I'm so glad I'm long past the material side of Christmas. Heheh, even when I did buy gifts for all my friends ... it was always stuff to crack each other up when we opened it, rather than items of any actual use, value, or keephood.


But it's probably been almost a decade since I've limited gifts to my ex-wife, my kid, and - in happy years - my sig. other. It's been SO fantastic not to have to spend the entire season shopping, not to have such a gigantic money-suck, and not least of all to return to experiencing some of the seasonal spirit apart from the gift-giving (whose spirit of generosity and bounty I do not decry, btw).


As it turns out, this year I have occasion to buy more gifts than usual. But that won't get me anywhere near a store on Black Friday. I will be scanning for good deals on a good TV ... but that will be a Christmas gift for me.


Heheh, and that's ANOTHER problem with Christmas Shopping. It's always been one for them, one for me, one for them, one for me. Magic Spell for $$$$$ be gone!

LOL ISM that's why i make my gifts to my friends other than an item bought here and there. Plus i make one for me too. :) I hear ya this year my list is the shortest it's ever been i think. Something we all agreed upon this year to spend the very minimum. I can't imagine going shopping and having bags upon bags of material things and not being happy or being happy til Xmas morning or when the bills start rolling in.

I wish one year we'd just not do gifts but that won't happen considering my mom is the most giving person i ever know or known making sure there are gifts under the tree. Plus my new nephew his really first Xmas he'll remember so. But for me material things don't make me happy. It's being with family and seeing Xmas thru my nephews eyes and having my friends call me or email me that they love their homemade gifts. :) I'm tempted to go to midnight mass on Xmas Eve. Did it once a few years ago. Since i'll probablly be up anyways. But we'll see.

Check out Costco online. They have a 2pk of LCD TVs for $1700. They also have some good prices on other LCDs. I heard they were good as far as those types of TVs go. My knowledge is limited, so I cannot say for sure.

Matt would know he's a geek at this stuff. :)

Nothing like standing in line at 3am for 5 hours to save $20 on something that was $30 off six months ago, with the additional hope of having the remote chance of getting a very limited (i.e. quantity 5 - while supplies last!) item, and see people fight over it. 'Tis the season! ;)

I value my sleep and time a LOT more than that.

I'd also rather spend that time making gifts for people instead.

A big portion of my Black Friday Bah Humbugness stems from my old retail days, when I seriously had to call mall security over two ladies beating the crap out of each other in my store over the last stupid 50%-off windchime. :rolleyes:

I'm not past it. I think a material Christmas is a GREAT thing. As long as it other people buying stuff for ME!

I just wish Walmart would go die...

I blame friends and family, if we didn"t have those, there'd be no reason to exchange gifts and we could return to the true meaning of Christmas.

No, people decide that WANT Christmas to be that way. What's wrong with doing it that way if that's the way they want to celebrate? Give gifts, bring joy, spend yourself into a hole, make all of your gifts, don't give gifts, go to church, kill a tree, don't do anything....it's really up to the individual to decide how they want to celebrate.