except for hubby. I did everything today. Now it's hubby's turn to get for the 2 adult boys and 1 adult grandson. We know what the one guy wants.

We cut back again this year. Money just doesn't stretch like it used to so we aren't buying for each other again. Everything I want is expensive...a new oven, a new refrigerator and a new used car. The oven is 30 years old and the 'fridge is 25 years old and the car is just starting to give problems while it's 18 years old. Maybe Santa will give us the right 6 numbers for the lottery. LOL (we don't play).

On another note, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Our meal was great. Looks like it will be the catering company again next year. Yum. So much to eat, it was 2 meals!

I am not making this up when I say this, for me, there really isn't anything I want but something
to eat.

Everyone knows, or at least everyone my age knows, Christmas is nothing like it use to be.

When I was a kid, I did get several Christmas presents. Although I did get some toys, I got
things that were needed any way.....a winter coat, warm pajama's, Sunday dress for church,
school or Sunday shoes.

I remember in 3rd grade at school after Christmas, the teacher said 'lets go around the room
and find out what everyone got for Christmas'. It was so exciting to tell everyone what you got.
What I remember about that was kids stating similar to the following (keep in mind, I lived in
Chicago land) :

-Saddle Shoes
-Sunday Shoes
-Barbie Doll and Boots
-Coat and Muffins
-Ear Muffs
-Jaxs and Marbles
-Hollywood Bed
-Transistor Radio
-Skate board
-Roller skates
-Ice skates
-Paper Dolls
-Comic Books
-Dress
-Pants

In other words, kids back then, at least where I lived and in my day, we had a nice little amount of
presents to open but they were simple things and they were things that we actually needed and/or
really uses often for years. Those things did cost money of course and people did not make as much
money then but lets face it, a new warm coat for a ten year old kid, was about $10 or $20. Nothing
cost much more than that in the clothing and shoe line. Toys, not much different. You could get a
Mr Potato Head for a couple bucks. Skate boards were very standard and a hot new item but we had
a blast with them and I am sure they were less than $10.

Today, kids want $500 game machines, computers, tablets, games, expensive clothes, etc.

valerie wrote:
Today, kids want $500 game machines, computers, tablets, games, expensive clothes, etc.

My kid wants a Rubik's Cube as a main present, and no other firm items on the list, just the adjectives "fluffy", "arty" and "gamey". It's really hard to shop for. I'm secretly proud that I have a kid who isn't really materialistic at all, but I also half wish I did have a materialistic kid who did have an expensive list. At least that'd give me a hint of what to buy.

yes i know growing up in the 80's was wonderful, lots of memories ,yes i loved xmas,everything about it,all the kiddies programs,jelly and ice-cream at school,etc etc,toys were cheaper then but at the time commensurate with earnings so seemed alot for some people at the time...
nowadays kids want iphones.latest gadgets and xboxes,,,the price of one back then could probably have bought the whole neighbourhood presents for xmas!

i remember getting knitting sets and crayons with colouring books

Bought the 1st one for my little-sister

A yellow suitcase for about 150$

Jingle bells jingle bells,Jingle all the way oh what fun it is to throw your cash away

I'll be singing that until my wallet is empty

My parents weren't rich but my dad grew up on a farm and became a cop, and my mom worked in a shoe factory. Her Christmas gifts used to be a couple walnuts and an orange, so I'm embarassed to say but I was spoiled at Christmas. I would get so much, I never knew where to start and the toys would always be something no other kid in my neighborhood would have. I still have a riding horse that I've never seen anywhere else in this country except for Cybil Shepard having the same exact one...I had gotten a pogo stick one year, table tennis and badmitten (spelling?)set, and mom got me started on doll collecting by giving me a doll made in France; another one-of-a-kind item.

I never got clothing or shoes for Christmas until I was a teenager. With mom working for a world-renowned shoe company and a company that made special shoes for orthopedic problems, I never had to worry about shoes. I had saddle shoes, sandals, penny loafers, Mary Janes, you name it. Whatever the company made, mom would bring home a pair.

When I had kids, I spoiled them rotten at Christmas. They would give me a list and I'd do all I could to give them everything but they also grew up learning to appreciate what they had and to be charitable to others. Many times my kids would give one of their gifts away to someone who didn't have much.

Gawd I hated saddle shoes. Tossed them in the ally one year and told my family
someone stole them during gym class.

Nikorj wrote: Bought the 1st one for my little-sister

A yellow suitcase for about 150$

Jingle bells jingle bells,Jingle all the way oh what fun it is to throw your cash away

I'll be singing that until my wallet is empty

So eh,how big is your wallet?

Some times it seems like there was a lot less to buy in the 60's compared to now.
I'm probably wrong about that and it probably seems that way to me now since I am no longer a kid.
Also, probably seems that way to me due to all the various kitchen gadgets and stuff for people other than kids, today.

Yeah, I think most everyone, even adults, got winter wear at Christmas time.
School coat and/or Church coat, gloves, sweaters, boots, ear muffs, etc. Ice
Skates was always a big seller, I am sure. Bikes, but for me, that was something
I got for my birthday, not Christmas.

Games were always a very big seller but that was something I never got unless
I bought it myself. I wasn't allowed to have playing cards or dice. So anything
that had cards or dice with it, I did not get at Christmas......although there were
games and cards I would sneak and buy on my own.

I always got dolls at Christmas. It was the barbs doll era. I remember wanting
the barbie that had hair that would grow and I got it one year at Christmas. She
had a hole in the top of her head and to make her hair grow, I would simply pull
it out of her head.

One year an uncle married and my new aunt got me one of the Christmas gifts
that I will never forget. I was surprised I got a gift from her, for starters so that
may be one reason why I remember it. Another reason I may remember it is
because it was the big snow year that made history in Chicago land..... 1967.
It was an entire set of 'Love's Soft Lemon'. Someone, 'Twiggy' or maybe it was
'Marianne Faithful' advertised that cologne, and it was glorious to me. I think
some times it can found for sale on Amazon but people complain it doesn't have
the same aroma.

Christmas gifts I have given include a Pot Noodle and a Turnip, a slice of burnt toast, a wee (actually lemon juice, but she still thinks it was wee - she wanted a Wii), and a jar of mini pickled onions (minions...mini-onions).

These are the presents everyone remembers for years. Nobody remembers the Christmas list other than the biggest presents even six months later.

BouldRake wrote: Christmas gifts I have given include a Pot Noodle and a Turnip, a slice of burnt toast, a wee (actually lemon juice, but she still thinks it was wee - she wanted a Wii), and a jar of mini pickled onions (minions...mini-onions).

These are the presents everyone remembers for years. Nobody remembers the Christmas list other than the biggest presents even six months later.

Funny stuff.

You do have a point. I can recall a few things I received at Christmas as a kid but even as an adult,
I don't remember much unless it is something from my kids and grandkids. I think people tend to
remember the things that are truly important or have some sort of special attachment. Just like a
family gathering. I am going to remember the family gathering and conversations more so than a
present under a tree.

BouldRake wrote: Christmas gifts I have given include a Pot Noodle and a Turnip, a slice of burnt toast, a wee (actually lemon juice, but she still thinks it was wee - she wanted a Wii), and a jar of mini pickled onions (minions...mini-onions).

Sorry - but what is a Pot Noodle?

It's a plastic pot full of instant noodles, with a packet of cheap soy sauce. You fill the pot from the kettle, and eat from the packaging it comes in. To give you an idea of how low quality they are, they're mostly meat flavoured, but are all suitable for vegetarians (in as much as they're suitable for human consumption at all, anyway).

Student food, in other words.

BouldRake wrote: It's a plastic pot full of instant noodles, with a packet of cheap soy sauce. You fill the pot from the kettle, and eat from the packaging it comes in. To give you an idea of how low quality they are, they're mostly meat flavoured, but are all suitable for vegetarians (in as much as they're suitable for human consumption at all, anyway).

Student food, in other words.

Oh, ok....
I think they're what's called Cup Noodles (by one manufacturer) here, and usually are in styrofoam cups.

Are the Pot Noodles the ramen-type noodles? Ramen noodles are a main staple for A LOT of college students in US!

I don't think they are ramen, I think it's wide noodles, but it's the same kind of thing, and popular for the same reasons (costing not much, taking seconds to prepare, and tasting better when you're drunk).