thoughts for thursday.

there is a group of bloggers out there that take part in something called 'thoughts for thursday'.  i read them all, but i finally think i might throw my hat in the ring.  let's see how this goes.  at the end i will link to as many of the others as i can find.  :)

well, since october is almost upon us, i started thinking about...you guessed it, christmas shopping!  i know, i said it...christmas.  we have about a month before the stores go bonkers and start putting up every fake snowman, santa and reindeer they can find.  i'm not big into that, but i am big into getting people gifts that mean something.  i often spend too much time thinking about 'the perfect gift' (does it exist?) that i wait until the last minute to get my shopping done.  not good.  bad planning can lead to overspending...at least in my case it does.

this is how my christmas shopping goes down.  i start making a list of who we have to buy gifts for (i have already done this).  on two sides of the family, we draw names and set a spending limit.  on the other two sides we don't.  my parents are divorced so we have what seems like 6 christmas gatherings every year.  i like having limits otherwise i can go overboard...and so can my husband.  i think sometimes he is way worse than me.  so, the list is made and then i spend time thinking about what i will get for each of them.  over the years, i've been better at following through with the list.  the problem is...all those last minute details, and the trips you have to make to the mall or target or gander or wherever to get those last minute details.  but come on, it's ALL in the details!  right?  every year i tell myself i am going to shop throughout the year to 'spread the cost out'.  right.  like that ever happens.  i always think...well, what if they don't like it?  will they even be able to return it if i bought it in april?  what if they get what i bought them during the year?  what if i create some cosmic bond with the gift and can't give it away and end up buying them something else?  oh, this christmas shopping deal is so exhausting.

so, this year, i vow to set limits on spending, follow through with my list, not get carried away, and sit on santa's lap.  okay, maybe that is getting a little carried away. 

so, how does your christmas shopping go down?  do you get it done early?  do you have spending limits?  do you buy gifts or make them?  do you have a long list or a short list?  are your kids usually naughty or nice?  give me the scoop.  i mean, really, you should be thinking about all this...it's almost the holidays.  :) 

check out these other 'thoughts for thursday' participants: 
mary
nicole
kelly

Comments

[Kim]

I always try to get my shopping done before Thanksgiving. I like to hit the mall once or twice during December just to get that holiday feeling... and then I remember that holiday feeling includes being stressed and pushed around by all the other shoppers. Plus, I worked at Bath & Body Works for the holiday seasons in college, and I think that totally ruined it for me! :) So I usually try to shop online and/or get it done early.

[Leslie Collins]

PS....I NEVER shop early!!!

[Leslie Collins]

We don't usually go bonkers when it comes to Christmas shopping. Although, this is the first Christmas with a little one in the house. I doubt that we will get her a ton, since she will be more busy with the bows than what is inside.

I don't ever make gifts, I always buy. I always make my list before I go and then look for that specific item. I don't ever just wander around a store in search of something. I always have to have a plan.

I am so anxious for the holidays since it's going to be so different this year.

[Emilie]

It seems WAY to early to start talking about Christmas shopping!! But its only 3 freakin' months away! C.R.A.Z.Y.
I like to start out by making a list of the people that I am going to buy for. Now I tend to go Overboard with Christmas. Its fun, and exciting, and all that jazz. But after its over and I look at my bank account...I just think..."holy crap! What did I buy these poeple!" haha. So I have sent myself some limits as well...make a list, (check it twice) :), Set a spending limit and stick to it. Sooo hopefully this year it works!

[tracy]

oh I also love Black Friday shopping!!! I get up at the crack of dawn to hit the sales.

[tracy]

ok- you have no clue who I am but i thought I would jump in here.
I love Christmas shopping!!! I usually try to shop throughout the year. I have found that Target has the best after Christmas sale in January. Last year I bought the best gifts at the best prices. I also use this as a way to stock up for bday party gifts for the kids classmates.
Our usual goal is to buy each of the kids a big gift and then way too many others. . This year we are thinking a bigger wooden play set for the backyard. I'm also thinking I may get sucked into the American Girl doll stuff. Now gifts for family and friends I do a mixture of making and buying. I love to make purses and have an embroidery machine. I usually do the purses for the kids teachers and they always love them. I also buy my niece and nephews gifts throughout the year. I have also started doing magazine subscriptions for the older niece/nephews. You can get great prices on ebay for the magazines.
Now for my husband I need to start thinking.

[Sarah S.]

My comment is in the form of a post on my site. I didn't want to take up and entire page with just my comment :)

[Nicole Barczak]

Well... I usually start by making a list of everyone we have to buy for. For nieces (who are fun to buy for) I try to pick up things here and there throughout the year. Everyone else... well, I always end up at the last minute just getting SOMETHING to have a gift... I wish I could take the time to really think and plan out the perfect gift for everyone but I always feel so rushed. Life is busy.

[Kelly]

I start early. Picking up things here and there. This year I am actually ahead of the game because I put some stuff away that I got on Christmas clearence last year. I do like to save some things until christmas time because I like shopping in the stores with the christmas music and decorations.

[jenny's mom/Tucker's GRAM]

ahhh, christmas shopping... with me traveling all over during the year i start early if i find things along my way, and i pick up things at home too. i've got a christmas bag started already. i try to spend equally on the kids. with tucker i spend whatever i want, plus he gets presents all year long so thats fun for both of us. we have little mini christmases all the time, :)i love to make all the girls something, i love to sew and quilt, frame pictures and all kinds of stuff to many to mention. i love to get home made gifts also. they mean so much i think. over the past 7 years i have made each of the girls in my life a rag quilt. they are time consuming but i just love the results and they all seem to really like them. the one i enjoyed giving the most was the one i gave to my mom. she knew how much work they were coz she had watched me make many over the years, but when she opened hers she started to cry and that made me cry, she never thought she would get one, but she was wrong. she's a pretty special girl in my life, i just wanted to share that christmas moment. last year i redid an old trunk for my daughter in-law, i finished at 11:00pm christmas eve, i sure enjoyed her surprised face christmas morning when we gave it to her! a gift i hope she can enjoy for a lifetime. anyways to make a long story short, ha, ha, i love christmas and the giving of gifts is a treat, i try to make the kids an interesting christmas with their stockings(the stocking stuffers have turned into large shopping bags, the stockings got to small. i enjoy filling them!!! last year i made tucker a stocking, that was alot of fun and interesting coz i made up the pattern myself. a one of a kind!! enough already, jenny tells me sometimes i rattle on too much, oh well...............tough...love ya babe,,,,,,happy shopping.....oh by the way guys don't buy us a horse shoe game, i finally found a nice old one at an antique store.

[amy]

For some reason, I usually can never get "into" shopping until a few weeks before Christmas. It just never feels "Christmasy" enough for me.

This year, I am all for getting it done early. I don't have an overwelmingly amount of stuff to buy or people to buy for. I will probably keep it simple.

Once I am done with the majoy stuff. I want to enjoy getting, the little, fun stuff which puts me in the Christmas spirit.

It's all about the season and the spirit that does it for me. I love everything about Christmas, except for trying to wrap the day before. I vow to have that all done this year, ahead of time.

[Mary]

As hard as I try to start my xmas shopping early it doesn't happen. I am usually running around crazy the week before. My list is not terribly long and I do try to set limits but for some reason I always get into the spirit of giving and go OVER BOARD! And I get very caught up in the details such as wrapping and add ons, etc. etc.
However, this year I have already purchased two gifts!