Is it too early to start Christmas shopping?

[crazyquilter]

In my husbands family we draw 1 name per person to buy a gift. When my Father in-law was here we brought for everyone. It would take us hours to eat a great Polish lunch and open all our gifts. Then we would pack up the car with the gifts and leftovers and go home to unpack and load up my parents gifts. Go over my parents for dinner and open more gifts. We would stay until 10pm and we would be so sleepy.

Please tell us about your Christmas day and favorite gift that you have received. And is it too early to start shopping?

[rayb]

Shopping??

It is a month too early to even MENTION the C word.

[FairyFoot]

I need to check the calendar for when Stir Up Sunday is.... a time to make cakes.... they will need time for the "preserving agent" to be added and enrich the flavour (remember, not to eat cake and drive)....

[rayb]

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.will be read on 23rd Nov this year.

[Gordon Lee]

Greetings Fellow SB Boarders
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My darling young bride finished with this year's Christmas shopping several month ago.
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As for presents I received (taken from one of my MySpace blogs from eight years ago):
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Xmas Xchange (or Special Gifts that Give on Giving)

I'm just sitting here thinking about last Christmas ... what a wonderful time of year. It's great to have a family members that really care. The wife, kids, grandchildren and sons-in-law gathered around and exchanged presents. (For a bunch of people that firmly believe that the gift of giving is highly over-rated, some swell gifts were swapped.) My family, knowing my proclivity for the odd, bizarre, spooky and unusual, did not disappoint me this year. If you don't mind, or even if you do, I would like to share a bit of the joy I received this Yule Time.
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My daughter, Absolute, gave me what she sez is a "Haunted Brick" she bought on Ebay. So the story goes, it comes from a haunted mansion where evil and unspeakable vile crimes were committed. One day the mansion burned to the ground and this particular brick was pick up as a souvenir. Supposedly bad fortune befalls to anybody owning this brick. The brick looked old and chipped. It still had mortar clinging to it's sides. Smoke residue can be seen on it and it still reeks of burnt charcoaled flesh. Surprisingly, it looks just like the missing brick from my neighbor's outdoor barbeque pit. Anyway, I'm not afraid of any cursed haunted brick, but I don't think I will chance fate by showing it to my neighbor.
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One present I opened was labeled "to Dad from Mutt" but was really from my grandson, eight year old Ring Monkey. (We call him Ring Monkey because of the time when we tried to get him to participate in my daughter Ugh's wedding. He didn't like being called Ring Bearer, so we changed the name to Monkey.) He purchased it from the fund raising Secret Santa Shop at his school (no gift over five dollars) with the intention of giving it to me, but realized while wrapping it, the base of the globe sez "The Worlds Greatest Dad". So instead he gave it to his uncle Mutt to give to me. Anyway, it is a miniature (two-inch high) crystal world globe. Both Mutt and Ring Monkey tell me that it is a world globe that shows all known and proven Ley Lines. But I have a sneaky suspicion that one of them dropped the crystal globe and it now has an very distinct and nifty looking spider web cracks. The crystal world globe reflects an interesting effect when light shines on it, especially with those cracks (Ley Lines). It looks great underneath my next present.
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One of my brothers works for the Texass Highway Department. He is also an amateur taxidermist, alas, not a very good one. Most of his finished projects resemble the body double used for the cat in the movie Pet Cemetery. Through trial and error he has, however, learned to create lemonade from his miserable lemons. This year he gave me a exquisite and beautiful table lamp shade made from genuine Armadillo road kill. The shadows cast from this table lamp shade are down right scary.
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Bless my dear, sweat old mother. She knows her oldest son (me) forwards and backwards like she knows the corns on her feet. For the last couple of months she has been freeloading ... oops, I mean staying with my brother in Texass. This last week I drove down to Tennessee (just West of Adams County, home of the Bell Witch) to pick her up so she can freeload ... oops, I mean stay ... with us for the next month or two. She picked up my Christmas present for me while on the road traveling across Texass. (No, it isn't road kill.) Evidently they spent an evening at a very nice, but quaint, East-Texas motel where she discovered the perfect gift for me ... and it was free. I can tell you all that I was really pleasantly surprised when I unwrapped a complimentary soap-on-a-rope, shaped like a butcher knife, inscribed BATES MOTEL. Now, every time I pull closed the shower curtain and turn on the water, I can look at the soap-on-a-rope and think of my dear, sweat old mother.
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Anybody else receive appropriate gifts?
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Regardless, I hope every body got what they wanted for Christmas, or at least got what they deserved. I know I did. And best of luck and good fortune to all for the coming new year.
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Since this was from an old blog, that last paragraph should read, "I hope every body gets . . . "
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Respectfully,

Gordon Lee
Great Fritain Royal Memorabilia & Porcelain Throne Emporium
Nothing in life prepares you for your first raw oyster

[RossTO]

Up here our Christmas displays start right after Halloween, but that is because for Canada Christmas is the next holiday. So we have already started some of the purchasing here mostly for the Christmas village that is put up in November (early because it takes a while and also as we end up buying some new house or two or five for it every year). Tree goes up around US Thanksgiving weekend and presents start popping up underneath it shortly there after... so shopping does happen in November.

[kacyds]

Way to early for Christmas, lets get through Thanksgiving first.

Went to a restaurant Friday night and they had there Christmas Tree already up......

[sil]

I start with Christmas shopping as soon as I can get enough time for do it. It doesn't matter the month of the year that is running.
But all the Christmas stuff at home is set up after Thanksgiving.

[FairyFoot]

I bought yet more Christmas cards yesterday.... I wrote a card last week but haven't yet posted it.... I intend to post more than one Christmas card this coming week!