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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Re: is anybody ready to talk about Xmas presents and share ideas?
Can you believe Christmas is less than two months away? Wow.
DH and I are getting ourselves a good camera as our gift. So I am looking for some recommendations for one!
I have maybe 1/3 of my stuff bought just by randomly being out and seeing things.
DH I had a custom made cornhole set and I'm so excited about them! One side is Ravenn, oak with purple trim, ravens logo and a natty bo logo then the other side is MD, oak with red trim, UMD logo, and a Natty Lite lol (DH's beer of choice).
I want to do more experiences this year, if that makes sense. Our parents don't really need anything so I got MIL tickets from Living Social to see some Paula Dean cooking show, FIL tickets to MD basketball game, my dad scuba diving lessons that he's been dying to do before we go to Aruba next Sept., my mom I just ordered a mother/daughter spa day at Turf Valley..
SIL is getting married in June 2012 so if they pick their honeymoon destination soon I will get then a gift certificate for an excursion or nice restaurant there.
I think H and I are buying ourselves a camera this year (he has his sights set on his dream one so i guess that will be it lol) and that will be it for us present-wise.
My SIL, brother and their girls are getting Ravens shirts since they don't really have any Ravens gear.
I'm trying to convince my dad that my mom needs an ipad and if he bites I'll contribute towards that (my parents exchange small gifts now since they are buying so much crap for their house....my mom wants one of those big inflatable floating islands.....lol) or get her an accessory for it or something. If he doesn't get her that then I really have no idea, she doesn't need a damn thing. Maybe a GC to her favorite store in St Michaels, or their favorite restaurant, but she always ends up using GC for family outings and then I feel bad.
Blah. Parents are hard!! LOL.
At least my oldest brother is easy - he always want clothes bc he likes to dress nice and never knows what is "in" so he needs help haha.
I don't have a lot of good ideas yet - I think I'm going to get my dad a Kindle, and my sister cashmere gloves and somethng from Sephora? or maybe a GC to The Pearl. No idea bout my mom, or MIL. We're not supposed to exchange gifts w/ my SiL, but she always gets me something (never anything I want or need, I feel obligated to get her something too)
For DD - I'm getting her a Dora dollhouse, a jewelry box and maybe a toddler camera.
DH - I seriously think I might get him 2 GC to the Pearl or a membership to Spa Envy or something.
I want an Ipad - I think, but I'm hoping my parents will get it. Instead of buying me clothes that I don't want or need.
I need to buy stuff for the ladies at work too and the daycare teachers
For my coworkers I usually do baked goodies. Last year for daycare I did a gift card and baked goodies. This year I'm thinking of just doing baked goodies for all of them. DD has more than one teacher, etc.
As for DH- I've got no idea.
My mom- new sheets
My Dad- no idea.
My aunt- a few odds and ends that she needed for her kitchen. Most likely a gc for the spa.
My IL's are impossible to shop for. I'm thinking gc's as well and maybe a gift card to a nice restaurant or MD basketball tickets.
Gift cards seem so impersonal, but lately they have been the way to go.
Ugh, I feel like I *just* figured out what to get DH for our 5 year and that was hard enough! We did decide to go very low key for each other this year, I just hope he sticks with it. I feel bad because J's birthday is the 23rd so gifts really run together, I know we are getting him a train set, and some kind of bike/trike, and maybe a few more little things, but I still don't think he really "gets" gifts. No idea for my parents, the IL's or siblings/sibling IL's.
I do have a 6 yo nephew and we really want to get him an "experience", like what NDM was talking about. Any ideas from anyone? Are there any cool shows/concerts coming up a 6 yo boy would like?
we are buying a new tv for ourselves.
kira will get some barbie stuff, my little pony stuff and either an ipad or the leappad.
This morning I thought about it and I want a remote starter for my car. It'll be nice to have a warm car to get into with the babe.
I have no idea what to get DH or anyone in our family. To be fair, I haven't really thought about it. I want to get going on it though so that I'm not rushing around with all the crazies in the middle of December.
Someone's getting a little brother!
I've thought about different ideas, but haven't really decided on many quite yet. I have a few gifts purchased but out of my monsterous list, a few gifts is nothing
Just an idea for co-worker/daycare gifts...what about the "cookies in a jar". You put all the dry ingredients in a mason jar, put some ribbon on it and attach the recipe. It can be made where it looks cute by layering the ingredients, and using a decorative topper but yet simple and inexpensive.
I have a battle of the homemades with my sister in law. I can't divulge my ideas because I never know if she may lurk around these boards one day.
We're only buying for DD this year. Her big gift from Santa will be a Wii (which is, admittedly, as much for me as it is for her). She'll also get a big Craft Box, which I'm filling with tons of basic craft supplies - construction paper, felt, foam letters/shapes, glue, scissors, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, etc.Oh, and I picked up The Lion King DVD.
Anything else I get her will depend upon what the family decides to get her. DD wants the Rapunzel Artist doll, the Pixie Hollow dolls, a beauty stylist dress-up kit thinger (toy hair dryer, toy make-up), books, and movies.
And Christmas PJs from us, which she'll open on Christmas Eve. That's a tradition. I still need to find a cute pair.
My mom has about 10 of these laying around her house, I have about 3.
We ony buy for the kids in our family, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
DD- Her big toy will be a doll house or an art desk, I already got a snow suit, We will round it out with some clothes, and books. DD has 3 sets of grandparents, so I don't plan to buy too much.
DNephew (17) will get cash or a gift card for a gas station
DNewphew (7)- anything Star Wars or Halo releated
DNephew (5)- probably something Nerf
The thought of coming up with Christmas gifts is depressing. I feel like I give the same lame gifts every year.
Dad=whatever books he tells me he wants.
Mom & aunt=earrings and/or sweater.
Grandparents=whatever my mom tells me to get them.
Sister=gift card. BIL=whatever my sis says to get him.
DH=clothes and inevitably something else lame, or in recent years, an IOU for something he told me to get him.
It's not that I don't want to be thoughtful, but it seems like when I try really hard to come up with a thoughtful gift, it doesn't go over as well as I expected. Or, my gift ideas are way too expensive. And I NEVER have any ideas for DH. I give him gifts or gift cards that sit around for years unused. The only gifts that have gone over well with him are video games (which he doesn't have time to play anymore).
BFP#1: 01/10, M/C 6w -- BFP#2: 06/10, M/C 5w -- BFP#3: 09/10, DS born June 1, 2011
BFP#4: 07/12, M/C 5w3d -- BFP#5: 12/12, EDD 08/18/13
Decorate This
I understand how you feel SK. Lately Christmas shopping had become a lot less fun for me because suddenly everyone just bought an item off each others Amazon wish list or gave each other gift certificates.
We put the brakes on the whole thing and decided to just buy for the kids this year. It makes life so much easier.
We do the Amazon list thing too.
We may go the kid-only route in a few years, but right now DS is the only kid in the family.
BFP#1: 01/10, M/C 6w -- BFP#2: 06/10, M/C 5w -- BFP#3: 09/10, DS born June 1, 2011
BFP#4: 07/12, M/C 5w3d -- BFP#5: 12/12, EDD 08/18/13
Decorate This
Ugh- I am in the midst of MIL holiday shopping hell and it's not even Halloween! Seriously.
We bought the ILs nice monogrammed towels over the summer when NM was having a big sale. I sent DH the link and said "these might make a nice Xmas gift" and he ran w/ it. Then MIL e-mails me w/ a link to replacements.com informing me she broke 6 bowls over the summer and would like them for Christmas- and that she ran this by SIL and she said she is "set." I replied back to her that I would have to speak to DH about it, and would get back to her. Really I wanted to check the Tuesday Mornings around me because I know that they carry this pattern for a lot less than the $16 per bowl plus shipping that Replacements charges. I picked up 2 of them today, and need to call the Tuesday AM product locator system and see if I can get 4 more.
My mom wants a new thing of touche eclat (fancy under eye concealer/highlighter) and a Sportsac bag. My dad really doesn't like to get gifts, so I will probably just do pictures of the kids or something the kids made, etc. for him.
DH and I are doing v. limited gift exchange.
DD is making a list.
I really just want to have our bathtub surround regrouted. sexy, no?
My BFF's 40th birthday present was that they closed off their 2 story foyer and made another bedroom. She was like "wanna see waht my husband got me?" And, she's very into jewelry, so I'm expecting something good. ... .LOL! but, hey, its what she wanted.
Ugh, just thinking about shopping for DH rattles me nerves. He LOVES to have lots of Christmas gifts between the two of us but I am super easy to shop for (and make a good wish list on top of it) and he is impossible to shop for and makes a crappy list--because even HE can't think of what he'd want!!
And his birthday is in Nov which makes it doubly as bad. I'm getting panicky just thinking about it.
Our Share of the Harvest:How a couple cooks from a CSA share. Pick Up Day Week 15
We also need to have the guts of our one corner kitchen cabinet replaced (it's a lazy susan contraption that got all off kilter and now the door doesn't open or close properly, so we can't use the cabinet.) I mentioned it to my mom and she was all "oh your dad can do that for you" but he can't or at least he can't in any reasonable time period-right-the-first time, etc. I basically want like $400 of handyman work done around my house!
My DH likes to exchange (or rather get) expensive gifts. 8 days of Hannukah, plus stockings gets pretty expensive. I think that we should only buy for DD and scale back on presents for each other.
Not sure what we are getting anyone this year. My sister & I don't really exchange gifts. Grandparents will probably get photo books/calendars of DD. They really like that kind of stuff... We don't really exchange gifts with other members of the family, which is good!
I bought DH some clothes and he wants a tie/belt holder.
I have some clothes that I want and agility equipment. DH told me that my Sephora order this week during their F&F sale should just be my Christmas gift.
Ugh, no clue what I will get anyone. DH & I are getting a new dishwasher on Black Friday (it has become our tradition to stay up all night and shop all day and pick out a new appliance to upgrade our kitchen in particular). We got an iPad last year and this year DH really wants to get a really nice camera. I keep pushing him off telling him we should wait until we have a kid so we have a nice top of the line one at the time.
I gave him a small list of stuff I would like but nothing huge: new pair of riding boots, new Marc Jacobs bag among other things.
I have no clue what I will get him. We talked about getting tickets for a Ravens Game but who knows.