I have been planning to get some Hallmark gift cards throughout the year as some of the nieces/nephews like collecting some of these ornaments.  My one great-nephew is into spiderman and some other superheroes, a great-niece is into Barbie and ballet, some of the nephews (grown men, doncha know) are into the Star Wars ornaments, lol!  Since we've had a couple feet of snow during the last couple of weeks, I haven't been to the store to buy any, but the funds are tucked away to do so. 

Once I get the buttons sorted, at least into general categories, I can finish up sorting and organizing my sewing/craft room and start crafting.  I've been working on the buttons an hour or more every night.

Same as last year. I have a budget and I stick to it pretty faithfully, spending less on some and more on some, so it works out. I have the list of people to buy for on the computer and as I think of something the person would like, I put it on their list. I buy clothes for nieces & nephews (8 of them) and do that in October during my outlet mall trip. DD never had a list and only asked for one thing last year (after I had bought all her gifts!) So she had $10.00 extra gifts than I normally get. This year I hope to have the patience to wait to buy for her until she tells me some things she'd like (she'll be four years old by Christmas).

If I went out to eat it would not be for Asian food since I've gotten sick after eating Japanese and Thai food.

I would most likely find something wonderful to cook from Harris Teeter. I've found some great beef recipes lately.

I have already started Christmas shopping .. I found a WONDERFUL 90% off sale last week and it wasn`t just Christmas stuff . I found some throw pillows that will be a great gift for my sister ...I usually make them when she or the kids need them but I can`t make them for 40 cents each !! I also got a penguin church and all the little penguins that go with it for about 3 dollars ...my sister  collects penguins and will love it . I also have all the little gifts I`ll need for next year  for church , friends and work associates . Thats what ate up my money Christmas 2008 ..having to find affordable gifts for work ! One of my favorite things is  oven mitts I got for 25 cents ...I`ll put in a couple of cookies and a recipe card  and it will make a neat little gift. I also have found scarves and gloves for $3 a set marked down from up to $15.00 so that will be gifts for my niece ,aunt and several others . I have also bought some Christmas panels to make wall hangings to use as gifts next year and to sale . They were 75% off so I will be able to make more profit than usual . One thing I do is make a list on the computer of things I need make and or buy for gifts ..when I make /buy I type in whats done and store the items in the basement in a bin marked Christmas gifts . And ..least I forget ! I have stocking stuffers a plenty ..another things that wasted time and money this past year .

  Can anyone tell me how long you can freeze a turkey or smoked hams ? I am the proud owner of 3 large hams bought at 77 cents a lb and several turkeys at 35 cents a lb . I can`t help but wonder if one of them would keep frozen till next Christmas !!!

lynn:

  Can anyone tell me how long you can freeze a turkey or smoked hams ? I am the proud owner of 3 large hams bought at 77 cents a lb and several turkeys at 35 cents a lb . I can`t help but wonder if one of them would keep frozen till next Christmas !!!

 

I don't think you're "supposed to," but I've kept turkey frozen for a year and it was fine.   

My parents gave us a turkey that was frozen for a longer period of time than that! It was fine. I don't think it is recommended, however! :-)

I decided last christmas that we will be getting our 12 year old her own laptop (the $400 kind) and I have already started saving for that. I haven't decided what to get our 4 year old yet, because it is so hard to find classic toys that engage a childs imagination these days. I generally won't buy toys unless they are something that can be used by my grandkids down the road. I have amassed quite a nice collection of sustainable toys in the last couple of years that I plan to keep for a long time to come. 2008 was the first year that I didn't try to make up for my own lean christmas holidays as a kid by buying in excess and you know what. My kids really appreciated the Nintendo DS systems they got last christmas because that was all they got last year and I felt much better about not having overspent which has put us in a better financial position going into this year.

 Bean MIL found a turkey that had been in her freezer for around 6 years. She cooked it, they ate ii and they were fine. I think a years is now a long time for a turkey. I have one in my freezer that had been there since Thanksgiving 07. Babs

I start thinking about Christmas for the next year as soon as the current Christmas is over.    I have gifts for several people already.  I look for deep discounts throughout the year.  So far I have robes bought on CVS clearance for $1.49 going to my DG and DH's DG, a knife set for DSIL, a salad bowl set for DMIL, a nice candle for DH's cousin, a beautiful Santa ornament for DH's aunt, a nail care kit in a leather case for DF, and a few stocking stuffers.  I'm no where near to being finished, but I'm hoping to catch some summer sales too. 

I always shop the after-holiday-sales but this year I did much better than usual. I got sevearl things on clearance that I put aside for next year. My best "find" was some of those Christmas theme socks for the girls. I didn't just find the typical ones (those I bought a stack of too for gift baskets) but I also found some that were in these cute decorative containers and in bright "teen" colors. These are perfect for all my teenage cousins, who I buy for.

The biggest thing I plan to do different is gift baskets. This year, with all the couponing and sale shopping I do, I had lots of free stuff to put together some baskets. I did one for our girl-exchange gift that was full of Loreal skin care products. Our limit was $25 and I had to stop myself from adding more than I did because what I put in there was already about $40 worth. But it made a beautiful basket and I got it all for free! I also did a basket of Garnier stuff (shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, facial clothes, etc.) for someone and it was all for free. Anyways, I didn't think about doing that until later in the season but next year I plan to stock up early on these types of items with the anticipation of using them for Christmas baskets. It's perfect for the ladies!

I also got a few different Christmas tins, glass jars, etc. on clearance for about 75 cents each (or less for the tins). I plan to do more home-made gifts next year. I enjoy baking and things like that (though I'm not good at anything fancy) and hope to spend time with my DD making things for others.

I have two kids now. I know that next year (DD will be almost 3 and DS will be almost 1) will be a lot of fun. I look forward to making sure that the main focus is on the "reason for the season" (Christ and celebrating his birth). I want to get a nice nativity scene before next season... something that we can put up each year for their childhood. I'd also like to start doing an Advent calander next year and make that a "tradition" for the kids. I want to do more to make sure that the kids understand what Christmas is all about and that they enjoy the season as much as the day.

Have a blessed day,

Julie