Christmas Hell

December 6th, 2006 at 07:07 pm

Ugh.....this time of year is so stressful! I have hardly anything for Christmas and no ideas. Since everything has to be shipped I really hear the clock ticking away. I HATE tte mall. I HATE wandering around aimlessly just trying to figure out what crap to buy. DH is taking care of FIL and a BIL. Still have 2 BIL, a SIL, 2 kids, my 2 sisters, my mom, my MIL and BIL's long-time girlfriend. And then a few misc kid's gifts.

I only have 2 things for DS, a puzzle and a book. I keep looking online at toys, etc and I just can't find anything. He is 2, he shouldn't be this hard. But, I dont' want a bunch of crap that he is not going to play with hanging around my house until I get rid of it. He is already going to get enough of that from other's. I would LOVE to skip the gift part of Xmas and just have family togetherness. Instead I'm going to spend $$ on stupid presents and get stupid presents in return. I don't mean to sound ungrateful but I'm sure the other family members are having the same frustrations about me. Ok, I guess my rant is over. Complaining isn't going to make this problem go away. Only shopping is going to make it go away and I would rather stick a red hot poker in my eye than go shopping. ARGH!!! Oh, Happy Holidays ; )

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

13 Responses to “Christmas Hell”

janH Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 07:10 pm 1165432210
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I know a lot of people don't like these--but a restaurant gift card to a favorite restaurant for the adults? We use them for the college kids. They love them. I wouldn't mind getting one to a favorite place. Some of the restaurants here are advertising that they will give you $5 (on a gift card??)if you get a gift card from them of about 25. I wish they'd done that last year!
tinapbeana Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 07:24 pm 1165433082
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i guess i'm lucky in a way, if i can't think of anything to get my BIL / SIL i can always send a bottle of liquor and it's appreciated during the rest of the year!

as for your son, why not sit down and make a list of activities/crafts you can do together that you'd like to make into new family traditions? making ornaments, decorating cookies, stringing popcorn and making birdseed cookies to decorate a tree or shrub outside, decorating a craft stocking for him to use... all sorts of things that can be used to create memories.
Broken Arrow Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 07:36 pm 1165433769
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Ah, the part of the holidays that I never liked....
miclason Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 07:37 pm 1165433834
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for a 2 year old, the simpler the better!....things to make music with, things to paint with, stuff that doesn't break....
Ima saver Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 07:50 pm 1165434640
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I think a gift card to my favorite restaurant is my best gift. I also think liquor is good too. I give my dh a lot of edible things. candy and other treats. Two year olds don't need much!
cashqueen Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 08:07 pm 1165435654
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Thanks for the support. We have a problem in that the restaurants we would need to get to are not in our area. We are traveling at Christmas and will have to ship everything back and forth. We did a lot of gift certificates last year (not restaurants because of the location problem) and probably will this year, too. It just seems senseless to me to sit around and swap gift certificates. I wouldn't worry too much about my 2yo except he will have Christmas morning with his 2 cousins at their house so we need to have something for him. Oh, and I went to my sister's Amazon wish list....$24 lip balm. OMG!!!!
princessperky Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 08:16 pm 1165436216
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so whats wrong with a book and a puzzle?

add a box of animal crackers and should keep em happy for quite some time..
fairy74 Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 08:22 pm 1165436541
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Cashqueen, maybe after you find your gifts for this year you could talk to family members about scaling back next year (good for the wallet and the stress level), 24 dollar lip gloss????? wow, that is pricey! Good luck with your shopping...
frugalmomof1 Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 09:40 pm 1165441215
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cashqueen--If traveling to the restaurants is a problem for you try ordering them through the restaurants website (if they have one). Most will ship them to you free of charge, or for a very small fee.
Frayed buckeye Card Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 11:24 pm 1165447450
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Your reference to gift cards is prompting this comment.
Five years agowhen the adults in my familytraded gift cards, I was appalled at the idea that no one wanted or needed anything.
Since then every year we adopt a family , anonymously providing food and gifts. We do remember our little people and have goofy grab bags for the adults. We zero in on being together and our Christmas gets better and better. My children are scattered but come together for this time. Merry Christmas.
homebody Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 11:40 pm 1165448458
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I agree with Fairy74. That is what DH and I did many years ago. We were the only ones who didn't participate for a couple of years, but they others finally caught on.
crazyliblady Says:
December 6th, 2006 at 11:46 pm 1165448782
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Hi. I guess I am in the minority here when I ask why anyone gets so crazy about the holidays anyway? Christmas is supposed to be about spending time with your family and friends, not seeing who can get whom the biggest, best gift. Why not start a trend of NO GIFTS except to the kids? I know it's radical, but why in the world do we rush around to buy expensive gifts for people who may not like the color, size, fabric, or anything else? My mother was forever buying me ugly sweaters and pajamas. She finally decided to start giving my husband and I a check for about $100 every year. It has been a real blessing, because we can stick it in savings, pay off the credit card, or whatever we want to do with it. I would much rather have something I can use than something I have to take back to the store and exchange it or toss it in a bag to Goodwill because I hate it. One year, I bought an iron, because my iron had bit the dust.
reginaastralis Says:
December 7th, 2006 at 06:18 pm 1165515532
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What to buy a two year old - this is the same question I am faced with right now.

Julie's getting a few books, a couple of wooden puzzles *on sale from Target*, a couple of coloring books. At the Disney store I picked her up a Mickey mouse plate set, with a cup and silverware for $12. I got her a stuffed animal *on clearance at Disney store*. I'll be picking up a baby doll for her. Her Santa gift is a little on the pricey side, I am getting her a wooden hand made toy box, and putting dress up clothes in it. The toy box is to pass on a sort of tradition in my family, my great grandfather made my toy box which I still use to house my sewing stuff, I'm hoping this toy box will get many years of love.

A few other ideas, since you have a boy ... a nice trike *they had one on a really good sale a TRU a couple of weeks back* A firetruck. Playfood. Julie's stocking will include a new sippy cup *more than likely of a princess since she's now obsessed*, goldfish crackers, and a couple of cars. She's also a HUGE fan of mini m&ms, which we use for potty training. I'll probably pick up some Elmo stickers. Oh, and for Julie's birthday last year, my mom got Julie a ride on pont from Radio Flyer. I have no idea how much this thing goes for, but my daughter plays with it every single day. If you're looking for a "big" present, I highly recommend it.

I'm not too big on making Christmas a HUGE deal. My parents are spending close to $400 on my sister for Christmas *she's nine*. I know on Christmas Jordyn's going to wonder why the baby didn't get as much ... but I truely believe they don't need too much at this age. Also, this year is a "no battery" year. I've begged the whole family not to give her anything with batteries, as all those toys are still sitting in our room not getting much use.

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Cashqueen's Fabulous Finances

A journey toward saving for the future.

Christmas Hell

13 Responses to “Christmas Hell”

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