Attention: It is no longer safe to leave your house and go shopping! It may not even be safe to browse online market places, such as amazon! There is something in the air that causes people to Shop, Shop, Shop! I fell victim to this ailment myself three days ago. Since then I've been experiencing headache, and regret. Once you step foot into any store after the 10th of November, that's it. You will be bitten by the air borne bug, known as Holidaus Shopinitis (noun: a serious condition which causes uncontrollable shopping urges, occurs between the months of November and December). This illness causes a person to spend anywhere between $50-$100 or more at any given store and then will continue shopping for the rest of the night, and for the rest of the year, for that matter! There will be no stopping the infected person. I went to four different stores on Friday just for stocking stuffers and spent $200! When I got home, I was so exhausted and just had to sit down. I sat down with all of my shopping bags on the doors and didn't even make it inside. I literally shopped until I dropped. If your condition worsens, you may go into a zombie like stupor and start singing Christmas carols and decorating your home in festive colors. If you get to this point, please rush to your nearest emergency room! If you suspect a family member or friend has Holidaus Shopinitus, keep calm and put everyone in holiday sweaters and trick your loved one by saying you're all going to the mall to see Santa and taking photos... instead, take them to seek immediate medical care!!!
Been there, done that...all those little thigs add up...let me get this for that one and that one.....oh, and one for me while I am at it....so must think very carefully now.......
It was my girls b'day on the weekend. I bought her a new watch and we spent a small fortune in a comic book shop XD We also bought some DVDs and the Sopranos Boxset. =)
I prefer to make things from scratch or buy second hand, but in both cases I make sure the quality of my gift is as good as something I could have bought (new). I have no shame to go to thrift stores to get that cool necklace or grab a second-hand book (in top notch condition, of course), or make a gift basket with homemade goodies, cookies, jams and whatnot, for example. It's good for my wallet and my folks appreciate their gifts just as much. I realize the only gifts I buy to regular retail stores are... gift cards (plus chocolates and some candies I can't make myself, and random stocking stuffers).
Yeah, I like making stuff too. I really wish I knew how to knit... Well something I'm thinking about creating is lumps of coal in little red pouches to hand out, lol. My kids are young and this is the first year we'll be doing stockings.. so I had to get stocking stuffers for the three of them, and the kids have a lot of cousins in the family and I'm giving out treat boxes with stocking stuffers, then I also got some stocking stuffers for my best friend who is expecting her baby around christmas time (actually made her a gift basket)... like Moon said, it's all little stuff, but it adds up... Other than that, I'm trying to emphasize to my kids that it's not all about presents... I've been getting them just one gift each Christmas.. This year, I got them a Hello Kitty doll house to share between them (erm, I mean Santa dropped it off with me early and I'm going to leave it out for the kids on Christmas...) But, seriously, everyone gets into a shopping mood in November and December... when I'm out shopping, I'll start thinking, "hey, we need some new curtains, oh that's a cool soap dispenser..." So I start shopping for non-related Christmas items too...
I like to mail gifts. Although I don't celebrate christmas, I still love to get people gifts around this time. I am doing real well monetarily this year so I will want to buy lots of nice gifts.
i refuse to use credit. which is probably why i'm not living in an apartment by myself instead of renting a room in a house with others. its a good house and good people, and at least as quiet or quieter then most places i could otherwise afford. but somehow rental agencies seem to think you're more likely to keep up on payments, or less likely to wreck the place, if you have a credit rating. i haven't seen any actual statistics on this, but i have serious doubts they would actually support such a belief. also if you have a car and a phone, which i more or less refuse to because of almost having to use credit to do so. a car anyway. and both are a pain in the ass. not that i wouldn't mind having something besides my back i could haul things around in, if, they were actually as magical as the bill of goods people are sold about them.
