Now who is going to wrap all of this stuff? What a busy weekend we've had! It was certainly nice to be here at home for our 4 day weekend, but boy we kept busy. Our four day weekend started with a nice relaxing day Thursday. I made a nice Turkey Day dinner for our little family of 5. I have to say it was a little bit strange having Thanksgiving dinner with just the 5 of us, but quite nice also. We made a turkey breast and all of the traditional fixings. The kids enjoyed it, especially the cherry pie for dessert!
On Friday I got up for my traditional Black Friday shopping. Yes, I'm one of those nuts who goes out early in the morning just to get a deal. Is it really worth it you are asking.... YES! To me it is worth it. When you have a budget minded husband and a limited amount to work with you MUST cut back in some areas. Therefore, it is neccessary to find every deal possible. I am able to spread our dollars a lot further when I get out and capture the great sales. And, I have to say it is exhilarating going out in the cold, standing in line and then rushing in with the mobs to find those few sought after items.
Luckily for me the kids haven't yet reached the teenage years. Those are the days I dread. Not because they'll be back talking or rolling their eyes at me, but because they'll be asking for electronics! EEEkkk... just the thought of the electronics department on Black Friday scares me. ;) It really is frightening what people will do for some electronic gadgets that are on sale. My friend that went along with me for the shopping adventure did have to go after a digital camera for her teenager. We had our plans all laid out so that we knew who was going after what when we got into the madness. She was headed to electronics and I was off to the toys. I had a list of some things to get for myself and for her. I managed to maneuver my cart somehow through the chaos and found 90% of what I was there for. I missed out on the huge container of k-nex for the boys and the Word Whammer that my friend wanted. But, out of the huge list we had to accomplish we can't complain about only missing out on two things. After Target we went through Sears, Bath & Body Works, Hallmark and a couple of other mall locations. Then, we went over to Kohl's. It was still madness at Kohl's at 9 o'clock. That place was nuts! Our Kohl's opened at 4 am this year. That blows my mind! Apparently people were lined up across the entire parking lot and backing up into a restaraunt parking lot that is way in the deep deep end of Kohl's lot. I'm SOOO glad we weren't in that line. It was a very chilly 25 degrees that morning. Even while sipping our hot Starbuck's drinks in the Target line for a 1/2 hour we were frozen. I can't imagine those who waited in that long line at 4 am. Nor can I imagine the people who slept outside of Best Buy or Staples waiting for the sought after laptops and other gadgets. See what I mean about electronics? People go crazy for the things. I think when the kids reach that age I'll have to send Rick out for those deals. lol... :) He's definitely got a higher interest in those types of gadgets than I do.
So, anyways, we go into Kohl's do our shopping and I notice that the lines from the checkouts go all the way around the back of the store. We finished up quickly and got in line. While waiting in line we heard estimates of our wait time, some people said it would only be 20 mins, others said it would be an hour and a half. So, there we stood. Waiting, waiting and waiting. Of course, we shopped more while we waited. Everyone in line could be seen grabbing more deals as they passed by them. I think it was seriously Kohl's way to get you to spend some more money. It worked! After getting out of there we went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and then called it quits. I was expecting company and wanted to make it home to see them!
We had some very dear friends that were in town visiting family for the holiday and they came by to visit that morning. It was so wonderful to see them! What a nice treat for our weekend! We've missed them so much since they moved, it was great to have some time with them. The kids were so excited to play with their buddies who they've missed so much as well.
After they left I went back into town to finish up some more shopping. Got home around 8:30. What a day of shopping that was! Started shopping at 5:30am, took a short break and finished at 8:30pm. I was beat!
But, it didn't stop me from going out again today. I had a couple of things to return and finished up some more people on the list! WOOHOO! We're getting there. I still have some things to finish up, but we have a great start. We have so many people to buy it just keeps going and going. I enjoy it though, I love gift giving! We have a ton of family members that we buy for, including our 6 parents, my 6 siblings, 3 nieces, grandparents, great aunt, 7 teachers, 8 daycare kids, an ornament exchange with our playgroup buddies, Rick's 5 employees at work, our good neighbor friends, our large family get together gift exchange and a few others. The list grows each year I think.
Rick and I compile a list at the beginning of the season including everyone we buy gifts for. We then figure out a spending limit for each person/family. Once that is accomplished I can begin my shopping. So far I've done well staying within budget for most everyone.
My oldest ds is working on making some allowance money to take in to school. The 1st graders are doing a community project in which they'll all collect money and then buy presents for a family in need in their own school. I think it is a fabulous idea! His class is doing this in lieu of a gift exchange amonst themselves. It's really a great thing! The idea that they're working to earn money to help bless another family in need is just heartwarming!
I really do need to get off to bed. I've not quite caught up from the lack of sleep yesterday. I'm not used to getting up at 3:45 am! Thank goodness!
