Question of the Day, Sunday, November 27, 2016

good afternoon! 

today i've been thinking about my Christmas gifts list -- gifts for my cats, and for others. this will be our DeeDee and Punky's first Christmas with us, so Jaspurr and i want to make it as exciting and 'magical' for our girls as possible!

so with these thoughts on my mind, for today's Question of the Day......

Have you started your Christmas gifts shopping?

and, just because i'm curious --

Does anyone bake or can or otherwise make some of the gifts they give for Christmas?

i'll start!

i have started my Christmas gifts shopping already. i've been adding stocking stuffer gifts for my cats in (online) orders that were just short of qualifying for free shipping for a few months now -- i'd much rather add in a little something to bring my total up to free shipping, than to pay for shipping. i've also got two more gifts for my cats which i'd like to purchase, but we'll see what my budget allows. 

i usually bake or can some Christmas gifts each year. this year, as every year (since my little snick   passed), i'll be baking gifts for our vet's and staff -- oatmeal peanut butter cookies this Christmas!

i've also decided to bake a 3-layer Carob Cake with Carob-Cream Cheese Buttercream, for myself at Christmas. i'm just substituting carob powder for cocoa powder in the recipe, which was originally Chocolate Cake with Chocolate-Cream Cheese Buttercream. this is the recipe i found -- http://thestayathomechef.com/the-most-amazing-chocolate-cake/ , which looks and sounds like it will be most excellent! 

How about you?

Well, I usually don't do the black friday thing, but this year, I did go out. NOT early though. I slept in, blew out my hair, then went out around lunch time.

Since I was off this weekend, I thought I'd go ahead & get it done, so I could relax the rest of the weekend!

I went for specific things, so just went to one area. All 3 places I went to were all on the same street, & two were in the same shopping center.

I went to Bed Bath & Beyond to get something for my sister, & B.I.L. then across to Home Goods for their other gift.

Then I went to Rue 21 for my niece. I am ordering something for my parents, so got that done today, & now, just have to go to the fishing store my nephew wants a G.C. from.( He fishes a lot, & also does some fishing contest, which some of which he has won!  So he's picky about what he uses, so we just get him G.C's from that store). 

I did get something for Sammy too at Petco! It was also in the same shopping center, so of course, I had to go in! 

I also looked at the cute little Christmas dresses, that she would be So cute in, if only for a picture, but she would kill me!!  hahahahah! 

"No mommy, I NOT wear this!" 

I tend to buy gifts for Christmas throughout the year. If I see something I know someone will enjoy, I'll either buy it right away or make a note of it and wait until closer to Christmas when there might be a coupon code or discount. I'm almost done with my shopping this year. I just need to get one small thing and that's it.

I usually bake cookies to give to co-workers. I haven't done it in awhile, though. The effort went unappreciated by people I worked with in my previous position. This year I'm just going to give cookies to the few people I work closely with because I know they will appreciate the gift and the thought and effort that went into it. I'm either going to make peppermint crinkle cookies or fudgy chocolate chip cookies.

I really have cut out 99% of gift giving.. I stopped giving gifts to my cousin's kids.. my friends and I understand the value of friendship and that is enough.. We usually go out to eat and just relax, so that is our gifts to each other..

At one point I was buying 16 gifts for family. I cannot afford it anymore, plus I really do not know what to buy for these people. I only see them at holidays.. so I really do not know what they have at home. 

I do give my Super a gift-- usually a GC and a bottle of Wine. 

I bring a 'hostess' gift for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... 

and of course, Artie does not need anything--except better health.. but I did pick up a bobble snow penguin at Petco.. I will have to save a box and wrap it inside that.. He is at the age, almost 13, that he does not play all that much... unless I buy him a new fleece blanket to sleep on....

I know I am forgetting someone, I will have to remember and go over my gift list...

I started Christmas shopping for this year after Christmas last year! It's a great time to pick up bargains, especially those of the Christmas novelty type Like LTS3 , I pick things up as I see them too, or make a note for later on.

I do make a LOT of presents too though - I enjoy crafting (and baking if I'm in the mood) and a lot of the people I know appreciate home made gifts (I make gemstone and silver jewellery, among other things, and that always goes down well :lol3: ).

I pretty much have all my shopping done, though I do need to pick up a few extras for my parents and get a gift card for a friend's daughter.

The crafting is another matter. Jewellery is (almost) done, but I have a lot of fabric crafting and sewing still to do. It may be my greyhound's last Christmas so I'm going to make him and extra special fleece jumper/coat. He loves his snuggly jumpers and adores getting new ones. Ive ordered him a special fleece blankie too (his other great pleasure in life) :heart3:

I'll be making a load of catnip toys for the cats (and friends' cats) too, to go with the pile of toys I got 'free' with loyalty points

I've been shopping since early summer, and it's all done now.  Although...next year, my list may be longer.  I used to make most of my gifts but quit when my vision got bad and I couldn't afford new glasses.  NOW I have them, and may well start making gifts again.

Almost done shopping here, too. There are a few little things for Rick that I'll look for next Thursday night while he's bowling. The grands are finished. Just really my sister and BIL yet. I think we're going to give our son and DIL money; he was out of work for awhile and I'm sure they could use it.

My GF and I used to exchange a magazine subscription, but she said on Thanksgiving that wanted to stop it as it's gotten too expensive. And that's fine by me. I was kind of relieved myself, to be honest.

Funny you should mention homemade gifts. For years I baked cookies and other treats for friends and nobody has ever complained (that I know of). Around the end of October, somebody will say, "Hey, are you making such and such cookie this year? Am I still on your cookie list?" So I think they're appreciated. I usually give cookies to our dentist and I always take a tray into work as well. The cookies are gone in no time. And when I was into the dentist for that crown problem, the frist thing my dentist said was, "Why didn't you bring cookies?"

On another board that I semi-post/mostly lurk at, there was a huge free-for-all last year about people who made cookies and candies for their friends. And how these ladies would never, EVER eat anything made by somebody else. EVER. I'm talking EVER. They would accept them, take them home and promptly throw it all away. One woman said that, when her father passed away, people brought casseroles and deli stuff to her house to help her out. She accepted everything, threw it all away, and then gave the empty containers back to the people. Why? Because you don't know how dirty people can be and you can get sick eating stuff made by other people. And it's all just horrible, horrible stuff. I bet there were a good 20 pages of posts made by women who absolutely agreed with the original poster and who stated they would never eat anything at all from somebody else. They just chuck it all. Oh, and especially if it was made by a woman who had cats....they made sure to mention that. Because the cats were probably counter-surfing and anyone with cats obviously doesn't clean that well. The whole thing was just so incredibly rude, tactless, and self-centered. They were all smugly patting themselves on the back. Somebody did mention supermarket cookies and treats; those, of course, were fine.

I was flabbergasted. I really was. I was shocked. And it got me thinking about spending all that time and effort on baking. I honestly don't know what to do this year. I haven't sent out cookie packages in a while and many people now just exchange cards, not presents. I do love to bake and I'm always as careful and as clean as I can possibly be when I'm cooking.

I see some of you are planning to give food gifts this year. I probably will as well, but now I always keep that in the back of my mind. That whole thread was just incredibly ugly.

mickNsnicks2mom said:

 
i've also decided to bake a 3-layer Carob Cake with Carob-Cream Cheese Buttercream, for myself at Christmas. 

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Can I come to  your house?   That sounds incredibly delicious.  

I've cut back on my gift list over the past 5 years.  I just bought our daughter's dog a gift today - always think of the animals first.   

Winchester said:

On another board that I semi-post/mostly lurk at, there was a huge free-for-all last year about people who made cookies and candies for their friends. And how these ladies would never, EVER eat anything made by somebody else. EVER. I'm talking EVER. They would accept them, take them home and promptly throw it all away. One woman said that, when her father passed away, people brought casseroles and deli stuff to her house to help her out. She accepted everything, threw it all away, and then gave the empty containers back to the people. Why? Because you don't know how dirty people can be and you can get sick eating stuff made by other people. And it's all just horrible, horrible stuff. I bet there were a good 20 pages of posts made by women who absolutely agreed with the original poster and who stated they would never eat anything at all from somebody else. They just chuck it all. Oh, and especially if it was made by a woman who had cats....they made sure to mention that. Because the cats were probably counter-surfing and anyone with cats obviously doesn't clean that well. The whole thing was just so incredibly rude, tactless, and self-centered. They were all smugly patting themselves on the back. Somebody did mention supermarket cookies and treats; those, of course, were fine.

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I can sort of see the sense in this. I worked with a woman from Senegal & she would never eat anything that someone made for her. I was always shocked when everything was immediately put in the bin. Personally, I love homemade baked goods, but I don't know if I would eat someone else's casserole, etc. What really creeps me out is being offered cookies & candy from uncovered plates that have been sitting out God knows how long & God knows who has previously had their mitts on the plate.

I only need to buy the cats, hermit crabs and gerbils something. Kids are done. Stockings are set except lip balm for me. Oh and I need to buy a pair of holiday boxers for hubby lol

Winchester said:

 
Almost done shopping here, too. There are a few little things for Rick that I'll look for next Thursday night while he's bowling. The grands are finished. Just really my sister and BIL yet. I think we're going to give our son and DIL money; he was out of work for awhile and I'm sure they could use it.

My GF and I used to exchange a magazine subscription, but she said on Thanksgiving that wanted to stop it as it's gotten too expensive. And that's fine by me. I was kind of relieved myself, to be honest.

Funny you should mention homemade gifts. For years I baked cookies and other treats for friends and nobody has ever complained (that I know of). Around the end of October, somebody will say, "Hey, are you making such and such cookie this year? Am I still on your cookie list?" So I think they're appreciated. I usually give cookies to our dentist and I always take a tray into work as well. The cookies are gone in no time. And when I was into the dentist for that crown problem, the frist thing my dentist said was, "Why didn't you bring cookies?"

On another board that I semi-post/mostly lurk at, there was a huge free-for-all last year about people who made cookies and candies for their friends. And how these ladies would never, EVER eat anything made by somebody else. EVER. I'm talking EVER. They would accept them, take them home and promptly throw it all away. One woman said that, when her father passed away, people brought casseroles and deli stuff to her house to help her out. She accepted everything, threw it all away, and then gave the empty containers back to the people. Why? Because you don't know how dirty people can be and you can get sick eating stuff made by other people. And it's all just horrible, horrible stuff. I bet there were a good 20 pages of posts made by women who absolutely agreed with the original poster and who stated they would never eat anything at all from somebody else. They just chuck it all. Oh, and especially if it was made by a woman who had cats....they made sure to mention that. Because the cats were probably counter-surfing and anyone with cats obviously doesn't clean that well. The whole thing was just so incredibly rude, tactless, and self-centered. They were all smugly patting themselves on the back. Somebody did mention supermarket cookies and treats; those, of course, were fine.

I was flabbergasted. I really was. I was shocked. And it got me thinking about spending all that time and effort on baking. I honestly don't know what to do this year. I haven't sent out cookie packages in a while and many people now just exchange cards, not presents. I do love to bake and I'm always as careful and as clean as I can possibly be when I'm cooking.

I see some of you are planning to give food gifts this year. I probably will as well, but now I always keep that in the back of my mind. That whole thread was just incredibly ugly.

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  i did accounting and auditing work for many years, during which time i did work for hotels and restaurants. i swear, i saw enough grossness with food and food handling to last me literally a lifetime. so for me, it's not home cooked or home baked foods made by (most) other people that worry me, it's restaurants and factory-produced foods that cause me worry. i mean, you just don't know what has gone on with the food you're served at restaurants, or what might have fallen into/onto foods that are factory-produced.

and, you know, i'm just amazed that anyone would actually post that kind of stuff anywhere that's available to be read by others.

I have not bought any Christmas gifts yet. I think I am having problems getting into the whole thing this year. One day, I think I will, the next I think I won't. :lol3:

My stuff is slowly coming in. On Monday, Sarah's American Girl items came, our DIL's grain mill attachment for her Kitchen Aid mixer came on Tuesday. Today, I'm expecting the new Fitbit (for me), Caleb's colored KEVA planks, and the Purple Rain DVD (for me). I think it's just the package of natural KEVA planks and my k-cups coming later this week and then that's it. (K-cups aren't for Christmas; they're just mine; I opened my last box the other morning, so did an order.)

I still need a few small things for Rick's stocking. 

I always get Rick a couple boxes of Little Debbie Nutty Bars. I know, it's really silly, but he loves Nutty Bars so much. I buy two packages and I even wrap each package separately. He always knows they're going to be under the tree and he gets a kick out of unwrapping them; then he always acts so surprised...."Oh, wonderful! I love these! What a nice surprise!" and so on (which wouldn't be so bad, but he's already reminded me three times about the blasted Nutty Bars). Technically, they're considered a stocking gift, but the boxes won't fit in his stocking. I also give him a box of chocolate-covered pretzels from our candy store in town and a bag of lightly salted cashews from our natural food store. These are little things that I know he really enjoys. And since there are no Taz ornaments this year, I'm thinking of giving him a Snoopy ornament for the tree....Snoopy, beagle, Beast. 

Do any of you do stocking gifts? Mom always filled our stockings at home, but it was always stuff we could use: toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, etc. Not much fun in that!   

It's amazing how many people say K cups coffee is horrible, but I like it. Don't have a machine at home, but Subway, for example, only sells K cups coffee & I think it's fine. Easy to make too.

Primula said:

It's amazing how many people say K cups coffee is horrible, but I like it. Don't have a machine at home, but Subway, for example, only sells K cups coffee & I think it's fine. Easy to make too.

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I know. Many people don't like k-cups, partly because of the taste of the coffee, but also because they don't recycle. 

I'm the only one who drinks coffee every morning. Rick might have some iced coffee on the weekend, but that's it. So I can't see making a full pot of coffee, or even half a pot, just for me. It's a waste and I won't do it. If we didn't have the Keurig, I simply wouldn't drink coffee through the week. And Rick likes a sweeter coffee than I do, so this way, it just works out better for us. 

Because we do single-stream recycling here at work and k-cups can be recycled through single-stream (but not regular recycling), I take apart my k-cups, use the coffee grounds in our compost piles and then bring the cup itself into work. I give them a quick rinse, throw them in a bag and then once a week, I bring them into work and toss them into our recycling bin. That way, I don't feel badly about using them....we use the grounds and I can recycle the cups. Works! (We can also recycle yogurt cups through single-stream, but not through regular recycling.)

I really like Timothy's Italian Blend and I buy four boxes at a time through Keurig.com. Free shipping.

Winchester said:

Because we do single-stream recycling here at work and k-cups can be recycled through single-stream (but not regular recycling), I take apart my k-cups, use the coffee grounds in our compost piles and then bring the cup itself into work. I give them a quick rinse, throw them in a bag and then once a week, I bring them into work and toss them into our recycling bin. That way, I don't feel badly about using them....we use the grounds and I can recycle the cups. Works! (We can also recycle yogurt cups through single-stream, but not through regular recycling.)

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You sound just like my husband. He would do the exact same thing.

Angels mommy said:

Playtime with sammy 11-20-16 007.jpg

• angels mommy
• Nov 27, 2016

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ahhh, you've made very good progress with your Christmas shopping! 

and something for your Sammy too!    my little Snick once tried on a kitty summer dress for me, which she absolutely did not like.

those 'hot chocolate on a stick' look great! very cool idea, and i'm sure your clients and couple friends will love them! 

LTS3 said:

 
I tend to buy gifts for Christmas throughout the year. If I see something I know someone will enjoy, I'll either buy it right away or make a note of it and wait until closer to Christmas when there might be a coupon code or discount. I'm almost done with my shopping this year. I just need to get one small thing and that's it.

I usually bake cookies to give to co-workers. I haven't done it in awhile, though. The effort went unappreciated by people I worked with in my previous position. This year I'm just going to give cookies to the few people I work closely with because I know they will appreciate the gift and the thought and effort that went into it. I'm either going to make peppermint crinkle cookies or fudgy chocolate chip cookies.

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  excellent that you're almost done with your Christmas shopping!

those peppermint crinkle cookies and fudgy chocolate chip cookies sound like they'd be very tasty! 

Artiemom said:

 
I really have cut out 99% of gift giving.. I stopped giving gifts to my cousin's kids.. my friends and I understand the value of friendship and that is enough.. We usually go out to eat and just relax, so that is our gifts to each other..

At one point I was buying 16 gifts for family. I cannot afford it anymore, plus I really do not know what to buy for these people. I only see them at holidays.. so I really do not know what they have at home. 

I do give my Super a gift-- usually a GC and a bottle of Wine. 

I bring a 'hostess' gift for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... 

and of course, Artie does not need anything--except better health.. but I did pick up a bobble snow penguin at Petco.. I will have to save a box and wrap it inside that.. He is at the age, almost 13, that he does not play all that much... unless I buy him a new fleece blanket to sleep on....

I know I am forgetting someone, I will have to remember and go over my gift list...

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i think that's a lovely thought! 

jaspurr and i lost our snick     not long before Christmas last year. but i did make sure little snick got one of her Christmas gifts (early), a 'snuggle sack' which she really loved. i think that many senior cats love soft, warm, snuggly things.

Winchester said:

 
On another board that I semi-post/mostly lurk at, there was a huge free-for-all last year about people who made cookies and candies for their friends. And how these ladies would never, EVER eat anything made by somebody else. EVER. I'm talking EVER. They would accept them, take them home and promptly throw it all away.

Click to expand...

Instead of throwing the food away, it could have been donated to a homeless shelter or family in need or something similar where it would be appreciated. Baked goods could be donated to the local police department or fire department as a thanks for their service they provide.

mickNsnicks2mom said:

 

  excellent that you're almost done with your Christmas shopping!

those peppermint crinkle cookies and fudgy chocolate chip cookies sound like they'd be very tasty! 

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My last gift is supposed to arrive this Friday Then I have to wrap it up and put it in a box with a few other things and mail it to my friend and her family.

I haven't tried the fudgy chocolate cookies. I saw the recipie in the new America's Test Kitchen book Naturally Sweet. You can see the recipie through Google Books on page 83.

The peppermint crinkle cookies are really good You can't go wrong with chocolate and Nutella http://www.bakersroyale.com/peppermint-crinkle-cookies/