Showing posts with label christmas shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas shopping. Show all posts
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Jenn: Stress Free
Posted by
Cara 
The relief is great. I know it's not what Christmas is about - but at the same time you want to fulfill their every wish and see that joy on their face and hear that scream and jumping up and down. So I am glad I kept chasing after that doll. I am done. Now I can get on with my life.
Cara's two cents: She'd better jump up and down and I better hear that scream from over here...!! lol
Good job Head Elf!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Jenn: 42 Days
42 Days to Christmas and the panic is already setting in. In my fantasy world, I celeberate Christmas on a beach somewhere with frozen cocktails and kids playing in the sand and hubby lying next to me just enjoying the day. No blackberries, no computers, no nothing but sunshine and ocean vistas.
In my reality, I am it. I do all the planning, cooking, shopping, decorating. It all falls on me. Christmas sends me into a tailspin. It is the Christmas gifts that are really my undoing. If I had a chrystal ball and knew in June what my kids wanted from Santa than there would really be no issue. My kids are starting to put their christmas lists together now...and of course, everything Lu, my eight-year-old wants, every other 8-year-old must want too. The number one gift on her list this year is Monster High Dolls. Already sold out pretty much everywhere. Do I have great hope that they will come in again for Christmas? Yes, I do. But like Zuzu pets and nintendo DS and the Wii in Christmas' past, demand will far outpace availability. That means I will be online and running from store to store to try to find these things. I already have my girl friends on high alert. I will spend the next few weeks going from Target to Walmart to Kmart to Toys r us hunting them down. I could go on ebay and pay triple the retail price - but I won't do it.
The holiday rush begins. In a few years time, I will live out that fantasy of Christmas beach side but for this year, I will run and rush and try to be Merry.
Cara's two cents: I highly recommend "high alert" to your friends in your Christmas gift hunts! Put my girls on high alert for THE wrestling ring alarm clock and in less than 24 hours Jenn got it! So now you know the pressure is on for Monster High Dolls. I am on it!!! :) Oh and 42 days??? ack!!!!
In my reality, I am it. I do all the planning, cooking, shopping, decorating. It all falls on me. Christmas sends me into a tailspin. It is the Christmas gifts that are really my undoing. If I had a chrystal ball and knew in June what my kids wanted from Santa than there would really be no issue. My kids are starting to put their christmas lists together now...and of course, everything Lu, my eight-year-old wants, every other 8-year-old must want too. The number one gift on her list this year is Monster High Dolls. Already sold out pretty much everywhere. Do I have great hope that they will come in again for Christmas? Yes, I do. But like Zuzu pets and nintendo DS and the Wii in Christmas' past, demand will far outpace availability. That means I will be online and running from store to store to try to find these things. I already have my girl friends on high alert. I will spend the next few weeks going from Target to Walmart to Kmart to Toys r us hunting them down. I could go on ebay and pay triple the retail price - but I won't do it.
The holiday rush begins. In a few years time, I will live out that fantasy of Christmas beach side but for this year, I will run and rush and try to be Merry.
Cara's two cents: I highly recommend "high alert" to your friends in your Christmas gift hunts! Put my girls on high alert for THE wrestling ring alarm clock and in less than 24 hours Jenn got it! So now you know the pressure is on for Monster High Dolls. I am on it!!! :) Oh and 42 days??? ack!!!!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Cara Retail Therapy
We look forward to our jaunts to this store. The usual week probably has us shopping. That's shopping for food, kids' shoes and various other household essentials...ick.
But the fun of this is knowing we really don't need the stuff in our carts (which you can tell by the picture are somewhat filled!!). We can rationalize every purchase...
~ "I need more Christmas gift bags and ADORABLE wine glasses for the holidays"
~ "I need a rug and those Christmas balls on steroids for my porch! Do you want my porch to be naked and cold all winter? Seriously!"
~ "I need reflectors for the front of my house, a mack truck could come by and drive right over my lawn!!!"
~ "I need vanilla coffee cuppy things for my expensive coffee maker. I have a coupon dammit and now I don't feel so bad buying them!"
~ "I don't really need anything I just love the "I don't need anything in this store" store. (yeah OK your cart looks pretty full to me!!)
So don't think we need do this every week. (we couldn't anyway we need to wait for the merchandise to turn over...hello?) What we need is a few hours of being silly, buying things that we want that don't break the bank.
I mean if I can't buy myself a wine glass painted like Santa's belly for $1.39 then I may as well just go hide in a dark room. We need to chit chat all the way there and back in the mini van. We need to sit for a while and eat something not prepared by us for lunch. We need to sound off to each other about what issues are going on in our lives/homes knowing that it won't leave that table and is falling on sympathetic ears. That's my friends, to be cliche is... priceless. And if that involves the purchase of a sled with Merry Christmas written on it or a muffin tin shaped like gingerbread men, then I think that's OK.
Jenn's 2 cents: You got the Merry Christmas sled too?
Cara's 3 cents: I did. The medium sized one, as I already have a big one I put outside. :) Which one did you get???
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Cara: A shopping we will go...
Did a little more Christmas shopping yesterday. I know some of you want to smack me. I am trying to get a little done at a time so I don't want to hang myself from a tree as the December calendar climbs into the 20's. Trust me I am not one of "those" that has my shopping done and wrapped by August. I mean, I have OCD but that requires medical attention. In August I am dreading school and winter and enjoying the last lazy afternoons by the pool...and seriously I hope Santa is doing the same right about then too. Since the Christmas folder has come out and the baking supply pantry is beginning to get stocked...then the sh*% is on. Hate the game. Not the player (or "play-a")ok? OK.
So Cowgirl and I headed to the mall armed with coupons and store "cash". Although again, I am still in my content mood and Christmas music was playing...stupid crap still happened. I had a coupon for Macy's. I like Macy's. (well the one in this mall anyway). I like what they sell, I have been shopping there forever. But their coupons make me nuts. I had a $10 off $25 or more of sale or clearance items. Ok. So can't buy anything that is NOT on sale or clearance. Fine. Then, I glance over the small print paragraph on the coupon stating what I CAN'T use the coupon for. (pretty much anything that I would want)Fine again. Coupons are my new obsession and I AM using that coupon. I go buy DH (darling husband) the $40 dress shirts that he wants that are on sale that morning for $9.99. I buy 5 of those and another Christmas-for-him-and-I-can't-say-what-it-is-cause-he-reads-my-blog-gift. I hand over coupon. No deal. It's not good on "Morning Sale" items. Really? grr. I did end up using it on another person's-who-reads-my-blog-gift.
So off we go to Abercrombie and then Hollister. I have gift cards Junior still hasn't used yet so I will get some stuff there for him, technically for free. I like free better than coupons. So I enter the Cave. It's dark in there. I have been using the magnifying glasses at home but have not worn them out in public just yet. But it's DARK IN THERE! Small print on price tags is one thing but small print in the dark is just wrong. But, I muddled on. There's plenty to spend plenty of money on in the dark. But really? Those stores are for the stick figured surfer types. My boy is more the Bouncer at the Bar type. He is a big strapping boy. The XXL there is just silly. Thankfully he really couldn't care less about the name across the front of his sweatshirt so no great loss for him. So he got boxers and Mike got the shirt with the name across the chest. (unfortunately for me, he digs the "names" so I am going to be in trouble. I am saving Juniors old name brand stuff for Mike hoping one day they will be vintage!!)
Not only is it dark in there it is LOUD. I know "if it's too loud you are too old". No. I like loud music, when I am dancing, cleaning or driving alone in my car. But so loud in a store that I can't hear what the kid behind the register is saying to me is so stupid. I would love to know what the marketing strategy behind that is. "If we play the music really loud people won't mind paying $89 for a sweatshirt that looks like someone has been wearing it for 10 years prior"?
The girl at one register actually said to me "Have you gotten preppy yet with our Emerson perfume?" "What?" I said. I know she just didn't just ask me if I had "gotten preppy". I must be going deaf from the (bad) loud music. She repeated herself. She did say that. I said "Really?" She rolled her eyes. If I hadn't thought it was so funny I would have reached across the counter and smacked her upside her preppy head so her eyes stayed that way 'til quittin' time. But I just laughed. Cowgirl said I was nuts and she didn't say that. But she did. I'm thinking Cowgirl was probably jealous the skinny bitch didn't think she might have wanted to get preppy. Again...hate the game not the play-a.
This is just the beginning of Christmas shopping. I may bring my camera on Black Friday and take pictures of the shopping experience. You think a looong line of tired cranky shoppers will mind having their pictures taken? Would I live to post them to the blog? Maybe.
So Cowgirl and I headed to the mall armed with coupons and store "cash". Although again, I am still in my content mood and Christmas music was playing...stupid crap still happened. I had a coupon for Macy's. I like Macy's. (well the one in this mall anyway). I like what they sell, I have been shopping there forever. But their coupons make me nuts. I had a $10 off $25 or more of sale or clearance items. Ok. So can't buy anything that is NOT on sale or clearance. Fine. Then, I glance over the small print paragraph on the coupon stating what I CAN'T use the coupon for. (pretty much anything that I would want)Fine again. Coupons are my new obsession and I AM using that coupon. I go buy DH (darling husband) the $40 dress shirts that he wants that are on sale that morning for $9.99. I buy 5 of those and another Christmas-for-him-and-I-can't-say-what-it-is-cause-he-reads-my-blog-gift. I hand over coupon. No deal. It's not good on "Morning Sale" items. Really? grr. I did end up using it on another person's-who-reads-my-blog-gift.
So off we go to Abercrombie and then Hollister. I have gift cards Junior still hasn't used yet so I will get some stuff there for him, technically for free. I like free better than coupons. So I enter the Cave. It's dark in there. I have been using the magnifying glasses at home but have not worn them out in public just yet. But it's DARK IN THERE! Small print on price tags is one thing but small print in the dark is just wrong. But, I muddled on. There's plenty to spend plenty of money on in the dark. But really? Those stores are for the stick figured surfer types. My boy is more the Bouncer at the Bar type. He is a big strapping boy. The XXL there is just silly. Thankfully he really couldn't care less about the name across the front of his sweatshirt so no great loss for him. So he got boxers and Mike got the shirt with the name across the chest. (unfortunately for me, he digs the "names" so I am going to be in trouble. I am saving Juniors old name brand stuff for Mike hoping one day they will be vintage!!)
Not only is it dark in there it is LOUD. I know "if it's too loud you are too old". No. I like loud music, when I am dancing, cleaning or driving alone in my car. But so loud in a store that I can't hear what the kid behind the register is saying to me is so stupid. I would love to know what the marketing strategy behind that is. "If we play the music really loud people won't mind paying $89 for a sweatshirt that looks like someone has been wearing it for 10 years prior"?
The girl at one register actually said to me "Have you gotten preppy yet with our Emerson perfume?" "What?" I said. I know she just didn't just ask me if I had "gotten preppy". I must be going deaf from the (bad) loud music. She repeated herself. She did say that. I said "Really?" She rolled her eyes. If I hadn't thought it was so funny I would have reached across the counter and smacked her upside her preppy head so her eyes stayed that way 'til quittin' time. But I just laughed. Cowgirl said I was nuts and she didn't say that. But she did. I'm thinking Cowgirl was probably jealous the skinny bitch didn't think she might have wanted to get preppy. Again...hate the game not the play-a.
This is just the beginning of Christmas shopping. I may bring my camera on Black Friday and take pictures of the shopping experience. You think a looong line of tired cranky shoppers will mind having their pictures taken? Would I live to post them to the blog? Maybe.
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