Shopping
I just finished my Christmas shopping!
The only shopping I had left to do was for L. Z also needed to finalize his decisions on what he was getting his Dad, grandparents, and girlfriend. Mission accomplished. Z and I found all the items we wanted at Amazon. Now we just need to sit back and wait for our final gifts to arrive. Then we can have a marathon wrapping spree. In the meantime, we'll bake some goodies.
Birthday and Christmas gifts for SME's family were shipped off last Monday. I hope they'll get there on time with the partial postal strike in Canada.
Today I thought I'd share some of my favorite gifts to give, along with several of my favorite online shopping places.
For me, little kids are the easiest to shop for. When our kids were little, we always bought educational toys or toys that inspired imagination. Books, games, craft sets, educational software, action figures, legos and other building sets were always a hit at our house.
Senior citizens are the toughest to shop for. They've already got everything they need, and don't need any more useless knick-knacks cluttering up their lives. If you pay attention and listen, you can often come up with creative gifts for parents and grandparents. One year, we bought my Mom a new toilet for her birthday. She hated the way their old toilet sweated, so we got her a sweat-free toilet. With tight budgets, many seniors don't buy frivolous foodstuffs. Several times I've bought my Dad a box of frozen walleye fillets....he was thrilled. Lately, my parents have been into reading, listening to THEIR music, and watching old movies. Amazon is a treasure trove when it comes to these items. Last year I bought my Dad a CD of Teresa Brewer's greatest hits, and my Mom a CD of Al Martino's greatest hits. This year I ordered them a DVD set of James Stewart movies. Classic music and movies are often bargain priced at Amazon.
Games are one of my favorite gifts to give. Playing games together as a family not only sharpens our minds, but it brings us closer together. My favorite spot to buy games is AreYouGame. This store has something for everybody from toddlers to grandparents. I've bought several of these, for the brain-teaser lovers on my list.
My guys are total computer geeks. ThinkGeek has countless clever geeky items for the technology buff on your list.
My entire family loves the products at CafePress. Any sentiment can be expressed on their shirts, bumper stickers, magnets, mugs, and many other products.
Living in a small town, internet shopping has been our salvation. However, I always shop locally when I can.
posted by tshsmom @ 5:54 PM
18 comments
18 Comments:
I havent even started yet but have some idea's. Kora has asked for a CD player and some horses to go with her Barbies Grandma Carol has bought her so I am in between esp with our trip home. I am going to get them something small from us but dont know what yet..
Great ideas! I'll have to check them out. We're having a "modest" Christmas this year due to the economy, so I'm trying extra hard to get thoughtful gifts that don't cost a lot.
Tweets, you're lucky that the girls are still little. It's easy to find them inexpensive gifts at that age.
VV, Same here. I managed to get a lot of bang for my buck this year. Z decided he wanted to buy his grandparents a certain book. We got it used/like new at Amazon for $4! I also got free shipping on all of our orders.
Heh. Nice.
I'm getting gift cards and cash. Nobody complains about cash.
Btw, I've shopped at Think Geek more than once.
I love internet shopping. No worries about gasoline, parking, crowds, none of it. I understand about buying for seniors. When my mom was alive I had fun thinking of things for her. She had a small apartment and people kept buying knickknacks for her. She wrote letters, so stationery was good. She also liked chocolate, something else that won't clutter the place for long. :-)
ZS, knowing you, I'll bet you bought cubicle weapons at ThinkGeek. ;)
Squirl, I'm the same way. I love the creativity involved with finding the right gift!
When my Grandma was in the nursing home she loved it when I'd give her stamps, stationery and boxes of assorted greeting cards.
I have never shopped online - sort of. Gary does and I used his account once. I never know what to buy even generally, so I haven't a clue how to go about shopping online for whatever.
I've shopped for Tuffy P, but that's it so far...
Finished! I haven't started. Great, now I am panicking.
With you on shopping - prefer the net - doesn't take gas, less stress, not as many impulse buys for me at least - thanks for the cool links.
One year I had coffee mugs made for daughter of a photo I collaged of her and two children on vacation in Costa Rica - she cried.
You are so SUPER organized! I think you should write a book, and add a calendar with suggested start and finish dates - you could organize the rest of us and help us finish and make lots and lots of money doing it!
I was thinking today maybe it's an old lady thing - but my feet are cold all the time. Socks are so blasted expensive - they are good gifts for us old folks - maybe with some thongs and a bottle of wine. Oh sorry - I've been so funny lately. Har har.
Jeannie, you should try window shopping online sometime. That's how I started. Most online stores have a wishlist feature where you can save gift ideas you might want to buy later.
Mr A, I'm assuming you have more people on your list...
L announced that he's done with his shopping. Big deal! He only shopped for my Christmas and birthday gifts and a couple small things for Z.
ZF, don't panic! You still have plenty of time, if you start NOW. ;)
Gardenia, it's funny that you mentioned socks. One year I bought my MIL a pair of slipper-socks with a non-slip bottom. She LOVED them! Now I buy her a couple pairs every year for Christmas. The perfect gift doesn't have to be expensive.
We also exchange stocking stuffers with SME's family. These are usually gag gifts that we make, or something goofy that we find at the $ store. It's fun looking for this stuff year 'round.
I always told L that I wanted to make a calendar like that for us, but I never got roundtuit. I wanted to include stuff like oil changes for the vehicles and yard equipment. Slow months could include cleaning the stuff we tend to neglect, like the ceiling lights and laundry room. Someday...
What a great post! Why am I not surprised that you're done already, lol? Congrats and very good thinking there, Tshsmom. (((Hugs))))) As usual, am lost in admiration.
Bridg, shopping is easy when it's a labor of love! The tough part is sticking to our Christmas budget.
Even Richard would love the Jimmy Stewart movies, and he's not a senior yet! ;)
What size wreath are you looking for, for your porch?
SME, we'll probably borrow them after they watch them. It's a 6 movie set of his westerns.
VV, DOH, I was gonna answer that question, then I started talking to Pat and forgot.
Any size would work. A small wreath would work on the door wall. The front wall is 6x8 feet so there's no limit.
I was seriously thinking about buying pine garland at the after Christmas sales. Then I'd make a round framework and wind it around like a wreath. Then I could add a set of lights and all the ribbons, pine cones, and other doo-dads I've got laying around. I wonder if L would pitch a fit about having to hang a 6 ft wreath? *giggle*
DVD's and series are always good gifts - because they can be cycled through lots of family members...
Gardenia, at our house, books and DVDs are the gift that keeps on giving all year. ;)
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