How Are You Shopping for Christmas This Year (and What are you Buying?)

[pdxvintagette]

It's Black Friday. I thought it might be nice to see how Loungers like to shop for Christmas... or even if your shopping habits are changing this year.

I find that I feel the need to buy less gifts each year. My friends know I appreciate them, and besides, they drink my liquor year round, right? The few people I buy for fall into two catagories: predictable (my dad always wants the Worlds Softest Socks) and vintage.

This year, I actually shopped at a REAL PHYSICAL RETAIL location for my main vintage purchase. And I think I got the best of all possible items, too! I sell online and am pretty used to online shopping, but it's just so nice to buy quality vintage IN PERSON.

I am, however, adding Etsy to the list of places I look for Christmas gift, for my sister in particular. She is pregnant, and due in just a few days, so it is time to look for baby's first Christmas stuff.

So, did you tackle the mall today? Or go shopping on that "trendy" street (the one that has no big box stores, and everything is "boutique" sized) or did you sit at home and hunt the net? Or are you being superman/woman and making your gifts?

 

[Miss Sis]

A bit of a mixture for me this year. Previously I would have hit the streets to buy presents, but this year it's mainly:

1. Buy on-line (postal strikes we were meant to have seem to be over - for now) and

2. Making my own gifts. Both knitting and sewing are in this mix and probably I will also do some baking closer to the time.

Partly this is also because we don't have easy access to shops where we live, but buying on-line makes life ALOT easier for many things.
I am making quite practical gifts. I sort of feel in the current economic climate it's appropriate, somehow.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"Just cash and a card, seems to go down well"

 

[daizawaguy]

Buying American this year. Great prices!

 

[Paisley]

Need Good Quality Warm Gloves

My list of people to shop for was down to my parents this year. My best friend and I no longer shop for each other, my favorite brother and sister are gone, and I don't shop for my coworkers, nieces or nephews. Since my parents and I don't need a thing, we decided to give gifts to charity.

My parents get children's wish lists from a Christmas tree at the grocery store; I'm getting gifts for teens and youth through a charity called Urban Peak. It's the only youth shelter in a city of two million people.

I bought some hoodies at Ross, some wool military spec watch caps at a site called GoCommandoGear, and some deeply discounted wool stocking caps for girls at the Lands' End outlet site.

Unban Peak says they mostly need hats and gloves. Anybody know where I can get good quality warm gloves on the cheap?

 

[MissLemmon]

Yesterday I was recovering from Thanksgiving dinner, so spent almost all of my day on the internet looking for gifts, ideas, and actually started making lists. Have a feeling this year family and friends will be getting some lovely handcrafted gifts for the most part, and some vintage items for a few special people, and yes for the man in my life, something to do with technology.

Cannot manage the malls here in New Jersey, nor the crowds, and legions of meanies who push and shove and women who want to fistfight you for a parking spot, while their child is in the back seat crying. Sad, but true. So, the internet and small boutiques in town are my shopping spots this year.

 

[MissLemmon]

My list of people to shop for was down to my parents this year. My best friend and I no longer shop for each other, my favorite brother and sister are gone, and I don't shop for my coworkers, nieces or nephews. Since my parents and I don't need a thing, we decided to give gifts to charity.

My parents get children's wish lists from a Christmas tree at the grocery store; I'm getting gifts for teens and youth through a charity called Urban Peak. It's the only youth shelter in a city of two million people.

I bought some hoodies at Ross, some wool military spec watch caps at a site called GoCommandoGear, and some deeply discounted wool stocking caps for girls at the Lands' End outlet site.

Unban Peak says they mostly need hats and gloves. Anybody know where I can get good quality warm gloves on the cheap?

Actually the dollar store has some really nice gloves.

 

[Edward]

I usually try to do at least half my shopping online - I think I'm maybe doing a greater proportion of it that way this year. Many ways I prefer to shop in person because I just enjoy the process more. The savings to be had by buying online, however, are most assuredly not to be sniffed at. Also, I make an annual tour of duty to family in the Old Country to spend Christmas with my parents and the rest of them; shopping online, especially from Amazon, allows me to have a significant proportion of the presents I buy shipped direct to their door, which makes life considerably easier when it comes to limited baggage allowances on the flight out there. Otherwise, there are some places I know that won't let me down for things I want for various folks - Covent Garden Market for little trinkets, crafty bits, toiletries (not any more expensive than the likes of Boots or M&S, and that bit more personal for their being different), Urban Outfitters for quirky little funny books about cats and the likes, that sort of thing. I usually also pick up a few bits while I'm travelling - this year I have silk cushion covers for my grandmother; those were purchased in Beijing last May. I've picked up some beautiful presents for folks out there since 2006.

I'm not buying anything vintage this year; I think the last thing I did that way was a Victorian locket (early 1840s) for a friend's birthday a couple of years ago. Maybe next year it would be nice to have somebody around to buy something for from What Katy Did.

 

[Sertsa]

I always do quite a bit of research and deciding what to get people, since I try to get something special that they'll really like. Because of that, my work hours and the difficulty in finding local retailers who stock what I decide to get, I shop a lot on line. (I tend to figure out what I want to get then find a place to buy it, which can be frustrating locally). I'd like to do more shopping in local places, but most of the small, unique stores with great service seem to be in other places. I have found some very cool places, though.

I do make an annual trip to an antique mall or two.

 

[Paisley]

Actually the dollar store has some really nice gloves.

I just found some gloves at Lands' End Overstocks. Thanks for the suggestion, though!

 

[clubwitsend]

I'm with you on doing a lot of Etsy shopping! Unique items always go over well, and I love supporting DIY businesses...

Since I'm in NYC, I'm going to be taking advantage of some sample sales and things like that to take care of Mom and some friends...I love getting them great quality things, but that makes it a LOT more affordable!

And I think ebay is going to be my best resource for vintage-y gifts...NYC is SO overpriced for vintage that it's really the best bet for me...

 

[Sertsa]

Oh, I also buy gifts for families and children in need. I tend to try to find creative things, so they can have an outlet. Art supply sets, sketchpads and the like are favorites.

 

[dhermann1]

If I had the constitution of an NFL fullback, I'd brave the crowds at Macy's. Macy's is worth a trip this time of year, just for the spectacle. But my least favorite spot in the world is 34th St and Broadway, when the Macy's crowds are swarming.
I had just bought myself a pair of gloves on sake at www.chesterjefferies.co.uk . When I received them, I was so delighted with them, that I went online and bought 6 more pairs as Christmas presents for a whole slew of people. So I'm shopping online, and helping Anglo-American commerce thrive.

 

[23SkidooWithYou]

I was a fine jewelry retail manager for years and years. We had to be in the store 1 hour before open to crack the safes and set up the displays. So, if the store opened at 6am, I was there at 5am. If they bumped it to 5am the following year, I was there at 4am. I don't do Black Friday since I left retail. (and you can't make me! ) I have noticed that the department store madness has dwindled in the past 10 years. I can remember not being able to say hello to a coworker vs spending the morning chatting about our holiday plans in recent years.

I shop for my Mom and my cousins, one is like my younger brother and the others are more like neices and nephews due to the age difference. I will also pick up something small for my Aunts and my Uncle and add a gift card to a favorite place like Barnes & Noble or Michael's Crafts. And of course Santa Paws must prepare for the doggies and the kitties of the family.

Last year, I did the mall. This year, I'm back to online shopping and I'm trying to do it all from Etsy. I adore Etsy and I've already gotten two gifts for each of the three girls. I'm still hopeless for the boys!

Anybody have any good ideas for a 30 something guy and a 15 year old guy?

 

[Viola]

I only buy presents for my siblings and my fiance, and I buy in stores. Target was a hot mess today though.

I shipped my guy his gift last week due to the vagueries of international post. Hopefully its okay.

I gave my sister the bigger part of her present early due to an attack of nerves about whether it was okay. I now need stocking-stuffer sort of little things to open over the holiday - any suggestions? She asked for semi-sweet baking chocolate (...yes) but how can I make that cute?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I get a lot of complementary CDs from various bands that play live shows at the theatre, as well as the occasional preview DVD, and these somehow find their way under various Christmas trees. (If my mother is logged into the Lounge under an alias, I'm dead.)

 

[Viola]

And I need stuff by the 11th. >.<

Only my guy does Christmas, so I had the most time for him but I had his stuff the most planned out.

My brother is a November b-day (tomorrow!) so he's always had a lot of holiday overlap. I got him two books for his birthday, a shirt and tie for Chanukah, and he's getting a bunch of booze this year because he's turning 21. He can count on the shirt and tie sort of thing in the future but good luck getting the Jose Cuervo reliably from his big sis. lol

 

[Atticus Finch]

Its gonna be a lean Christmas on Atticus' farm.

This month, three of my neighbors and I fomed an LLC and bought fifty-five acres of old-growth forest and farmland adjoining our properties. We bought it to prevent it from being developed. God, I hate real estate developers. Now, we've got a lot of beautiful land, but we're as poor as church mice.

Early on Christmas morning, my girlfriend and I plan to take the Jeep out to the middle of an old bean field at the back of the property. We'll sit quietly and listen to whatever is singing or chirping or whistling there...and we'll drink a toast to letting some things remain as they are...

...and let that be our Christmas present to each other.

AF

 

[Lefty]

:eusa_clap I love that. Just imagining it makes me feel good.

Congratulations on the purchase, on having great neighbors, and on the best holiday plan I've ever heard.

 

[Jennifer Lynn]

I tend to engage in what I call "guerilla holiday shopping". That means make a list, prioritize, and hit the stores/malls that I can get to early in the day. Other than that, I do make some purchases online. These days I tend to aim for gifts that offer a good chuckle, or a tug at the heart strings. I don't aim for the most expensive, or the coolest, but something that says that I understand who I'm giving the gift to.