I’m just about done… I’m a big Black Friday shopper, not so much for the deals(though I got some good ones) but for the fun and the time to get it done.
I normally wrap on Dec 8, since my Catholic school is closed for a holy day but my kids are in school. But this year we’ll be doing a college visit, so I did most of it last weekend.
I’m in really good shape this year.
Was going to try to wind up most of what is left today, but my landlord jerked me around on a meeting time for my lease renewal (again) and messed up my plans for the day. 8-| I’m so annoyed I’m thinking about looking at other apartments this weekend, as we now can’t meet until Monday. I could add moving to my list of stuff to do in December!
@intparent Most fathers like GCs for car washes even if they don’t like GCs in general.
Wow, I’m impressed. I have just begun to think about gifts. My youngest gave me her “final” Chanukah list last week. That final list has changed several times. She is the easy to buy for kid. She always has a lot of wants and horse “needs”. Unfortunately most horse stuff is expensive and doesn’t go on sale. I did order her a pair on boots she wanted from Nordstrom over the holiday weekend. They were on sale. I also went to an antique store that she had seen something she liked. I also got her fiancé a gift from the same store.
Oldest D asked for some Bose wireless headphones. I ordered them to pick up from Best Buy but now got an email that while they have the headphones they are out of the charger. I’m going to have to see if I can get the charger. I’m also going to check Costco and see if they have them. This is my hard to buy for child. We usually end up giving her money which is anti climatic for her.
My S asks for very little and he is hard to buy for. He told me he has everything he needs. Last resort will be cash he can use towards his wedding.
We now have 2 fiancés in the mix. I’m not sure what to spend on them. One lives here in town and it would feel awkward for my kids to open multiple gifts and to just have one or two for her. How do others handle this?
I did order several Thermaworks thermometers. I learned about the Thermapen last year on CC and I had my H get me one. I love it. On Black Friday they had a sale and I have several coming. Haven’t yet figured out who will get them.
^Can you give joint gifts to the couple? Or are you done shopping.
A lot of you folks are super, super organized! It’s not even December - yet! 
With a couple exceptions, I pretty much know what I have to get but haven’t completed all the shopping. I do pretty much all my shopping online and did check prices over the past week and purchased anything that was on sale. I’m still hoping for discounts on some other items on the list at some point over the next few weeks so not sweating it. Husband and I have our holiday tasks down pat. I shop, bake, and cook, and decorate indoors. He does the outdoor decorating, wraps all the gifts, and is always willing to run out to get some forgotten ingredient or two as well as some last minute cleaning in the final week whirlwind before guests and hosting.
Two sons sent me something specific so I immediately bought it. Too easy. So now I have to fill in he gaps and I will do it with cash if I have to.
And… the apartment was GREAT and I’m moving in two weeks. Agh! intparent mostly disappears off CC to complete Xmas prep and moving
I have no ideas and need suggestions other than gc and money. That makes it pretty impossible considering the $50 limit.
Give us details and interests/hobbies of your recipients, @lookingforward. We’re all really good at giving opinions. 
Almost done here. I buy things as I come across them. It’s time for me to go through the gift bin and see if I need to fill in any blanks.
Our family isn’t much for big ticket gifts at holidays. We tend to get what we want and need through the year and Christmas presents are more occasion markers than anything else. So it’s usually low-key but whimsical and very warm. Not a lot of pressure.
Dos, both of mine are easy to please and need little. Last year, I made them fancy meals, which I froze, they were delighted. I picked the name of the one with the unpredictable work schedule or I’d get her inexpensive concert tickets. She and I have been talking about doing that in Boston.
I bought my first present on Wednesday: two books for my mother.
Of course, I spent $$ and time preserving this summer.
I officially cancelled Christmas last year. It was MY best present ever. I know I cannot do that two years in a row. I have presents for the children but I need something for my husband. I can never top the Breville espresso maker I bought him a few years ago. He washes and polishes it like a vintage car. He would like an iPad but the prices are so high on an item that Apple says will never be updated again that I cannot justify purchasing one. Plus he has a birthday in December.
All gifts except one have been delivered. Hoping the last comes over the weekend and I can wrap,tag and get box shipped to my cousin’s next week.
Let’s see, some of the favorite gifts I’ve given over the years:
-This year she’s getting and Amazon Dot. She’s not a big computer person, but at the very least I can get some Pandora stations on her computer and she can listen to music with no effort. She’s also getting-- don’t laugh-- a stock up on paper goods-- aluminium foil, baggies, rubbermaid containers, all that stuff that eats away on a fixed budget. (I’m one of 5 kids, and 4 of us each have 3 kids who buy for mom. We have to get creative-- she has enough hats and gloves and blankets and candy and sweaters.)
@bjkmom, I also get my parents a “freezer package” from our local butcher. It’s $200 and he wraps everything individually as I instruct to fit their needs. I was going to move on to something different last year but my Mom asked that I continue the tradition. For my Dad’s birthday in December I get a pound of fresh Cape Cod scallops, which are very pricey ($35#) and only available Nov-Jan. Mom makes him a fried scallop roll and a bowl of stew, pricey dinner for at home but he loves it and another tradition that makes life easy for me.
Until last year I bought for my five nieces and nephews and tried to get the same thing for all of them. One year I got Cards Against Humanity, another year I got the ChromeStick, and yet another year I got them all gift certificates to the local Chinese place and they all went together on Christmas night for food and drinks. They are all adults now so I stopped that tradition…
My favorite Christmas was when I took my two kids to DisneyWorld for four nights as my only Xmas gift for them from me, although Santa did bring a few small items on Xmas morning. Each night they found a wrapped gift under their pillow when we returned to the hotel, something from the park we had just been to. I bought everything from the Disney Store online before we left for cheap $$, wrapped and packed it. The last night we got back to Pop Century and guess what they got? Tickets to get on the Disney Wonder in the morning for a 4-night cruise! They thought we were coming home and could not believe it. Was truly one of the best vacations we ever took, but admittedly I had to save for a very long time to pull it off.
Please help with more affordable and reasonable options. DS wants a Mac with Touch Bar and DD wants a puppy! Looking forward to any other suggestions!
@magnetnh Does DS have a Kindle?
I wanted to get S and his GF something along the lines of a coffee table for their apartment, with one or more easily movable small tables another option. GF’s aesthetic runs along the lines of mid-century modern–which is not my mine–and she has very decided tastes, so while we were there I showed them a table I thought they might like on Wayfair, and suggested that they take a look through the site and see if there was anything in that general price range they liked better. She was very pleased by the idea, which made me happy. It won’t be a surprise, but at least I know they will like it, and it’s not like they put it on a list. I hate lists.