 4 years ago...the Girls loved Bratz dolls (were big with all of them) so I hit Wal-mart they had collectors dolls (big ones...) they were $65.00 dollars...got them for $20. each... saved $45. a doll :) now that i have a huge range...the older ones get a $50. gc... and the younger ones... get whatever i can find... But since this year is going to be tough (on mat. leave ) so i set aside $30. every 2 weeks in savings account...dh joined in on it as well.. so this way I can do the xmas shopping with out the stress :)
Also we do dollar store gifts for the adults... ( sounds odd but so much fun to see what you can find!) last year dh got a metal head massager... and it works great lol :) as for my side... well lets just say it's "have" to be this kinda gift...or else it doesn't get used... but I will be getting my sis her perfume due to she gave me a coupon to get any kind @ sdm...(btw that's what started my sdm addiction )

Great thread to start up. lately, I've been getting my ideas and thoughts together for Christmas this year.

We have one ING account called "Christmas", I estimated $600 for meals, gifts etc etc and I took $600 divide by 52 weeks - means I need to transfer over $11.54 each week from Jan to Dec and we make a couple of cents in interest too. It's an automatic transfer each Friday out of our chequing account.

I could talk about Christmas 365 days a year, I LOVE it!! I'm going to use my SDM points to get some things for the boys... some video games, and some Wii accessories. I bought a couple of coupon bags from GlowGirl on Etsy that I'm planning on giving a couple of friends for Christmas (if I can wait that long!).

I'm also planning on doing up some baskets for my 2 best friends- household stuff, smellies, bath and body stuff, things that I can get free or really cheap with coupons :)

I bought 3 gifts so far bought about 2 months ago? I love the Snoopy line from Halmark but come Christmas they didn't have the everyday ones so when I seen ones that were perfect for my kids I picked them up right away. Love getting them collectiable type thing so when they move out they have things for memory. For Andrew I got Life Dosn't Get Any Better Then This with Charlie Brown and Snoopy Hugging (Snoopy got him the mug of it lol)
Kayla I got Skip To The Good Times with Snoopy skipping and Sally and Lucy Turning Rope

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Originally Posted by KK7

I bought 3 gifts so far bought about 2 months ago? I love the Snoopy line from Halmark but come Christmas they didn't have the everyday ones so when I seen ones that were perfect for my kids I picked them up right away. Love getting them collectiable type thing so when they move out they have things for memory. For Andrew I got Life Dosn't Get Any Better Then This with Charlie Brown and Snoopy Hugging (Snoopy got him the mug of it lol)
Kayla I got Skip To The Good Times with Snoopy skipping and Sally and Lucy Turning Rope

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I do this too! Ever since they were babies I've bought them each a new ornament for the Christmas tree that they can take with them when they go. I got Hayden a really cute Toy Story ornament really cheap right after Christmas. Couldn't find anything for Christan :( I try to base the ornaments on their interests throughout the year- last year it was Garfield for Hayden and Star Wars for Christian :)

I call it sucking up now so they won't put me in an old age home when I get old lol

Alot of strange posts on here whats the deal with these people joining in 2009/10 with one posts?

I had Christmas done in August last year.. and then used the last few months to take care of last minute things.. etc.. it was awesome..
this year.. no christmas for us. sorta speak.. were 'supposed' to be going to Edmonton next year .. one year from now.. so that will be our big present to each other.. as were going to go for two weeks.. my parents don't need anything but love from us.. and our kids have everything they need... I can't wait.. i''ll decorate this year just to decorate. and be able to 'decorate' under the tree. instead of putting presents under it. :)

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Originally Posted by KK7

Alot of strange posts on here whats the deal with these people joining in 2009/10 with one posts?

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Just people looking to advertise their signatures ie: spam.

I look for Christmas deals all year round! And my son's birthday is in Jan so I look for birthday gifts too. Whenever I can get a deal on something he would love.

This year it's looking like he'll get mostly Thomas and Friends stuff (he's a 2 year old addict!). Luckily, they sell a lot of the stuff on Amazon.com and I can get it free with my gift cards from swagbucks, superpoints, irazoo, ect...

I usually do gift baskets for my cousins with all the freebie stuff I can get through the year, like bath and body stuff, razors and smellies. They are a hit because it's always stuff we use.

I love Christmas shopping!

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Originally Posted by ame555

We have one ING account called "Christmas", I estimated $600 for meals, gifts etc etc and I took $600 divide by 52 weeks - means I need to transfer over $11.54 each week from Jan to Dec and we make a couple of cents in interest too. It's an automatic transfer each Friday out of our chequing account.

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That's a great idea!! I may have to steal that one!:)

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Originally Posted by AmberLab

Just people looking to advertise their signatures ie: spam.

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oh I didn't even notice there sigs....and no I am not blonde :tongue:

I love the idea of putting a little bit on a GC every once in awhile! I should get a shoppers gc and do this- maybe save my money for 20X the points days and then do a bonus redemption to get the most bang for my buck :)

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Originally Posted by ame555

We have one ING account called "Christmas", I estimated $600 for meals, gifts etc etc and I took $600 divide by 52 weeks - means I need to transfer over $11.54 each week from Jan to Dec and we make a couple of cents in interest too. It's an automatic transfer each Friday out of our chequing account.

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Great idea!
Love the way ING allows you to name your accounts.
It's so painless and easy to save with them.
Love their goal setter, so you can see if you are on track for your savings over time.