OMG Christmas Shopping.

[Mara]

OKAY fellow non-spirited procrastinators....how are you all doing?!?!?! i have started listening to xmas music at work which is getting me a bit more in the spirit. and it''s been SUPER cold out at night (like 25 which is insane for n. ca this time of year) so it makes snuggling by the tree a favorite pastime.

i actually managed to get most of my shopping done online yesterday...well i did like half of it last week and then a big chunk yesterday. and best part is that it''s all shipped already. now i just have an ipod for my sister to get (at a local store), a wine fridge for my dad (local store), a quilting cert for my mom (local store) and a gift for my cousin which i am totally at a loss on. but that''s it! i even did the family dogs as well.

so i figure i''ll wrap all the stuff this wkd and toss it under the tree. oh the one thing there has been no additional progress on is xmas cards. oops!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

I have ONE CARD left to send out--her address was MIA until a few hours ago, and I have to tuck some $ in a card for the cleaning lady tomorrow morning and then I AM OFFICIALLY DONE!!!

Of course there is always a little something extra to be picked up for The Demon Dog, but he won''t care if it''s a day or two late. Maybe those damn squeaky mallards with the santa hats will atually go on sale after Christmas and I won''t have to be annoyed at paying so much for something that he''s going to tear apart in no time.

Hang in there folks; it''s almost over!!!

 

[mrssalvo]

I''m almost done too. Two more gift cards to buy and one is for my dad and I have to get it at a store that''s in Cincinnati since we don''t have one here. woo hoo!!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

If I didn''t have to shop for a last minute gift for a gift exchange at my son''s school tomoorrow, I would never had hit the mall today. WHAT A ZOO!
Waited for someone to pull out to get a parking space. And the mall was standing room only--in the middle of the day!

All the stores were busy, but jewellery stores the most. Line up''s at the cash, with men circling the showcases like wolves, desperate to buy "something". Anything. Somethings never change, but I suppose there are worse things to get as gifts then jewellery.....

After that experience, I laughed at the radio commercial I heard on the way home; apparently you could do all your shopping at 7-11 these days, gift cards available from all kinds of stores/restaurants.......

cheers--Sharon

 

[KristyDarling]

I envy all of you who are almost done! I still have to:

1) Make a chicken dish for my son''s preschool holiday luncheon tomorrow (for 40 kids and 20 adults!!!)
2) Decide on our Christmas dinner menu
3) Wrap ALL the gifts
4) Prepare gifts and bonuses for various helpers
5) Finish decorating our staircase banister
6) Assemble BIG photo albums for my mom and mother-in-law
7) Address, stamp and mail ALL our Christmas cards
Clean the house in preparation for my 4 houseguests, the first of which is arriving tomorrow.

.........and last but certainly not least:

9) Stay home from work until the New Year because my nanny''s on vacation and preschool is closed....so I have to do ALL of the above while also taking care of my 2 little monkeys!!!

I''m a basket case!!! And here I was, congratulating myself on never having set foot inside a store for Christmas shopping and saving tons of time. But I practically forgot how FREAKING TIME-CONSUMING all the peripheral holiday stuff is!!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

KD, you forgot the all important item:

10) Have a drink!

 

[KristyDarling]

Date: 12/19/2006 6:19:06 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
KD, you forgot the all important item:

10) Have a drink!

....of milk. I''m allergic to alcohol and I SOOO wish that were not the case right now!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Oh KD -- I'm so sorry. So sorry in fact that I might go and have a drink FOR YOU!

(Seriously, I hope you didn't take that the wrong way--I certainly didn't mean anything by it!)

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/19/2006 6:42:07 PM
Author: KristyDarling

Date: 12/19/2006 6:19:06 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
KD, you forgot the all important item:

10) Have a drink!

....of milk. I''m allergic to alcohol and I SOOO wish that were not the case right now!

Well THAT''S a bummer!



I got my mothers presents done. I can relax now.

But honestly, I don''t have much more, I''m just not going crazy this year.

 

[KimberlyH]

I got a bit nutty yesterday morning when I realized how much needed to be done. I had a paper to write and got up at 6 a.m. to make a Christmas To Do List and then buckle down. My amazing husband accomplished 1/2 of the list while I was writing. I did a bit more shopping today, one present left to buy for my BIL!!! Now I need to:

1. Wrap presents
2. Make tamales
3. Make cookies
4. Assemble gift baskets

and then I think I''m done. We''re heading to my parent''s on Saturday and bringing tamales for dinner, food is up to her for the next three days. My grandfather is in the hospital though, as of last night, and she cares for him and her mom so I think she''ll need a hand with the two of them and cooking, shopping and wrapping gifts.

 

[KristyDarling]

Date: 12/19/2006 8:01:24 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Oh KD -- I''m so sorry. So sorry in fact that I might go and have a drink FOR YOU!

(Seriously, I hope you didn''t take that the wrong way--I certainly didn''t mean anything by it!)

Yes PLEASE have a drink for me!

Nothing offensive about that at all -- it''s at times like this that I could reeeally go for some kind of mood-altering of some sort!!!

 

[dani13]

Ok, well today is my day off, so I am officially leaving soon and tackling the whole shopping at the mall thing...ughh...how I really do dread it....I am going to get everyone done in one shot...I figure I will leave soon, and wont return till dinner-time, but at least I will have it all done!! I dont have tons to buy- just my fam, and basically they want gift certificates. Then, some stuff for Brian, and a gift for his mom and dad!!! And, that is pretty much it!! Not exchanging with friends this yr- it just gets too out of hand, especially when you are trying to save for a wedding!!!!

Good luck to all the last minute shoppers and everyone who has some more stuff to do before the holiday!! 5 more days to go, and its all over!! Everyone hang in there!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ann]

Ah, I feel for all of you who still have shopping to do. I have 1 gift card to buy and I''m going to send one of
the kids out for that.

I have grocery shopping to do - the list is so big I had to type it up and print it out. Then it''s cook, cook.

I have calmed down some by getting things done and crossed off my list.

I will be able to breathe on the 26th.

 

[Ellen]

I''m done too, except a few groceries in the AM.

Hope everyone is getting there!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I''M DONE!!! hehe

 

[Blenheim]

Woooo, I''m (mostly) done!!! FH really helped out, though -- he bought and wrapped all the gifts for his family, including the one "from me." I just need to wrap everything that I picked up earlier today. Christmas cards just got mailed this afternoon -- oh well.

I bought my parents a picture that my mom saw in a local shop and really liked when she visited earlier this fall, and TRIED to buy a frame for it last night but it wouldn''t fit in my car so I had to return it five minutes later.

I wanted to avoid any possibility of Christmas shopping in Northern Virginia, and it looks like I now need to buy them a frame. Booooo.

 

[IrishAngel7982]

I''M DONE!!!! AND EVERYTHING IS WRAPPED UNDER THE TREE!!!!!

I would''ve been done yesterday if the stores had everything I needed in stock, so I tackled the last of it this morning. 5 days early! Good luck finishing up everyone!

 

[dani13]

Well, my shopping excursion yesterday was pretty successful...I pretty much finished everyone except FI''s parents and my best friends new baby, whom I love to death

...I figure I can pick those gifts up next week, since I wont see either of them till then....

I spent about 4 hrs shopping, and about halfway through, I just got so tired!!! There is just so much stress with the crowds, the lines, etc., it sucks all of the energy out of you! I couldn''t believe it!! I literally had to force myself to stay to get just a few more things....

Of course, I ended up buying some nice things for the house- C &B was having a sale, so I bought some holiday decorations and other odds-and-ends that we needed....Whenever I go x-mas shopping I feel I spend a lot of $$ on myself too!!! Crazy!!! Oh well, I guess if I am going to do it, now is the time!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Well I will tell you who's shopping excursion was NOT successful -- MY HUSBAND'S!!!

Last night he wrapped my gifts and put them under the tree. Several weeks ago I asked for ONE SPECIFIC THING and there was no box under the tree that it could have been. So thing morning I said, "Um, BTW, did you get those shoes for me from Nordstroms that I sent you the e-mail on? You know, the e-mail where I linked the shoe I wanted and told you what color and size? THOSE SHOES?" He had NO IDEA what I was talking about (although he briefly tried to pretend that he did). So he just called me from Nordstroms (at least he went there, I suppose he gets *some* points for that) and they don't carry the shoes in the store, only on the website, and now it's too late to order them.

At the time I sent him the link I asked if he just wanted me to order the shoes and then he could pick them up from our receiving room and wrap them for me. "OH NO," he said, "I am fully capable of ordering you a pair of shoes."

OBVIOUSLY NOT.

Sigh.

And really, I don't even care about the damn shoes or that if I ordered them now they would come after Christmas, it's just that he made such a big deal out of not having anything to put under the tree for me that I went out of my way to find something I wanted, sent him all the info, and here we are three days before Christmas and he didn't get them.

But he got about a dozen gifts for THE DEMON DOG.

Sigh again.

Can you imagine if I had left it up to him to buy the diamond hoop earrings and he failed to get them? He'd be living in a hotel come Christmas afternoon! And he wonders why I buy all the "important stuff" myself!

(Sorry for the vent!)

 

[Mara]

hehe DJ maybe he is surprising you.

the other day i asked Greg if he wanted any ideas for small stocking stufferish kinda stuff for me (since obviously my B-bag is my big giftie) and he said sure send it over. so i did, hahaha. i put MEDIUM in all caps next to this juicy track jacket i want from revolve clothing. he calls me ''what size are you''....i swear..men. all caps and they still miss it. so don''t feel too bad, lol!

oh and he and i had a little spat the other night re; christmas cards too. we still haven''t sent ours out even though i am mostly done with them BUT i ran out of cards so i just have to stop and get some more...well he keeps getting cards in the mail and is like ''are our cards ready?''... ''are we doing cards this year''...etc. and giving me grief for slacking on them. finally i was like ''oh sorry i was busy ordering all the GIFTS for your FAMILY this year, cards are kind of low on the list.'' eeeee. enter snit-fest from both of us. i was basically like ''i do everything'' and he was like ''well you don''t tell me you need help'' kinda thing. then he told me i was ''inconsistent'' with holiday. like i am all gung-ho about decorating and getting gifts but then CARDS which are SO SIMPLE just fall by the wayside. i was like hello it''s about time management. i don''t have any extra time right now! and i''m not going to be a slave to the holiday season, it''s all on my terms at least. feel free to do your own cards.

so anyway tonite we are sitting down to the cards but it was soo funny how we got into it and all i could think of was THIS THREAD and you ladies saying hubby totally takes us for granted on the holiday stuff!!! imagine if he had to work FT and do all the stuff i do? i think he''d explode. OH and he brought this up after eating this yummy dijon chicken dinner i made for us AFTER getting home after a 1 hour working AFTER my 8 hour day at work.

definitely the wrong time buddy, lol!! of course it all blew over and now we keep making jokes about the cards never going out but i was glad i said something about me doing it all. of course probably in one ear out the other!!

gotta love em!

 

[lovelylulu]

Last night, I wrapped like the dickens. All done.

It''s funny, but i''ve I totally failed at decorating for our first christmas together. or sending out cards.

up until this year, i led the typically nomadic life that comes with college and more college. basically, because i was a poor student, always a renter, and lacking storage space - i''ve got nothing. on top of that, i just might not be that gal. my mom was that gal, looking at the christmas spirit thread - a lot of you lovely ladies are that gal, but i just don''t know if that''s me.

we did manage to string up some lights in the windows and have a wee little tree in a pot. that tree has a single ornament. but boy is it cute. an inch worm. we named it. it''s our first ornament for our first christmas together -- trying to puff up the symbolism here, so i can avoid how truly how pitiful it is

i''m thinking that once we have a bit more space, i''ll embrace the holidays in a more decoration-friendly manner.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 12/21/2006 11:37:25 AM
Author: Mara
hehe DJ maybe he is surprising you.

i hope mara is right DJ

and mara, too funny about the cards. i still don''t have mine out and it looks like it isn''t going to happen this year

, but hubby knows better than to even mention one word to me about it, i''d shoot him. I, like most of the gals here do everything, I did manage to convince him to go at pick out my dad a few ties. I''m horrible at it and my dad is trying to upgrade his wardrobe and asked for ties and a gift card to a local cincinnati store. any, he called from the store and said he picked 3 cool but conservative ties and I''m sure they will be great. I also have a feeling he''s doing his last minute Christmas shopping for me b/c we''re leaving in a hour to head out of town and he won''t have a minute away from me until we get home on Christmas Eve and there won''t be time to do it then.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 12/21/2006 12:06:30 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 12/21/2006 11:37:25 AM

Author: Mara

hehe DJ maybe he is surprising you.

i hope mara is right DJ

Now Mrs. S., you have actually MET my husband. Do you think he''s that clever? NOT!!!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 12/21/2006 12:11:45 PM
Author: Dee*Jay


Now Mrs. S., you have actually MET my husband. Do you think he''s that clever? NOT!!!

well, one can still hope right

i guess they recognize this in themselves and hence the real reason they let us buy our own gifts. I actually bought some clothes for myself *from hubby* and wrapped them myself and put them under the tree. Then I decided I wanted to wear one of the sweaters this weekend on my trip to I unwrapped it

..

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 12/21/2006 12:15:57 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 12/21/2006 12:11:45 PM

Author: Dee*Jay



Now Mrs. S., you have actually MET my husband. Do you think he's that clever? NOT!!!

well, one can still hope right

i guess they recognize this in themselves and hence the real reason they let us buy our own gifts. I actually bought some clothes for myself *from hubby* and wrapped them myself and put them under the tree. Then I decided I wanted to wear one of the sweaters this weekend on my trip to I unwrapped it

..

HA HA! I wanted to wear one of the long underwear tops that the happy hubby "got me" while we were at Filene's last week and I was checking out the package this morning to see if I could untape it and retape it again without him knowing. (Unfortunately he got a little tape crazy and I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off.) Great minds think alike!

 

[Ellen]

*handing deejay some spiked eggnog*

I don''t care if you ARE dieting. You need it.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Oh Ellen you're so right -- I do need it!

(BTW, if Jack Kelege meets the deadline my new setting will be here tomorrow. In that case I won't even care about the damn shoes!)

 

[Ann]

Date: 12/21/2006 1:50:06 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Oh Ellen you''re so right -- I do need it!

(BTW, if Jack Kelege meets the deadline my new setting will be here tomorrow. In that case I won''t even care about the damn shoes!)

Oh man, Jack Kelege. Gorgeous stuff. Keep us posted.

 

[FireGoddess]

DeeJay, I can''t wait to see the Kelege!!

Your posts have me cracking up ladies...I can totally relate. DH has about 7 gifts under the tree from me and the only present for me under the tree....is TO me FROM me.

I keep saying ''Christmas is only X days away...'' and I know he hasn''t gotten anything.

The one thing about getting shopping done early is....I still want to walk around the shops and I end up wanting to buy stuff for ME!!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/21/2006 1:50:06 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Oh Ellen you''re so right -- I do need it!

(BTW, if Jack Kelege meets the deadline my new setting will be here tomorrow. In that case I won''t even care about the damn shoes!)

ooooooh, I hope it comes!