i don't know where the past moths have gone...dh texted our kids for lists...we have 9 grands to buy for and i follow a very strict budget...however, as much as dh hates gift cards or cash, the older kids would love to get goodies on their own...none of them need toys...

I am working on my dishtowels for the ladies in our family, we mostly give money. Two little ones will get a little something, but they get money too to put in their savings.

Sue

Have been getting stuff for the little ones for awhile now, don't like to spend it all at once!

I keep my eye out all year round. I bought less than usual this year, but I'm sure I'll catch up.

I started last year after Christmas at the sales. I have 75% of my gifts not only bought, but wrapped!! In fact the other day I bought 2 gifts for next Christmas! I like to be on top of things, LOL.

Okay Casey, you get the prize for most organized! But, what if something needs to be returned?

I used to go the day after Thanksgiving, but I don't think I will this year. I do hope to streamline a bit, but I say that every year.

I only shop online so yes. We also only buy for the little ones so it is much easier all around. Bought my grand kids more wooden blocks. A quality set to add to the one I gave DGD for her birthday. It gets used daily. Also ordered some clothing for next Spring/Summer for DGD from a clothing line I love on her but only buy on clearance. DGS will get what clothing he needs now since he is in a growth spurt. The other gifts will be for activities, swimming lesson fees etc. since they don't need any more toys.

I am constantly looking for things that are interesting for my family. Sometimes get lucky. I have 4 GK, all are over 18. Yes they do like money to get exactly what they like. But have watched their faces, they really like to have a gift or two to open. A solar powered flashlight for their vehicles was a hit. Even a tin of mixed nuts or their favorite cookies , made by me brings big smiles.

5 grands done! 2 oldest will get iTune gift cards. Just got confirmation that one gift shipped to me from Toys R Us today. Thank goodness it's for my 5 yo dgd who loves dinosaurs! I thought it would be easy to find her some dino Legos, but it seems that the Jurassic Park Legos are almost impossible to find.

Also have 3 grands b'days, January 7, 7, and 12th. Now to figure out those.

I've got 2 gifts left to get and I'll be done. I too hit clearance right after Christmas to stock up and I try to buy a gift a paycheck.

My goal is to be done before Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the holiday season. The years where I'm not done, I get stressed out and don't enjoy the time.

A tip if any of you are shopping for little ones, they always move last years toys to clearance around August, its a great time to pick up gifts! Since my kids don't watch TV, they don't hound me about the latest and greatest toy that the commercials are trying to convince the kids they need and they are always happy with what they get.

Got my 2 year old a singing dancing Mickey for 10 dollars that was 40 last year.

I also like to get things as I see them, but have been behind in recent years. Chanukah is pretty early -- first light is Dec. 6 -- so I have to get a move on. I decided a few weeks ago that at least six of the teenage girls, to whom I have to ship, are getting jewelry rolls with earrings, and maybe a couple a bracelet or necklace if they're inexpensive enough. I checked with the moms and they all do wear pierced earrings. Just yesterday, I did a binge on Etsy. The cloth jewelry rolls I found there are better designed than any of the commercial suede ones that are affordable.

I also found a pair of studs with semi-precious stones and a pair of dangles (bead and/or wire work) for each girl. I was going to make the earrings at some point, but life got the better of me. Handcrafted from Etsy is a great alternative, and since I'm strictly amateur, the prices from the pros are pretty much what I'd have to pay for materials. For the one young man (brother of three of the girls) I found a great leather kit with a hanger and pockets, monogrammed TSA approved bottles for it, and a set with bergamot beard groom and a beard brush. :) Since he obviously doesn't shave. :) Boys are so hard!

I have to get on the books (all get books). Then gifts for the tweens, then the babies. All in order of difficulty. :) I've been tearing ideas out of catalogs for the adults, but haven't progressed any farther on that front. Still, with the 7 older teens settled, I feel so accomplished!

Marcopolo, I'm with you! I've never seen a face light up over a gift card. I'll get a little something nice from a department store with a gift receipt, so it can be the same thing as a gift card if it's returned, but since I try to choose something nice, even if it doesn't cost much, it usually is kept. A Macy's card just doesn't have that you-are-loved impact, however much they say that's what they want, unless it comes from those who aren't able to get out and shop at all, and then it's the thought that counts, that they troubled themselves enough just to get a gift card, not the dollars toward the new whatsis.

• I've finished, I think, although I might pick up one or two more things for my mother. I keep my list on hand year-round and pick up things as I find them. The teens get iTunes cards wrapped up in boxes of cookies so those are the easiest gifts

I don't do Christmas shopping. Just my daughter and her husband to shop for....and I usually give them a handful of gift cards...sometimes just the money. Usually a couple to their favorite restaurants and to Best Buy or whatever. I'd rather do that than buy something they wouldn't want. It is a hassle to return a gift that they don't want, so this works for me. My husband and I don't exchange gifts. If I see something I want, I buy it. He never spends any money on himself. No grandchildren and only a grandcat....and she gets a gift card too.

I don't do Christmas shopping either. I only buy for my 2 sons and their girlfriends and my husband. My kids get gift certificates for a nice restaurant and then a cheque, the girlfriends I will buy a little something for them and then my husband and i buy what we want for ourselves and have the other wrap it.

I've been saying for years that "proper" gifts between adults are essentially pointless.

What I, or other adults I know want, is either too expensive to be a gift or cheap enough that I (we, they) already bought it themselves.

Movies, music, clothes, etc are cheap enough that if I want them, I buy them when I see them.

More expensive things (chandalier, new couch, new car) are WAY out of the gift giving price range (for me at least).

Christmas can be difficult but for birthdays, I've stopped trying to give tangible gifts. Instead I give experiences.

A day at the spa, getting pedicures and gourmet coffee, spending a few hours antique shopping, going to a custom art place where you get to paint your own pottery or design/ paint your own work of art, tickets for us to go see the new play, ballet, symphony etc, these are the gifts I give now to adults I know.

And yes, if I can't give an experience, then I give a gift card or cash to go towards their larger wish items that I can't feasibly afford on my own.

I was done a month ago - other than hubby's gift - which is one $1 item from the Dollar Tree - and I'm going there today.

Like many here, I buy all year when I find things, and the handmade things were completed long ago (our family typically make our gifts), and we try to add a new board game to the collection each year. We like to play games when we get together (have "Apples-to-Apples", will travel - one of our favorite games).

We have a $10 gift limit for Christmas, but indulge everyone a lot more for their birthday. We're not into the gift-giving hype. You will also find "creative" gift wrap in our family. That's almost as fun as the gift inside.

I only shop every other month, and November is a shopping month, so I have everything done by the end of November for Christmas. Then I can just relax and do some holiday baking.

-Grainlady

I haven't, but we buy very few Christmas gifts and can be done in a short time. We really only buy for DH's three young nephews. My sister and I usually exchange small gifts - a candle, ornament, etc. We make homemade limoncello and give it to most of the family, friends and neighbors. It's been a big hit. DH and I go to a special candlelight dinner at a historic house turned restaurant and that's our gift to each other.

With a number of great grandchildren I shop through the year, hopefully on sale and, like others, have done a lot of wrapping by now. Since books are one of our favorite gifts, I take a lot of time fitting them to the giftee and hope there are no returns! Like the thought of making one's wrapping paper, but no bright ideas there. Suggestions welcome.

Pillog, would you mind sharing some of your Chanukah traditions? Growing up my best friend was Jewish and followed many traditions and when I was a teen was friends with another girl whose family celebrated both Christmas and Chanukah. I don't know much about Chanukah other than it being a holiday of lights and lighting of the menorah is a large part of it. I remember my friends getting a small gift each day and I remember gold "coins". I remember spinning the dreidl (sp). Can you share your special foods and other traditions. Thank you

Texas_Gem - One year I did get a new car for Christmas. I just had to pick the colour. I felt like I was doing Christmas the "rich" peoples way. And believe me, we can't do anything the "rich" peoples way but I do have to admit, it was kinda cool!

Ellen, I usually buy things that I know won't be returned. For example, some of the gifts I have bought this year are framed prints from local artists, a cozy throw, items from my sisters' and niece's and nephews' wish lists, etc. I do have some gift receipts, I bought items where I knew things could be returned after Christmas if need be.

16 grand nieces and nephews done - 12 youngest get magazine subs, teens get a gift card. Picked up 4 bargain "Santa" gifts at BB&B this am......

Satine, I'll be happy to share about Chanukah later today when I have time. I'll start a new thread.

I like giving gifts. Getting them too, but that's the least of it, for me. I know a guy who does the guy Christmas Eve Christmas shopping because he just can't be bothered having to think of nice presents, so he goes to Walgreens and buys random stuff. A lot of As Seen On TV items. :) Some of them can be funny, and sort of the comic relief in a sea of presents, but he totally doesn't get the heartfelt part. I started buying the same thing (different colors/styles but same) for all those girls once they'd outgrown individually chosen toys and things. They're happy to have nice wrapped packages to open. I sent WrapSacks one year, cloth bags for presents, and they were disappointed not to have paper and ribbons. In the scheme of wasted packaging, a few wrapped presents aren't that big a deal and I save my eco-efforts for the poor sufferers at home. :)

We always have a book and a toy for all the kids, and a book and something more grown up for the teens. At a certain point, the local kids drift into adulthood and get whatever little something the adults get. We make a big donation to the food bank or somewhere similar in honor of our family's get together, and just have a token beyond that for the adults. Last year, everyone got a Seed Gem in a little organza pouch. Pretty. Fun to open. Reusable. :) Each pretty hexagon box comes with a few seeds and a growing medium in a little plastic bag. You put the seeds in the medium, in the bag in the box, and water it as directed until you have a good start, then pull out the plastic and plant the whole thing, including the box. They have flowering plants and herbs.

We do personal presents among the adults in the immediate family, and often draw names for one adult in the larger family. Nice things that we've chosen specifically to please someone. It's not about what someone can afford, but taking the time and interest to get or make them something nice. There's a price limit on the exchange, but I can always find something cool.

I'm not expressing this well, on how to do it or anything, but one of my great joys is finding gifts for people that are intriguing and enriching.

I just give cash and 2 items every year. A large pkg of beef jerky and sponge candy from a local shop for each person. The adults get more cash than the children.

I haven't done anything yet. Since I never have a clue as to what my nieces want, they'll get gift certificates. My brother and his wife get interesting foods from e-gourmet and the like, along with a few small things that might appeal to them. I now have a great nephew, and he'll get 6 - 9 month infant clothing and maybe something a half year old infant can interact with. The infant clothing at this time of year has to be chosen on-line as I'm in New England and he's in Florida -- he'd suffocate in the warm clothing for sale up here!

I won't see any of them for the Holidays as I've broken my ankle.

On the other hand, I just got an order form for holiday cards from the American Wildlife Federation, so I'll be ordering boxes very soon.