Friday, September 26, 2008

Sometimes It Pays To Be An Early Christmas Shopper!

I think I've mentioned before that I start shopping for Christmas EARLY. With limited funds, and a large family, putting things on layaway, and getting a jump start on the holidays is essential for me. I don't deal with panic or frenzy well, and the idea of doing last minute shopping on Christmas Eve makes me break out in a cold sweat and start to hyperventilate!

I like to take my time, shop around, look for sales. ESPECIALLY since I have the growing boy child, whose "wish list" has NOTHING on it with a value of less than $50 dollars. I kid you not.

So....

As summer draws to an end, I begin to ask my children what they'd like for Christmas. My son puts his list up on our bulletin board in the kitchen, and adds to it whenever he thinks of something new. Of course, he's not getting EVERY SINGLE THING, but so far, here's what he's requested, and here's what we've purchased:

Gears of War 2 (for XBox 360): Retails for $59.99 -- this game doesn't come out until November, and we may wait until after the holidays are over for this one.
Guitar Hero 4 (for XBox 360) Retails for $150*
Guitar Hero Aerosmith (for XBox 360) - Retails for $49.99 -- we got him this
Unreal Tournament 3 (for XBox 360) -- Retails for $59.99 -- we got him this
Call of Duty 4 (for PS3) -- Retails for $59.99 -- we got him this
iPod (we got him an Onyx MP3 player for his birthday, 'cause I refused to spend $200 bucks for essentially the same thing!)
Rock Band (for XBox 360) -- *Can't decide whether to get him this or Guitar Hero 4 -- they both cost about the same, but we will ONLY get one.
XBox Live 3 Month Card -- Retails for $50 -- Probably won't get this for him.
1600 Microsoft Point Card -- Retails for $20 -- I think my mom's getting him this for his birthday.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance (this one's new on the list, so I don't know which system he wants it for, or how much it costs, or if it's even OUT yet).

I also got him some clothes, which he'll probably think is boring, but he needs them desperately.

Miss R. is a bit all over the place with her Christmas list. The ONE thing she truly wants is her own XBox 360 system, which we got for her, as her "big" gift from my husband and me. She's also been asking for Bakugan playsets. She wanted both the launcher, and the starter orbs, which look like this:

























Because I start my Christmas shopping early, I found both the launcher and this particular set of red orbs (they come in different colors, you see... each color represents one of the five elements, I believe), and purchased them for my daughter, who will be thrilled BEYOND belief when she opens them. She said she wanted both the blue and the red orbs, so I've recently been trying to track down a package containing the blue ones.... and they're SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE. And I mean EVERYWHERE. My husband thinks that people are buying them and selling them on EBay, which could definitely be a possibility (as awful as that is... to take away toys from a little kid so you can make a profit is disgusting to me), but I've searched and searched, and can't find any more starter sets anywhere. The good thing is, she'll definitely be over the moon with the set she will get! :)


As for my little one... well, she's got me turning to look at the television every five minutes, telling me she wants a different toy being advertised. In a nutshell, she wants EVERYTHING. But, I did ask her, "If you went to see Santa, and you could ask him for only ONE thing, what would it be?", and she said she'd either ask for Mermaid Barbie, or the Peek-A-Boo Petites Barbies. Again... Mama, the early-bird, already has both stored away, and the Peek-A-Boo Petites are a hard item to find, too!


So, I'm thrilled that I got in early on these hot new toys, and that I'm not going to be forced to be one of those parents who has to get up at the crack of dawn the day after Thanksgiving, and head out to a toy store, get in line, and put my name in on a lottery to be one of the lucky ones to be able to purchase these. Nor will I have to scour the pages of EBay, hoping to score a deal. I have these little treasures, all tucked away, ready to be wrapped and placed under the tree for my little ones.
I can't tell you how excited that makes me! :)

6 comments:

Kay said...

Wow. With lists like that I'd have to start early too.

Kay said...

oh.. on the games... watch Toys R Us's flyers... the buy 2 PS/XB/Nintendo games get one free should be coming up soon

Natalie said...

man...you are either a real nice mom or really rolling in the dough! My kids all together are getting a wii and about 10 games total...I am really excited to see the looks on their faces Christmas morning!

Michelle D. said...

Congrats on the early shopping! I've been trying to stick stuff away too (especially stocking stuffers.) We're getting a Wii at our house too! Shhh...don't tell my 10 year old. Funny story, Natalie and I were about 60 miles from my house (during one of our summer road trips) She knew I'd been looking for a Wii. We stumbled upon one at the mall. Natalie was a saint and took all of her kids, plus mine to the Disney store, so I could make my purchase. Tyler was SO suspicious about what I was doing. I finally told a white lie and told him I bought a Wii(on Natalie's behalf) for her to give to her boys! He fell for it-thank goodness! I've been picking up games to go with it when I see them on sale etc.
I think the little Barbies are cute too! Might have to pick some up for Kira. Or suggest it to Grandma ;)
I LOVE the day after Thanksgiving sales! I score some GREAT deals! My mom and I ususally leave my house at 3:00 a.m. and freeze to death! We make up our shopping list and strategy map while the guys are watching football on Thanksgiving day. We've met some of the nicest people when we've been waiting in line. By the time the store opens 2-3 hours later, you feel like you've known them forever! Wouldn't miss it for the world. Sorry I rambled so long!

Mama C. said...

The Peek A Boo Petites are really cute, but a word of warning: if Kira sticks ANYTHING in her mouth, I'd be careful... for some STUPID reason, these dolls come completely apart at the waist (they snap in half, into two pieces)!

My mom was out with us one day, and S. was BEGGING for one, so she caved (she's much more of a mushpot than I'll EVER be... I tend hold out this time of year!). I thought they were adorable, until we'd discovered that S. had LOST the bottom half of her teeny weeny Barbie! We've yet to find the thing, but her room is due for a good scouring, and I fully expect to find it then (along with about 4,000 pacifiers that have gone missing!).

The pieces that come with them are also teeny weeny, too.

Congrats on the Wii... they're STILL so hard to find! :)

Michelle D. said...

Thanks for the warning. Maybe we'll have to pass for the time being (unless Grandma gives in and gets them for her).