It's not like Christmas where you get a ton of stuff
131713
THE POINT IS FOR ALL OF US 2 GET TOGETHER AND DO IT LIKE A BUNNY..
387020
In an attempt to sell more wares retailers will do whatever it takes to sell sell sell.\nChristmas originally a religious holiday has been comercialized to the point where a person must not be outdone by others in the giving of gifts.\nwhile giving is the spirit of the season it likely was not intented to break ones bank. Do you really think that the average retailer cares about your finances and if you might over-extend yourself?\n Christmas has been changed, you be the judge of better or worse.
132899
Whenever I buy gifts, I buy things that I would want for myself, whether they be cheap or expensive.  What you're doing is fine, but if you're doing it 'coz you expect the same in return, that's wrong. Buy the gifts from the heart, not for show and don't expect the same in return. Not everyone is the same, but do your bit and don't worry about others. Pretty hard to do, but don't stoop as low as others, keep doing your bit....
433132
Oh what a world.. to be so upset about not knowing what you want for christmas...  I would just chill you know your getting something cool already.. and just enjoy time with family and the gifts are a bonus
478408
My family is going through some financial strains this holiday season, so I told my husband not to buy me any gifts. He agreed. I immediately felt disappointed, and I imagined Christmas morning with no gift under the tree -- how sad I would feel. I wish I had suggested a dollar limit, even if it was just $10 or $20. I would have been quite happy with a DVD, book or a music CD. Just a little something to celebrate the love. Thanks for asking the question. It got me to own up to my true feelings. I think I'll let my husband know what they are and make my suggestion of a limit. :-)
470666
What I would do is wait until December and go to the store [if your area does it] and pick a child or two from the charity [like what Kmart does] and buy them some presents.  A lot of families don't have money for presents.  One year I bought presents for a little girl.  It was fun because I have just boys, so it was nice to buy dolls and stuff like that.  I also put in ten dollars for the parent [s] to buy a little something.  I didn't have a lot of money and my son and I agreed that some of our Christmas fund would go to help another child.  Turns out that his teacher put his name on a list like that and he got a couple new outfits new shoes and a couple toys.  We were not well off at all but it does make you feel good to wake up on Christmas and know that somewhere a child is smiling and happy and you made that happen.
351332
It Nearly Wasn't Christmas....could that be it??
379153
We have a thrift shop in our neighborhood that loves to get hangers. Alot of stuff is hanging in the store, the money goes to "The Ark" maybe you have something like this near you.
392046
i really hope for your own good that those arent your real details...\n\nim sure your family will understand your broke and cant afford gifts.... same as me this year.
420977
Every Christmas afternoon my daughter (who is 9) and I go down to a food bank at the salvation army and helped serve food and clean up.  Our church has a program where you fill up a shoebox with gifts for a boy or girl and the church delivers to less fortunate kids.  I take a shoe box and my daughter takes one (she usually fills up for a girl) and we go to the dollar tree (partly because you can fill up the box with more things and second because I dont have much money myself).  We also take a tag from an angel tree every year and buy something for a child.  My daughter was going one day to buy a toy with some money she got for an early christmas present and they had Toys for Tots outside the toy shop.  She bought two toys and on our way out she dropped the toys in the box.  I almost cried cuz thats what Christmas is all about and I was so very proud of her :)
482221
I think in your own community. Food banks and Christmas toys for the underprivileged kids. Stuff like that!
3661
Yes, but not the Christian way. It's nice to have the family around, gifts, Christmas tree etc.
664402
in a shop that sells that kind of stuff
453535
I absolutely agree! I found that most items were barely marked down, and most that were appeared to be stuff they weren't able to sell earlier in the year... As for the lines, some store stop their sales at a set time and what we found out (after waiting in a line for 90 minutes to pay) was that if you didn't buy what you wanted before the time  (for instance 11:00) and were still in line at that time, to bad... they didn't care you didn't get the sale. I have to wonder if the cashiers were slow and if there weren't as many so that the stores wouldn't have to give so many people sales. \n\nI like you in the past have finished my shopping on Black Friday, this year, I'm not even close, and am watching all the ads still. I am beginning to think I will just do ALL of my shopping online after this experience.\n\nHave a GREAT day and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
388009
I think if you are Christian it is definitely too commercialized. Otherwise, no. I am not a christian so it doesn't really bother me. I think the earlier stores get ready for the holidays, the faster I can get my shopping done with. And if you think about it, there IS a major emphasis on buying, but most of what is being bought, is being given. So in the end it all works out.
457877
This year, my husband and I decided to do most of our shopping online. That way, we wouldn't have to deal with all the crowds, the pushing, the shoving, etc. We made a plan of what we would buy and for whom, and it ended up being a theme this year to get everyone's gifts (except the kids' toys) through a charity or organization. So far, we have given to Beads for Education (they make beaded items to sell to raise money for girls in Kenya to go to school) Autism Speaks, the ASPCA, Jamestown Museum (they raise money for their archaeological research in Jamestown, Virginia) Big City Mountaineers (they take inner city kids camping, fishing, ect.) Breast Cancer Research (we bought items through Avon...100% of their profits go to the research) the American Cancer Society, College of the Atlantic (they "adopt" whales to people for a year, and the money goes to research on finback whales) World Wildlife Foundation, The Make a Wish Foundation and the USHS. It feels good to give to these organizations who could use the money more than my sister needs a new pair of cheap wal-mart earrings, and you can still get something in return to put under the tree. There are soooooo many more organizations out there that need help, and now is a good opportunity to pitch in. Not to mention that I'm almost done with my christmas shopping, and I didn't have to leave my computer....plus, if you have family members that won't be here this Christmas, you can have something shipped directly to them. My daughter even got into the spirit, and cut a foot of her hair off to give to Locks of Love....and she's only 8 years old...I'm so proud of her for being such a good person.  So, as for being "ready" for the upcoming holidays... I'm about halfway there (I still haven't decorated the house) But I took this opportunity to perhaps give others ideas that would "pay it forward" this year. Good luck to everyone!
529649
you can buy a lot of that on ebay or something.