OMG...Christmas shopping in September!? I love those Gooseberry cookbooks and have bought a few for myself. That's the problem with shopping, I find too many things that I want!

I start shopping around December 8th. If I need to get something that will be hard to find like an XBox or Wii (both several years ago) I started in mid November.

I refuse to shop until after Turkey Day. I do my holidays in order! :-)

Now, I do admit that we don't buy a boatload of gifts for people. Only my hubby and 3 sons and our parents. Nieces and Nephews are included but they prefer to get money since they're teens.

All other brothers/sisters/inlaws etc. we don't exchange gifts. Everyone has everything they need, and when we get together just being together for dinner is enough.

I shop when the mood strikes. Many times during the year I'll pick up gifts at unique stores, boutiques, etc., with a certain person in mind. Many of these stores are ones that we find on our travels. I do supplement my shopping with a few choice on-line vendors. One of my favorites is The Vermont Country Store.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Vermont Country Store

"Everyone has everything they need, and when we get together just being together for dinner is enough." That describes my family perfectly! Several years ago, we decided to take take the emphasis off gifts and truly enjoy what Christmas means to us. For us, Christmas has religious meaning and it is a time for family and friends spending time together. We have no children in our immediate families (my brother just married a year ago - maybe he'll be the one to make my parents grandparents!).

What shopping I do, is done after Thanksgiving. Very soon after Thanksgiving. I occasionally have bought some Christmas items online, but no special websites. I prefer unique items - I am one who looks for just the right gift for an individual, so like Mrsmarv stated above, if I see something that is right for someone - regardless when that is, I will buy it.

tina

This year I started shopping early for the kids. Last year was awful financially due to medical bills and me being PG and I was sick at the thought of not having anything for the boys to open. We waited until the last minute since there wasn't money until then and DH and I shopped for 1 thing they both really wanted and then I took each boy separately to the Family Dollar store for them to pick out something for eachother and their daddy. They had so much fun and me too!

The only thing I enjoyed about the last minute deal was just being w/ each one on their own while they picked out their dollar items. That and making family ornaments w/ them of the family to give to their daddy.

This year is better but I am still cautious so I started shopping for the kids in July. Each wk. I go to Wal-mart (I know) and pick up 1 thing for one of them and squirrel it away for the Aug, Sept and Nov B-days and Christmas. They don't get a huge amount of stuff but I want to be able to relax and decorate and bake w/ the kids the way that I enjoy so much. Since I work 2 days 13 hrs each and 1 half day and DH works 6 days a wk. I relish every down moment I have w/ them to snuggle, bake, watch movies, make things and most anything else that pops into their heads.

Love Gooseberry patch! Thanks for reminding me and I also just got my 1st Vermont Country Store catalog this wk.

Kids grow up and people pass away ... my list keeps getting shorter. Dh & I don't exchange and neither do my brother & sister. I'll bake cookies & make candy to send to them, but no purchased gifts. On dh's side we exchange with his 3 brothers & their wives. I buy 3 of the same gifts every year. Last year it was pottery from the local farmers'/arts market. This year I scored 3 Cuisinart ice cream makers for $15/each when Kohl's was having an unbelievable online sale. I think that means I'm done. ;)

Sheesh. I haven't even started back-to-school shopping and you people are talking about Christmas?! What happened to Labor Day, Halloween, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving?

Nothing like Christmas shopping in August to make a busy girl feel inadequate.

LOL, sar. For me, only Thanksgiving is the one I do a lot of work on. But shopping? I like to give unique gifts so I start making my list in September, and order or buy as I go along.

I absolutely LOATHE shopping "in person." I hate malls with a passion, and since I have so many to buy for I do a lot of it online.

See, my family is small, so I've had to double up on gifts for the kids because of that. And now we spend TG and Christmas with my DIL's family who are a blast, so now we all give gifts to each other as if we've known each other for years!

I've had so much fun the past few years because this is the first time in my adult life I've ever been able to buy for a female. And multiple females! I was always the only girl in my family!

My Christmas cards came in yesterday. LOL. But that was a fluke. I was looking at a website and went "Wow!" when I saw these cards, and I went ahead and bought them. Addressing them is a whole 'nuther story. :)

Also, one reason I begin early is because I don't like wrapping presents anymore. I like buying the wrapping paper but not the wrapping itself. lol

I don't like wrapping presents anymore...

That's why they make gift bags. ;)

I do Yule rather than Christmas, and tend to start pondering it fairly early so that if I am going to make something or quest for an oddity (such as on eBay) I have the time to do so. I hate shopping to begin with and really try hard not to enter a store except for grocery stores and pharmacies from mid-November to mid-January because it all just about drives me postal.

I have a pretty short list primarily comprised of "chosen family" - my blood family is not a close one at all due to multiple divorces and strange custody arrangements when we sibs were growing up, so among my blood family I only do gifts to my mother and one toddler niece. (The adult siblings agreed about ten years ago to stop exchanging gifts with each other and nieces/nephews over 21. It was all just getting out of hand.) Most of the people in my chosen family are around the poverty line income-wise so we put a very strict limit on the cost of gifts (and that includes materials to make homemade gifts) and we're talking like $5. Last year virtually all my Yule gifts came from the Edward R. Hamilton bookstore which specializes in remaindered books at extremely deep discounts; because they have such a peculiar selection, I was able to get a "couldn't be more perfect" book for each person on my list and stay under budget (okay, I admit it, I did average it out so one person's $3 book let me get a $7 book for someone else, but it was agreed by all that that was fair). Luckily everyone who's likely to get a present from me is as much of a book maniac as I am.

One of my favorite sites for odd and funny gifts for women is Femail Creations. Lots of cool stuff with a feminist bent but they don't smash it upside your head with a sledgehammer; I think they try to have as many of their products made by women or women-owned companies as possible.

For my hippie and "alternative" friends, Northern Sun is my go-to place. Conservatives' heads are likely to explode, so just don't go there. You have been warned.

One of my physio buddies gave me a huge beading needle today so Fire Mountain Gems may get an order for gemstone beads to make some jewelry. I've been wanting to do some Pagan prayer beads for a few years now and never seem to get to it, maybe this will be the year.

Rolled beeswax candles are so easy to make a child can do it, and the markup on these in the stores is just INSANE. (In fact, it's for this reason that they're nifty gifts for a kid to make to give to teachers, Scout leaders, etc. because they are so cheap to make but look like they're not, and they're both consumable and easily regiftable.) I buy my wax and wicks from General Wax. They have plenty of premade candles too, of course, but regular candles are getting to be such a boring gift IMO, especially the stinky ones (most of which I can't even keep in the house until I can regift them, they're so strong).

I hate wrapping presents - gift bags all the way. I bought a box of 100 plain brown and white recycled-paper ones in mixed sizes a few years ago for something like $20, and pick up tissue paper when it's on sale for 25 cents a pack after the holidays. Works for any occasion and no fuss. I also save any gift bags, nifty boxes, etc. that I receive and reuse them. Maybe I'll see if DH can get the hang of making those little origami gift boxes if I do jewelry - I've never been able to get them to come out right.

Johnmarie, I put all your links in my Favorite Places. Thanks! They look really interesting.

Natal, I do both. I wrap and use gift bags. The larger or heavier items are usually wrapped.

My grandson's will all be wrapped. :)

I would love Christmas with your family. I love the baking, the traditions, the get-togethers, etc. Kids today get so much *STUFF*. Of course we want our children to have plenty of gifts, but so many go overboard. Your kids will have wonderful memories of the time you spent with them preparing for the holidays and doing those special things (like baking).

I love wrapping and making pretty packages. I rarely go to malls, but the little shops, even antique shops, etc. are great for those unique, meaningful gifts.

Another thing we have done as a family (in lieu of gifts) is to give to a favorite charity or adopt a family (with children) that needs help. We've really enjoyed that.

tina

My Xmas shopping is done.

I simply make the list up of 'acceptable stuff'; wait for the huge, huge bargins to hit the web, and order. For instance; got little dude a Wii last year. Xmas time; they were either full price or sold out. I got mine in June for half price.

No point in fighting the....anything at Xmas.

I just found a new website that I'm extremely pleased with. Link below.

I like to send cards for special occasions, and I usually don't have time to go to a card store to search for an individual card.

This website has thousands of cards. I ordered about ten (reasonably priced too, and you can buy individual or boxed), and they are THE highest quality cards I've seen in a long time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paper Greeting Cards

Fortunately my gang doesn't mind where a gift come from, so I garage sale all year around and find "the" perfect gift for all of them eventually. DH and I also make everyone a gift from the heart! (and the woodworking shop, the kitchen or the sewing machine)