Christmas 2017

[scottmel]

The only reason I see to tone it down is because you want to. Christmas is extravagant around here. I do not believe that it has turned my kids into greedy people who will some day be debt-ridden. It's a fun time that we all enjoy.

Agree with this. My DD18 has gotten everything her whole life. Being an only has benefits. She is not greedy AT ALL. 9 out of 10 times she will say I don't need it mom, save your money. That being said, she NEVER gives a christmas list but I always have an over the top surprise for her. That is part of the magic of christmas to me, along with the adopt a family, shoebox kids, all of which we do. I know my DD would miss that over the top gift. Having said that, you have 4 kids and perhaps the older ones need to phase out of the over the top and let the younger ones enjoy since they are younger and don't have the same number of christmases as the older ones do. If it is a financial burden for sure cut that all out but maybe it is more of a hassle with the 4 than it would be if were 2 while the older two enjoyed a more modest christmas?

 

[erin22]

Ugh, my stepdaughter gave me a Christmas list last night. She is asking for a pair of Tory Burch sandals that retail for $228. My budget for her is usually $400-$500, so I can get them for her, but it will kill me a little inside to spend that much on what are essentially flip flops...Hoping for a black friday sale...

 

[mommy2mrb]

Finished my mom today.

Plus family decided to do small exchange again this year with siblings DD and I are going to local holiday fair Saturday so hope to find things there.

Still need a couple things for two nephews.

 

[melanielll]

Ugh, my stepdaughter gave me a Christmas list last night. She is asking for a pair of Tory Burch sandals that retail for $228. My budget for her is usually $400-$500, so I can get them for her, but it will kill me a little inside to spend that much on what are essentially flip flops...Hoping for a black friday sale...

In some ways, I feel your pain. But overall - I like this kind of Christmas gift. It is something I would NEVER buy one of my kids ordinarily. And it is something that they want, so that makes it perfect for Christmas. A splurge - but one that is within the budget. Something special. Plus - it makes the rest of your shopping easier because you have a lot less to spend.

 

[Lvsdisney]

Went to Target to see if they had any good costumes for DD for dressing up. Found a Tiana costume, $10. It's not fancy, but she'll love it and it would actually be nice for our trip since it's short and not floor length.

 

[Alexle2007]

DS finally gave me his list which consists of 2 things: Build your LEGO men and some type of multi-level surface to have battles with his friends with the LEGO men, army men, etc. The men are easy, although I am not very good at putting them together. He was very specific that it was not sets. The multi-level has been stumped. Maybe a military base but everything I see seems like it is for little kids. (DS is in 6th grade so buying something that says 3 and up seems like it might not be quite right.

 

[la79al]

DS finally gave me his list which consists of 2 things: Build your LEGO men and some type of multi-level surface to have battles with his friends with the LEGO men, army men, etc. The men are easy, although I am not very good at putting them together. He was very specific that it was not sets. The multi-level has been stumped. Maybe s military base but everything I see seems like it is for little kids. (DS is in 6th grade so buying something that says 3 and up seems like it might no be quite right.

Maybe look at a hobby store for something used for landscapes?

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

DS finally gave me his list which consists of 2 things: Build your LEGO men and some type of multi-level surface to have battles with his friends with the LEGO men, army men, etc. The men are easy, although I am not very good at putting them together. He was very specific that it was not sets. The multi-level has been stumped. Maybe a military base but everything I see seems like it is for little kids. (DS is in 6th grade so buying something that says 3 and up seems like it might not be quite right.

Maybe something home made - found this on pinterest:

I have an old train table I've been thinking about repurposing into something similar, those are pretty easy to find at thrift stores or garage sales if you are into that kind of thing.

 

[dalmatian7]

got my dd a Vera Bradley backpack and ID case for 40% off the sale price.

I am so kicking myself because I read that email, shopped a little and thought "Ill get back to it tomorrow". (palm to forehead)I didn not pay attention to the end date. I am hoping for another one in the next few weeks

 

[Hikergirl]

I am so kicking myself because I read that email, shopped a little and thought "Ill get back to it tomorrow". (palm to forehead)I didn not pay attention to the end date. I am hoping for another one in the next few weeks

This is the first I have shopped VB in a long time, but IIRC they do run sales like this often. With the holidays coming I'm sure they will have another one soon.

 

[bitty246]

I am so kicking myself because I read that email, shopped a little and thought "Ill get back to it tomorrow". (palm to forehead)I didn not pay attention to the end date. I am hoping for another one in the next few weeks

Vera Bradley is on Zulily today. They have the big plush throws for 24.99 which is a great price!

 

[Disflyer226]

I am so kicking myself because I read that email, shopped a little and thought "Ill get back to it tomorrow". (palm to forehead)I didn not pay attention to the end date. I am hoping for another one in the next few weeks

VB is on Zulily today but it says items won't be shipped for 4-6 weeks.

 

[seb65]

TRU has video games - Buy one get one at 40%. Is this a good deal? Or would Game Stop have better deals soon?

 

[wenrob]

TRU has video games - Buy one get one at 40%. Is this a good deal? Or would Game Stop have better deals soon?

What types of games are you looking for? Right now Target has buy 2 get 1. If you’re buying 3/$59 games, Target is the better deal. However, Switch games are NOT included in Target’s sale. They ARE included in TRUs sale. I don’t know much about Game Stop’s sales but having a quick look at the used prices for newer games TRU would be better based on the used price.

Thanks for posting about the TRU sale. I went ahead and grabbed the two Switch games I was after.

 

[seb65]

What types of games are you looking for? Right now Target has buy 2 get 1. If you’re buying 3/$59 games, Target is the better deal. However, Switch games are NOT included in Target’s sale. They ARE included in TRUs sale. I don’t know much about Game Stop’s sales but having a quick look at the used prices for newer games TRU would be better based on the used price.

Thanks for posting about the TRU sale. I went ahead and grabbed the two Switch games I was after.

Thank you!! The problem with the Target sale, is that I only need 2 of the Xbox games. I do need Switch games, so if those are included, I guess I will go with TRU. I was hoping to do 2 Xbox and 1 Switch so was disappointed in the Target sale.

 

[wenrob]

Thank you!! The problem with the Target sale, is that I only need 2 of the Xbox games. I do need Switch games, so if those are included, I guess I will go with TRU. I was hoping to do 2 Xbox and 1 Switch so was disappointed in the Target sale.

I’ve never seen Target exclude video games before so just assumed it was Nintendo. Now I’m not so sure with them being included in the TRU sale. Target seems to be getting stricter and stricter with promos (and I’ve noticed a lot of things have risen in price). I used the 25% off one toy coupon yesterday and it said right on the screen 1 used, 1 left so I tried to use it again today, no go. In the past if you did different transactions you could use it again. I ended up coming home, texting for the coupon with DH’s phone and ordering online. The Cartwheel Daily Toy promo has been 50% off one toy everyday. Now it’s *up to* 50%. Today’s was 30%. I did clean up with the board game sale though. The ones that weren’t included were ones I wasn’t interested in anyway.

 

[bitty246]

Whew.. it's been a busy couple of days for me on the shopping front!

Had a bit of a fiasco when Mattell.com shipped the Barbie Malibu Mall to my front porch in a box labeled "DOLLS TOYS Barbie Malibu Mall"... :O I tried to play it off like it was delivered to the wrong house when my DS11 yells "No mom, there's your name on it right there!" UGHHH. I told my daughter when we looked at it online it must have been ordered by mistake and I'd have to send it back. Of course she was eager to keep it but I said it wasn't in our budget, so it had to go, she can still put it on her list for Santa and see what happens! Also "not within our budget" is that crazy expensive LOL big surprise ball. I kept hoping she would lose interest, but she actually prioritized it over the ipod touch she was wanting. I normally wouldn't even consider it, it's basically throwing away $75! However...

My DH and I needed to upgrade our phones badly and were planning to anyway, so we took advantage of the $200 Target gc offer and ended up with $400! All of the LOL toys in the store were sold out, also all sold out online I'm guessing it's one of the hot toys this year. While there, I grabbed 3 games on the B2G1 free for the boys. Didn't notice until I got home that they overcharged me for the 2 more expensive games, so went back first thing this morning and received $30 credit. While there I thought I would just peek over to see and they had 1 and only 1 of those LOL big surprise on the shelf! I used the 25% off toy coupon and applied the $10 off %50 toy purchase and a $10 gc I had from another promo, so before tax, I paid $33! Not too shabby!!!

She was also wanting one of the Our Generation dolls that has the same name as her and we have not been able to find it in store or online since last year. I was in the store 2 weeks ago and noticed one was in stock so I went ahead and paid full price (which I NEVER do!). Well, now the dolls are on sale for $22 so I went in and got a price adjustment, plus applied the 25% off coupon from my husband's text so ended up paying $17, down from $29.99. I feel pretty good about that!

Also got the 2 youngest some union suit jammies. Unicorn and deer for DD8, Minecraft and Dog for DS5

So far for the girl child:
Monster High dollhouse ($23)
Monster High styling head(s) ($5)
Barbie Malibu Mall with 2 dolls and accessories ($39)
Our Generation doll ($17)
LOL Big Surprise ($33)
Hoodie jammies (2) ($25)
Last thing left to get is the refurb ipod touch ($129) from Gamestop, a book or box set of books and stocking stuffers. I'm hoping GS has a special on BF or we can trade some things for credit to help bring that price down.

My youngest DS5 will be easy. They have a Pirates of the Caribbean toy set at Costco I think he'll like. He needs a new bigger bike and we'll probably get him a Nintendo 2DS and a Lego set. Some small filler gifts will round him out.
DS5 so far has:
Lego Ninjago The Movie Game for PS4 ($30)
Hoodie Jammies ($25)

DS11 still has me stumped. All I have for him so far is 1 video game and Gift cards to the Main Event. Hopefully Barnes and Noble will have their 40% coupon on BF and I can get him a box set. He's mentioned being bored with what he has and needing some more. He has a kindle fire, but the boy likes his books! He's been wanting some more Pokémon cards and that's it. I got nothing else....

 

[wenrob]

Whew.. it's been a busy couple of days for me on the shopping front!

Had a bit of a fiasco when Mattell.com shipped the Barbie Malibu Mall to my front porch in a box labeled "DOLLS TOYS Barbie Malibu Mall"... :O I tried to play it off like it was delivered to the wrong house when my DS11 yells "No mom, there's your name on it right there!" UGHHH. I told my daughter when we looked at it online it must have been ordered by mistake and I'd have to send it back. Of course she was eager to keep it but I said it wasn't in our budget, so it had to go, she can still put it on her list for Santa and see what happens! Also "not within our budget" is that crazy expensive LOL big surprise ball. I kept hoping she would lose interest, but she actually prioritized it over the ipod touch she was wanting. I normally wouldn't even consider it, it's basically throwing away $75! However...

My DH and I needed to upgrade our phones badly and were planning to anyway, so we took advantage of the $200 Target gc offer and ended up with $400! All of the LOL toys in the store were sold out, also all sold out online I'm guessing it's one of the hot toys this year. While there, I grabbed 3 games on the B2G1 free for the boys. Didn't notice until I got home that they overcharged me for the 2 more expensive games, so went back first thing this morning and received $30 credit. While there I thought I would just peek over to see and they had 1 and only 1 of those LOL big surprise on the shelf! I used the 25% off toy coupon and applied the $10 off %50 toy purchase and a $10 gc I had from another promo, so before tax, I paid $33! Not too shabby!!!

She was also wanting one of the Our Generation dolls that has the same name as her and we have not been able to find it in store or online since last year. I was in the store 2 weeks ago and noticed one was in stock so I went ahead and paid full price (which I NEVER do!). Well, now the dolls are on sale for $22 so I went in and got a price adjustment, plus applied the 25% off coupon from my husband's text so ended up paying $17, down from $29.99. I feel pretty good about that!

Also got the 2 youngest some union suit jammies. Unicorn and deer for DD8, Minecraft and Dog for DS5

So far for the girl child:
Monster High dollhouse ($23)
Monster High styling head(s) ($5)
Barbie Malibu Mall with 2 dolls and accessories ($39)
Our Generation doll ($17)
LOL Big Surprise ($33)
Hoodie jammies (2) ($25)
Last thing left to get is the refurb ipod touch ($129) from Gamestop, a book or box set of books and stocking stuffers. I'm hoping GS has a special on BF or we can trade some things for credit to help bring that price down.

My youngest DS5 will be easy. They have a Pirates of the Caribbean toy set at Costco I think he'll like. He needs a new bigger bike and we'll probably get him a Nintendo 2DS and a Lego set. Some small filler gifts will round him out.
DS5 so far has:
Lego Ninjago The Movie Game for PS4 ($30)
Hoodie Jammies ($25)

DS11 still has me stumped. All I have for him so far is 1 video game and Gift cards to the Main Event. Hopefully Barnes and Noble will have their 40% coupon on BF and I can get him a box set. He's mentioned being bored with what he has and needing some more. He has a kindle fire, but the boy likes his books! He's been wanting some more Pokémon cards and that's it. I got nothing else....

I think you are my shopping soulmate, lol. Nice scores! Glad to know I’m not the only one that uses their spouses phone for more coupons.

eta: so THAT’S what the empty shelf and three per customer limit was at Target yesterday.

 

[bitty246]

I think you are my shopping soulmate, lol. Nice scores! Glad to know I’m not the only one that uses their spouses phone for more coupons.

eta: so THAT’S what the empty shelf and three per customer limit was at Target yesterday.

LOL! I was giving another Mom some tips while I was there! I'm all about the savings! My husband always looks at me like I'm crazy when I say text the word "TOY" to this number! Hahaha. But he does it! He told me once I needed a hobby. I said this IS my hobby!

So the LOL things and Fingerling monkeys look to be the must have toy this year. At least the monkeys are around $15. I know how this big LOL will play out. The only time we'll see it all together is when she opens it. Approx 30 seconds later, at least 25% of it will vanish never to be see again. It kind of feels like throwing money in the trash. I was dead set against getting it but with the deals, it is a bit easier to swallow. It's the influence of these Youtubers. She's watched grown people open them up on Youtube and play with them. (craaazy! ) She knows every single one of them contains the exact same thing but she's ok with it because some of them are "limited edition" and "rare" Whaaattt? LOL

 

[wenrob]

LOL! I was giving another Mom some tips while I was there! I'm all about the savings! My husband always looks at me like I'm crazy when I say text the word "TOY" to this number! Hahaha. But he does it! He told me once I needed a hobby. I said this IS my hobby!

So the LOL things and Fingerling monkeys look to be the must have toy this year. At least the monkeys are around $15. I know how this big LOL will play out. The only time we'll see it all together is when she opens it. Approx 30 seconds later, at least 25% of it will vanish never to be see again. It kind of feels like throwing money in the trash. I was dead set against getting it but with the deals, it is a bit easier to swallow. It's the influence of these Youtubers. She's watched grown people open them up on Youtube and play with them. (craaazy! ) She knows every single one of them contains the exact same thing but she's ok with it because some of them are "limited edition" and "rare" Whaaattt? LOL

I was all proud of myself scoring a couple of those Fingerlings then a commercial came on and my kids declared them creepy. I’m sure it made someone’s day when I returned them. Mine watch all those YouTube videos as well but they didn’t mention those. Guess I’m getting off lucky.

When I laid out my plan to get Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones for their birthday DH just nodded and smiled but I know he thinks I’m nuts, lol.