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Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 1:25:01 PM   
SusanofO


Posts: 5672
Joined: 12/19/2005
Status: offline 		I started mine today. I am so proud of myself. I also decided to have a Holiday Cookie Exchange party this year (gals only) in early December - and I am all geared up to get what I consider the un-fun (if I am rushed) parts of the Holidays preparation out of the way soon, so that I can truly enjoy the Holidays this year.

For me, "Getting ready" for the Holidays consists of four major parts:

1) Decorating - I can't do this until I move, so I am not worrying about any of this until I do - until probably way after Thanksgiving, anyway. I have plenty of decorations already, though, so no problem there. I have a good-looking artificial Christams tree that isn't difficult to set up, because it unfolds like an umbrella  - and lots of ornaments, and about four or five Holiday wreaths, and a Nativity set, and other stuff, too. I have just a few out-dooor decorations - two Christmas Topiary trees with lights, that are in Urns, that I will put on my porch. Decorating will usually take me the better part of a day or evening, and I usually save it for a week-end.

2) Making out my Christmas cards - last year, I sent 85 cards. I start writing them around Hallowe'en, so I have time to write a little bit to people I rarely see otherwise (like some relatives who live other states). But this year, I am thinking of just doing a Christmas letter, and incluidng that for everyone instead - because I am busier than usual this year, and it would be easier.

I ordered the cards today, on the Internet. They will be mailed to me by early next week. Now I just need stamps (but Holiday stamps don't come out at the post office until at least around Hollowe'en. Oh well, I guess I can wait.) I usually mail my cards around the 10th-15th of December. 

3) Baking, and delivering the goodies I bake. I love (LOVE) making Christmas cookies. Every year, I make about 45 dozen cookies (4 or 5 different kinds) and divide them up in little bags for friends, relatives and neighbors. Everybody gets 2-3 dozen. This takes at least a week, about 3-4 hours a day. I also make chocolate fudge (really good, if I do say so myself), and Banana Nut bread - people each get a pound or two of fudge, and a loaf of the bread. Plus I throw in some hard candy I buy at the store, too. 

I can start to make some of this stuff in late October, and just freeze it. All of it goes into "care packages", wrapped up tight and then in a nice pretty Holiday bag, and people really seem to like these. I usually make 15-20 of these Holiday Goody gift bags. I get asked, starting in early December, by some people, if I am doing this again this year. I think if I quit doing it, my own father and some of my neighbors would actually go through withdrawl...I am not trying to brag, but I really do enjoy this part of the Holidays. I've been doing this for over 15 years.

4)  Christmas Shopping - I started my shopping already, and have most of the females I need to shop for done already. The men are always harder for me to shop for, particularly when they give me No Clue what they want. Or worse, when I ask some of them, they say: " I don't know", OR "You don't have to get me anything" (yeah sure - like that's ever gonna happen). So - I am leaving shopping for the men until after Hallowe'en, probably.

**Note to men: Decide what it is you want for Christmas. Just take a stab at it - just try this year. Name something - Anything. Please.

I've already got wrapping paper and Holiday gift bags. Now I just need ribbon and bows, and a few gift tags. I also need some of theose Holiday money envelopes for people like the Mailman, and the Handyman guy who mows my lawn and runs the snow-blower, and otherwise shovels the snow (I have an extremely looong driveway).

I know some people will think I am truly crazy for starting to think about the Holidays this early, but I really, really just hate rushing around at the last minute, trying to get all of the above done.

Anybody else out there start Christmas shopping yet? Or doing anything else to get ready for the Holidays yet?

- Susan  

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 9/26/2007 2:15:09 PM >

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RE: Wehn do you start your Christmas shopping - 9/26/2007 1:31:11 PM   
divi


Posts: 11109
Joined: 9/4/2007
Status: offline 		Heya Susan !
I started over the weekend.   I have alot of nieces and nephews so I started with them first.  The adults on my list are easy...I like giving gift cards for them, 
And Susan enjoy your cookie party.  I usually go to about 2 during the holiday's they are alot of fun.  I usually come home with alot of cookies and a good buzz.  I look forward to it every year

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 1:33:11 PM   
camille65


Posts: 5746
Joined: 7/11/2007
From: Austin Texas
Status: offline 		Aside from gifts for my parents I am already done shopping! I've never ever had this done so early. Now I have much more free time than usual so I'm going to do all the holiday things I want to. Last year I didn't celebrate and that was a mistake. I missed it more than I realised I would.
I've always done an orphan holiday where anyone that hasn't (or has) a place to go is welcome at the table. I need to do that again.

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 1:38:09 PM   
SusanofO


Posts: 5672
Joined: 12/19/2005
Status: offline 		It's nice to know I am not the only one who starts this stuff this early. Congrats on getting so much done already. I agree there is a lot to be said for having time to enjoy the Holidays yourself.

I just hate it if I am in a frenzy ijn mid-December, because I have so much to do re: Christmas prep. This doesn't really seem to bother most men I know (sorry if that sounds sexist, but IMO, it';s pretty true), but most owmen I know need to feel organized to enjoy the Holidays, or at least not feel rushed getting ready for them.

- Susan 

_____________________________

"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 1:39:26 PM   
slave2uX


Posts: 14
Joined: 7/31/2006
Status: offline 		i am proud to be part of the "do it at the last minute" tradition of christmas shopping.
sadly i know people who had started their 2007 christmas shopping in january...

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 1:44:20 PM   
SusanofO


Posts: 5672
Joined: 12/19/2005
Status: offline 		Well you are man, so I can say I do understand...

- Susan

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"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 1:50:39 PM   
RCdc


Posts: 8674
Status: offline 		Christmas ?  Bah humbug.
Seriously - it's far too early to be thinking about christmas, or rather - forgetting about it and getting wrapped up in commercialism instead.
 
the.dark.



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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 1:54:59 PM   
Lumus


Posts: 5968
Joined: 9/16/2007
Status: offline 		It's fair to say I fall into the "typical male" approach to shopping...for Christmas, groceries, or underwear.  I determine my budget; then determine what I want; then go get it.  The whole process goes pretty quick; I'm one of those lucky folk who always find what they're looking for when shopping, even if it's the last one on the shelf.




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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 1:59:14 PM   
Aileen68


Posts: 6091
Joined: 8/2/2005
Status: offline 		For all of you who have already started on Christmas things...you are all sick sick sick.

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:04:29 PM   
SusanofO


Posts: 5672
Joined: 12/19/2005
Status: offline 		I appreciate the replies. I know it's early - I just want to get it done so I don't have to worry about it later, I guess. 

On the contrary, I find it is far easier for me to avoid the "commercialism of the Season" if I have already bought everything I need to buy, before the stores start trying to entice me into them to buy their Christmas merchandise - an effort which usually begins immediately after Hallowe'en.

Unlike some folks, if I have my Christmas things bought already, for the most part, by the time I start hearing those Salvation Army Bell-ringer people everywhere - I do not just buy more stuff due to feeling overwhelmed with sentimentality about "The Season".

If I am already done and ready for Christmas, I will avoid shopping malls, and focus on  Holiday party-going (or party throwing), Holiday baking or just plain relaxing, instead.

- Susan

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 9/26/2007 2:42:01 PM >

_____________________________

"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:11:38 PM   
FullCircle


Posts: 5713
Joined: 11/24/2005
Status: offline 		I always wonder what it would be like to forego Christmas one year. Nice to be around family I suppose but I hate turkey it’s so dry. That tree won’t put itself up they should have invented Christmas trees that go up like umbrellas by now. The parallel technology already exists all they need is to reverse engineer it. Leave buying presents until after Christmas just like Easter eggs they are cheaper that way. Boxing day, what is that all about? When I was younger I was told two mistruths about the meaning of boxing day: 1) it’s the day you have to put all the presents back in the boxes, 2) There is always a boxing match on TV on Boxing day.

< Message edited by FullCircle -- 9/26/2007 2:13:33 PM >

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:11:53 PM   
sub4hire


Posts: 6775
Joined: 1/1/2004
Status: offline 		Done, been done for a couple of month's already with the exception of 4 of Doug's nephews.  We haven't seen them but once this year.  The way kids change from year to year I hesitate buying something for them and them not wanting it.
So, we wait until they can figure out what to tell us they might appreciate.  If they don't, they end up with an impersonal gift card around the first of November.
I do the same...already started working on this years update/letter.
Start cooking around mid November.  Already been purchasing new decorations..every year we have to have something new to add to the mix.
I'm a well organized person so early Christmas shopping works well for me.

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:18:55 PM   
RCdc


Posts: 8674
Status: offline 		OK -
So I kind of just get a bit over protective of 'christmas'.
 
Decorating - Using fake plastic trees?(ooo I feel a Radiohead moment).  Or even a real one that is grown, chopped then shattered when it dies in a few weeks?  Why not have a real tree... roots et al?  I see little point in the fakeness of christmas... the nativity set is appalling (from a christuan POV) and what happens to the wreaths when they die?
Do people actually know the reasoning behind these or just put them up for the sake of?
 
Making Cards - Why send cards out to people we rarely see or speak to only at christmas?  Personally I cannot think of anything worse than getting the yearly 'this is what I did' card, which you only get from people when they did something that year, and nothing when their year has been boring.
 
Baking - I prefere to make the food and share it with those I love.
 
Shopping - You are already caught up in the commercial aspect, so to deny it is fooling yourself.  Meh -  I sound harsh hey.  I just don't do presents for presents sake.
And I couldn't think of anything less 'giving' than asking someone what they want, let alone just suggesting that the men actually 'take a stab' as well as being the ones who are slow about christmas - I couldnt think of anything more sexist.  And I am the female part responding here.
 
Christmas is over-rated.  What you do the rest of your life and for people and the world the whole time, is what matters.  You can't make up for everything on one holiday season alone, let alone one single day.
 
the.dark.

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:19:11 PM   
SusanofO


Posts: 5672
Joined: 12/19/2005
Status: offline 		Full Circle: I have a Christmas artificial tree that folds out like an umbrella - it's a cinch to put up; it takes less than  two minutes (really). Check the Internet, I know you could probably find one. I take it from your mention of "Boxing Day" (December 26th) that you live in the UK? What exactly is "Boxing Day"? I am just curious - I don't know.

sub4hire: Another organized person. I identify with that. I think I'd go nuts if I thought I had to do all this inside of 2 weeks. I can't fathom it, really.


Darcy:  IMO, Artificial trees are easier (for me) to deal with, plain and simple. I don't want pine needles dropping all over my floor that I have to clean up everyday. Plus, IMO real trees can be a fire hazard, but I do want a Chritsmas tree. Mine looks pretty real.

I think baking Holiday goodies is the most personally meaningful part of the Holidays for me.

Some year, if the men in my family don't start deciding what it is they want for Christmas, and communicating it (like the women do) they might well end up with a bland gift certificate. I am not a huge fan of gift certificates, and would much rather buy someone someting more personal, so I usually try to buy something I've put some real thought into, even if they've failed to mention anything they want (which for the men in my family is just about every year). I keep receipts, so if they dont like the gift(s), then they can return them. 

- Susan

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 9/26/2007 2:32:06 PM >

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That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:24:05 PM   
RCdc


Posts: 8674
Status: offline 		Boxing Day is the day the slaves were recognised.
Like your handy man - or paper boy getting their envelope.
 
the.dark.

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:26:29 PM   
FullCircle


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quote:

ORIGINAL: SusanofO
Full Circle: I have a Christmas artificial tree that folds out like an umbrella - it's a cinch to put up; it takes less than  two minutes (really). Check the Internet, I know you could probably find one. I take it from your mention of "Boxing Day" (December 26th) that you live in the UK? What exactly is "Boxing Day"? I am just curious - I don't know.


I’ll have to look into that tree thank you.  I’m just as curious as to the meaning of Boxing Day as you are. Maybe I’ll Google it one day but it would be a shame to spoil the mystery. From memory it has something to do with present exchange but I might be wrong.

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:30:05 PM   
nyrisa


Posts: 1830
Joined: 11/20/2006
Status: offline 		**stands up with a look of steely eyed determination on her face, and with an abrupt jerk of her hand, arms the squirter gun in her hand** I am sorry, Susan, it just has to be done. I swore a solemn oath to shoot the first person to mention Christmas shopping, before Halloween is even over.

**sprays the red and green paint, a frenetically cheerful patina of holiday colors splattering over the designated recipient, then binds her in silver ribbon, placing a silver bow and a "Do Not Open Until Christmas" tag upon her head** Merry Christmas, baby.

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:30:49 PM   
SusanofO


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Joined: 12/19/2005
Status: offline 		Darcy: Thanks for clearing up the mystery srrounding "Boxing Day" - it is appreciated.

nyrisa: HA! C'mon - you knew it just had to happen, didn't you?

- Susan

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 9/26/2007 2:33:37 PM >

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"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:32:17 PM   
FullCircle


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Darcyandthedark
Boxing Day is the day the slaves were recognised.
Like your handy man - or paper boy getting their envelope.
 the.dark.

 
I think you are right and I think that is why so few people know of the origin or talk about it.

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RE: Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? - 9/26/2007 2:32:42 PM   
divi


Posts: 11109
Joined: 9/4/2007
Status: offline 		My paper boy makes out like a bandit on the holidays.. as do most of other people who are lucky enough to get tips during the Holiday Time.

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