<p>OK… fess up. Who has kids (or themselves) that are about to pee in their pants waiting for midnight?</p>
<p>Our pattern has always been to forego the midnight drama at bookstores, head over to Sam’s Club when they open Saturday morning at 9AM, where we will not have to stand in line, and where we will pay less than the bookstores. Daughters then come home and hole up in rooms until they’re done. When they choose to eat, go to the bathroom, etc., the book goes with them.</p>
<p>Sam’s. That’s a great idea. Thanks.</p>
<p>When Harry Potter #6 came out, I went to Kroger’s at midnight (the day it came out). There were no lines, and the shelves were fully stocked with lots of unsold Harry Potter books. I plan to go to Kroger’s tonight to pick up my book.</p>
<p>What time will UPS come through with the Amazon pre-order? Who would have guessed back in '98 that their kid would have grown up with these characters? That an 18 year old would put it at the top of her birthday list?</p>
<p><em>Someone</em> from this family will be at Sam’s tmw morning. They open for Business members (which include us) at 7:00 AM. They’ve said they have no chance of running out. The only question is which someone will be over there and whether it will be at 7:00 or a bit later.</p>
<p>One thing’s for sure - I won’t be the first one at our house to read the book.</p>
<p>According to the tracking information, my Amazon pre-order is at a warehouse a few miles away, and I want it nowwww.</p>
<p>My apartment complex’s leasing office (which accepts packages for tenants) doesn’t open until 10 AM on the weekends. I think I am going to camp out there!</p>
<p>(I’m pretty serious about avoiding spoilers, and today I was waiting for an appointment when two women, one of whom had apparently read the book already somehow, started talking. I couldn’t stop listening! 
I only heard one tidbit, but it’s something I didn’t want to know.)</p>
<p>I can not wait for this book. I am considering just staying up all night reading, but part of me doesn’t want it to end, so I want to let it drag on and read it for a few weeks. </p>
<p>Haha, I agree molliebatmit. I have been avoiding media the last few days and the first words to everyone I work with for the past few days have been “DO NOT TALK ABOUT HARRY POTTER 7 WITH ME!”.</p>
<p>All three of us are leaving for a Harry Potter party around 10pm. D is going to stay up all night reading, I will attempt to do so…TheMom is more conventionally sensible. </p>
<p>D is going in Hufflepuff robes, sweater, and tie with wand. I’m still trying to figure out what outlandish combo of Muggle clothing I can wear.</p>
<p>Also, I’m missing Dumbledore and McGonnigle from the latest set of cards but I have a couple of Hagrids, a Snape, and a Voldemort as trade bait.</p>
<p>I have also been attempting to avoid spoilers, although some insensitive people on CC have posted them without warning, so I know some things that I wish I didn’t. But that still won’t take away from my experience. I plan on savoring ever word of the last book!</p>
<p>Yeah, it is really annoying me that people want to ruin it for everyone. I have read them since I was like 11 or 10 and this is a big thing for me. I too have heard some things, and I just don’t understand why people are so inconsiderate. But yeah, you just have to enjoy it as much as possible.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that there are cases of things like ex-girlfriends and boyfriends sending unsuspecting e-mails to their exes with the spoilers inside. Nasty. I’ve avoided the NYT review and haven’t had the TV on.</p>
<p>Both of my kids are going to Harry Potter party tonight.</p>
<p>I read the NYT review thinking that it was just another article about HP. It had like one spoiler, and it was nothing monumental. </p>
<p>And then I’m browsing CC and someone wrote a huge spoiler in a thread similar to this one. That person apologized, they said it was an accident and was very remorseful, etc. So, I got over it and moved on. And then the very same person wrote an even bigger spoiler in their thread title a little while later. I was so upset. Thank god the Mods shut down the HP threads in the other forums, I guess teenagers aren’t mature enough to not purposely and maliciously ruin everyone else’s fun.</p>
<p>When I got up yesterday morning, my S had left a note by the coffee pot (guaranteed spot to make sure it’s seen right away.) It said–don’t read the NYT review. Apparently sometime in the middle of the night he’d heard about it (probably from Mugglenet.com), and he realized we might see it and not realize it might have any spoilers.</p>
<p>What a great kid!</p>
<p>I am still angry that I unsuspectingly saw a possible spoiler on a sign held up by a contestant at the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. Had to try really hard not to wish him to choke on a hot dog!</p>
<p>My daughter is at a HP party at an independent bookseller and will come right home to begin reading. My son ordered on Amazon but has decided to go to Kroger at midnight to pick up a copy. He is afraid UPS will not show up until the afternoon and is afraid he will hear spoilers before he can finish the book. I don’t know how my daughter is going to get her reading done as she is in a 4 week summer session with two classes. On Monday she has a group presentation and a 12 page paper due in both classes as well as a final exam on Tuesday. She is lucky that one of the classes doesn’t have a final exam.</p>
<p>Our Amazon pre-order is on its way… I hope it arrives early tomorrow. My kids are very eager to read it. I bought them each a copy, and then H and I will read them after they’re done. If it’s anything like last time, they’ll each finish them within a day!</p>
<p>TheMom has come up with a robe from her U/Missouri graduation, Class of '70. I’m going as a professor. How does Professor Snipe sound?</p>
<p>I just realized that my book (also ordered by Amazon) is coming via UPS. They don’t usually ship on Saturday. Do they have a special fleet of Harry Potter trucks?</p>
<p>I think they have to in this case, kathiep. Amazon promised to have the books by the July 21st, so I better get mine tomorrow.</p>
<p>I wonder what time it’s gonna come. The earlier, the better!</p>