I said it.....

105 Days
14 Hours
2 Minutes

....until Christmas!!!!! I know, everyone rolls their eyes at me when I say "it's time to start Christmas shopping!".....and it is only August!!!! My sister and brother and their S.O.'s all exchange names with my husband and myself. My brother was home in July from Florida and I told them we were going to draw our names......they both said, " you have to be kidding!"........but they humored me and did it!!!! The holidays can be stressful enough with get togethers, in-laws (that is a whole different blog!!!), finding the right gift, etc. Why add to that stress my waiting until the last minute to do your shopping? Seriously, check out the stores NOW!!! A ton of them have clearance mark downs happening RIGHT NOW!!
Now, I am not talking about giving your son a snorkel or blow up swimming pool for Christmas (that would not be a ton of fun when there is 12 inches of snow outside). If you walk into any store right now....Target, Walmart, Meijer, The Dollar Store....you will see specially packaged toys for the holidays (I even saw Christmas wrapping paper at the Dollar Store the other day). These toys are NO different than the toys they were selling 3 months ago, except for maybe the packaging. So what did they do with the toys they were selling 3 months ago? They clearance them out. I am talking about Hannah Montana, Transformers, Princesses, My Little Pony, etc. The key is that you have to be "thinking" about the holidays as you travel down the aisles. I never knew there were so many markdowns mid year until this year, but you can bet I will make note of it for every year to come. Oh, and it's not just toys.....there are kitchen gadgets, bathroom towels, etc. all to make room for the new styles, brand, whatever. Be smart about your time and money and ENJOY the holidays, don't stress over them.
Just my 2 cents!!!!!......and yes, my Christmas shopping is 80% finished.