What would you CHANGE about Christmas 2010?
- Thread starter zchristy
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jampss, Thanks, it is an idea I got from MHH a few years ago. Now that the kids are older they don't go to bed early and it is a way for us to just share some time together as a family.
We have dinner and a few hours later I bring out the basket. It also contains things like a new toothbrush each, Christmas bubble bath, Christmas boxer shorts, things that we might use on Christmas Eve.
We have dinner and a few hours later I bring out the basket. It also contains things like a new toothbrush each, Christmas bubble bath, Christmas boxer shorts, things that we might use on Christmas Eve.
Just an idea for those who mentioned buying postage stamps earlier. The price of stamps is going up this year, I think by 2 cents. Right now you can buy the pine cone stamps, which are Forever Stamps...and 44 cents. I already bought 4 books for next year. I do like, though, to see what "Christmas" looking stamps come out in October, but I decided I'd rather save the 2 cents a stamp!
The Postal Service announced, I believe, that going forward all stamps will be Forever, but even if you buy Forever stamps in October, they will most likely be 46 cents.
Anyway, just a thought...
The Postal Service announced, I believe, that going forward all stamps will be Forever, but even if you buy Forever stamps in October, they will most likely be 46 cents.
Anyway, just a thought...
We have forevers stamps here too in Canada. I wanted to buy a few more packs before December 31st... but I forgot!!
I did go to the forever stamps this year. No one in all the years I've sent cards have ever mentioned that I had Christmas stamps on them.
Wrapping seems to get to a lot of people. I've started using more bags than paper. My after Christmas shopping was spent looking for tissue paper and bags. It just makes unwrapping go faster and easier to clean up. For our family gifts, I saved the bags to use next year. I did figure out it's better to tie on a gift tag than use a sticky one on the bag. I need to buy more Undo to take a few more sticky tags off some of the bags.
Of course bags might not work with little kids/adults who like to peek.
I'll still wrap gifts I mail. Easier to pack than bags.
Wrapping seems to get to a lot of people. I've started using more bags than paper. My after Christmas shopping was spent looking for tissue paper and bags. It just makes unwrapping go faster and easier to clean up. For our family gifts, I saved the bags to use next year. I did figure out it's better to tie on a gift tag than use a sticky one on the bag. I need to buy more Undo to take a few more sticky tags off some of the bags.
Of course bags might not work with little kids/adults who like to peek.
I'll still wrap gifts I mail. Easier to pack than bags.
Last year I whipped up a bunch of different sized fabric bags which have become a hit in my family, especially with the ones who can finally open their own gifts in spite of fine motor problems. I used a variety of coordinated Christmas fabrics. Now I just put the gifts in the bag and tie shut with a loop that pulls out without knots. For really heavy or large gifts I used denim. Of course this won't work if you have "feelers" touching for clues, but everyone here knows if you peek you don't get.
I am not sure if I will send Christmas cards this year.
I am torn because in Australia it costs 60c for a stamp. I sent out around 50 cards and got about 20 back. In one way I think that it is no hard ship to contact people once a year via card, but on the other hand I think why should I go through the effort when nobody else bothers.
I would be sad to see traditions like sending cards disappear but I can spend my time and money on other things.
What are your thoughts on sending Christmas cards.?
I am torn because in Australia it costs 60c for a stamp. I sent out around 50 cards and got about 20 back. In one way I think that it is no hard ship to contact people once a year via card, but on the other hand I think why should I go through the effort when nobody else bothers.
I would be sad to see traditions like sending cards disappear but I can spend my time and money on other things.
What are your thoughts on sending Christmas cards.?
I have also been reconsidering sending Christmas cards next year. We seem to be getting fewer and fewer cards each year as well. I will continue to send them out to extended family but might cut down on some others.
What would I change about Christmas for next year? If I could, I would want my whole family of kids, spouses, grandkids to all be together on Christmas day. It just wasn't Christmas for me this year.
Since I will be retired this year, I will be making more presents and will start much earlier! I would like to make some cards, too. My BFF and I have agreed that we will only exchange cards from now on, but she loves it when I make her a card. That could be a gift in itself, don't you think?
I won't buy as much this year, either. So, I won't be spending as much money. I like to wrap, so I will buying my paper at the dollar stores or the gift bags. I have a few left over from this year, so I am already ahead there. :0)
And hopefully, I can bake and also make some candy. Didn't get any of that done this year. I just don't know where the time went!
Since I will be retired this year, I will be making more presents and will start much earlier! I would like to make some cards, too. My BFF and I have agreed that we will only exchange cards from now on, but she loves it when I make her a card. That could be a gift in itself, don't you think?
I won't buy as much this year, either. So, I won't be spending as much money. I like to wrap, so I will buying my paper at the dollar stores or the gift bags. I have a few left over from this year, so I am already ahead there. :0)
And hopefully, I can bake and also make some candy. Didn't get any of that done this year. I just don't know where the time went!
This year, unlike pst year, so much was done last minute. Like Christmas eve last minute and I hated that. I need to be better prepared. There were some things that were unavoidable but not all of it. Also we never saw the Tacky Christmas light or went to Christmas town at the Amusement park. Snow was an issues some but I didn't like missing those things. It just wasn't the same for me.
I don't do Christmas cards...One reason being my postal service isn't the most reliable but it is also just one of the things I've dropped from the already stressful season. I send greeting on FB or make phone calls works better for me.
Do you do postcards in Australia? If so maybe you could send a post card with a greeting or drawing on it to the 20 who responded this year...
Tricia, no we don't do post cards. But I do agree with what you are saying, maybe I just really cull my list and just send to the ones that send to me.
Over the past several years I have cut back my card list. Now it is less than a dozen and even that is flexible. I enjoy the cards and want to continue the tradition but control postage costs so this approach works for me.
Charlotte
Charlotte
All in all, this year went fairly well, tho I swear that neither my DH nor my daughter put much thought into the gifts they chose for me...guess I will have to write out a list next year. I think that next year I'd like to make the cookies I didn't get to this year...of course, that's better for our wasitlines, but still.... We didn't send cards this year, and only received maybe 10...there was a time when we received over 50, and sent more out than that, so I've really seen a decrease in the cards, and likely won't send them out anymore. One other thing that we decided to do was to put up the big tree next year, and to use the holiday china more during the season.
I love the idea of the family movie basket, but I think we'll do that Christmas night, after family dinner. One thought I had was to ask each person to pick a movie from our collection or the library that they think another person will like, but not tell them which movie it is, and then wrap it (everyone uses the same paper)...add a bit of surprise to the basket by randomly choosing a movie...
I love the idea of the family movie basket, but I think we'll do that Christmas night, after family dinner. One thought I had was to ask each person to pick a movie from our collection or the library that they think another person will like, but not tell them which movie it is, and then wrap it (everyone uses the same paper)...add a bit of surprise to the basket by randomly choosing a movie...
Berta, that is a great idea about choosing the movie. I think this year we will all agree on what new movie we want to buy and then purchase it. That way we all should enjoy what has been chosen
Our Christmas was quiet, but nice. The downside was that I was traveling a lot from Halloween through Dec 23rd....not only did it make the last bits of Christmas prep difficult, I got bronchitis and almost wound up in the hospital on Christmas Eve! I had to promise to stay in bed for 5+ days so they would let me go home. I ended up on the couch. Next year, I will make every effort to limit my travel during the holidays...but when a client calls, you have to go!
As for Christmas cards...I LOVE THEM!!! I love sending them and receiving them...I would be really sad to see that tradition go.
As for Christmas cards...I LOVE THEM!!! I love sending them and receiving them...I would be really sad to see that tradition go.
Colleen I had bronchitis during the Thanksgiving holiday. What a miserable time that was. Then turned around and got sick again during Christmas. But I was determined not to miss time with family on Christmas Eve. Good thing I was on vacation most of the month in December. I got lots of rest and took very good care of myself as best I could.
What I would change for 2011 is to order online gifts earlier. I never did receive my Gomer Pyle DVD set for one of my Uncles and Barnes & Noble couldn't explain why I hadn't receive it since I ordered it in early October. By the time I would get it, Christmas would have passed. So I had to cancel the order and get it somewhere else and it costed more.
Also I want to make some different cookies this year. I am getting kind of tired making the same cookies. So each month, starting in March I am going to try out a few recipes I've stored in my holiday notebook and the ones that I like I'll make for Christmas.
What I would change for 2011 is to order online gifts earlier. I never did receive my Gomer Pyle DVD set for one of my Uncles and Barnes & Noble couldn't explain why I hadn't receive it since I ordered it in early October. By the time I would get it, Christmas would have passed. So I had to cancel the order and get it somewhere else and it costed more.
Also I want to make some different cookies this year. I am getting kind of tired making the same cookies. So each month, starting in March I am going to try out a few recipes I've stored in my holiday notebook and the ones that I like I'll make for Christmas.
Aggy how frustrating that the DVD's for for uncle failed to arrive. It makes my wonder HOW early do we have to order things?
My kids have already given me a few ideas for DVD's they would like for this year, I have ordered some and they are starting to arrive.
My kids have already given me a few ideas for DVD's they would like for this year, I have ordered some and they are starting to arrive.