Christmas Shopping 2010

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Well we are back from 9 glorious days at WDW and I am SO glad that I did all (or most) of our Christmas shopping before we left but I still managed to pick up several things on this trip to put away for presents.

One of my best friends is a CM and she used her holiday discount of 50% off to get DS3 some Toy Story and Cars Duplo blocks (like he needed anything else!). DH went shopping too and bought me the new Disney Dooney black balloon purse and white balloon wristlet. He is too cute and couldn't wait to give them to me so I already have them and started using them today.

DH has to travel the rest of the month so I am SO tempted to give him his Nook early so he can use it. Hmmmm.....

 

[lyncecelia]

Ok now that I can actually fully respond lol.

I bought DS9 a telescope at JCPenney's for just under $19! It's a full functioning one and I was SO excited to find it : it was interesting to try to sneak it in the car with them...he saw the bags but to cover Tim went on how I always have to buy "crap" from JCP....to which I got loads of crap from DS9 about . We ended up going to Macy's the next day on my way to work and he started saying "Ok Fallon, DON'T get any ideas!" ah boys....we see now that the men's view of shopping starts early

In other news. We (Tim and I) and Tim's ex-wife are going "halfsies" on an Xbox 360 for DS9 for Christmas...so I need to figure out some games for us to get him...NO idea what to get though! Any suggestions for a 9 year old going on 18? Lol.

 

[justed]

Ok, I know its a long shot but, does anyone have any tips on how to locate Monster High Dolls? I broke down and ordered a $34 Draculaura off Ebay but, I still need to find Clawdeen. Its the only thing my daughter has repeatedly asked for!

We have gone to (online as well) Target, Toys R Us, Walmart, Walgreens (the closest one doesn't carry them) and I have been on Amazon nightly. I was able to get the Dawn of the Dance Clawdeen on Amazon on BF for $14.99 but, when I showed my daughter online she thought she "was ok but, I really want the regular one". I've asked store employees about when they are delivered but, I always get different answers.

I have never had to search for a toy like this. Frustrating to say the least! Any tips?

:-(

There are places out there that help you find them in stock. Like monster high doll trackers and stuff like that. But, you don't have to pay the ebay prices that's for sure.

Ok now that I can actually fully respond lol.

I bought DS9 a telescope at JCPenney's for just under $19! It's a full functioning one and I was SO excited to find it : it was interesting to try to sneak it in the car with them...he saw the bags but to cover Tim went on how I always have to buy "crap" from JCP....to which I got loads of crap from DS9 about . We ended up going to Macy's the next day on my way to work and he started saying "Ok Fallon, DON'T get any ideas!" ah boys....we see now that the men's view of shopping starts early

In other news. We (Tim and I) and Tim's ex-wife are going "halfsies" on an Xbox 360 for DS9 for Christmas...so I need to figure out some games for us to get him...NO idea what to get though! Any suggestions for a 9 year old going on 18? Lol.

=0

Is that telescope still in stock? Which one was it? We were looking for that for my son this year. Is it any good?

If you are ok with it, Halo Reach for sure for 360 games. What a great game. It has a bit of violence to it, but, not bloody violence.

If you are ok with the bloody / war violence, 100% the #1 game right now is the new call of duty black ops.

The Kinect is a LOT of fun too. Think Wii, but, without the controller. The big runaway game right now is the dance one. Everything else is kinda a fun tech demo, but, they will probably wear thin as the months drag on.. but, it's just the start of the whole world of that.

And the warning on Kinect - you do need a fair amount of space in the room to be able to have it fully get your moves, so, just keep that in mind.

And... we just did a hands on video review with Squinkies new lineup - Squinkie Doos!

Basically, imagine squinkies + trolls (the pencil toppers), and you have squinkie doos. This will probably bump them up again.

And speaking of Monster High Dolls, there were a bunch of preorders yesterday. Some for the gloom beach lineup, a new bed, jewerly thing and some little mini animals. All of them ship in February.

And I forget if I said it, but, I did some hands on with Mini Lalaloopsy with video too. Now those are very cool.

I almost see them getting bigger than the "real" dolls themselves.

 

[lyncecelia]

=0

Is that telescope still in stock? Which one was it? We were looking for that for my son this year. Is it any good?

If you are ok with it, Halo Reach for sure for 360 games. What a great game. It has a bit of violence to it, but, not bloody violence.

If you are ok with the bloody / war violence, 100% the #1 game right now is the new call of duty black ops.

The Kinect is a LOT of fun too. Think Wii, but, without the controller. The big runaway game right now is the dance one. Everything else is kinda a fun tech demo, but, they will probably wear thin as the months drag on.. but, it's just the start of the whole world of that.

And the warning on Kinect - you do need a fair amount of space in the room to be able to have it fully get your moves, so, just keep that in mind.

I bought it in-store, so I believe it'll depend on the store. It was also a Black Friday deal, so I'm not sure what the current price is.

Ah here it is: the telescope in question. Currently it is selling for about $25, so that's not too bad.

The games for Xbox360--If they are rated T I have to use "my discretion" for them....so I don't know anything about those games! Lol. Also do you know of any Tony Hawk or other sport games? He's into football, basketball, snownboarding, and skateboarding. I'm thinking about adding one of those in...

As for Kinect--we aren't getting that right now. Maybe for his birthday (which is in January).

 

[Scurvy]

In other news. We (Tim and I) and Tim's ex-wife are going "halfsies" on an Xbox 360 for DS9 for Christmas...so I need to figure out some games for us to get him...NO idea what to get though! Any suggestions for a 9 year old going on 18? Lol.

I highly recommend all the Lego games - Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Batman. They are great for all ages. Even my teenager loves them and my husband and I play them together. The racing games are fun, especially Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Gran Turismo 5. If he's into music the Rock Band or Guitar Hero games are good. (I preger Rock Band, personally.) The lyrics on some of them can be a little iffy, but Lego Rock Band is very family friendly and Beatles Rock Band is also.

 

[justed]

I highly recommend all the Lego games - Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Batman. They are great for all ages. Even my teenager loves them and my husband and I play them together. The racing games are fun, especially Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Gran Turismo 5. If he's into music the Rock Band or Guitar Hero games are good. (I preger Rock Band, personally.) The lyrics on some of them can be a little iffy, but Lego Rock Band is very family friendly and Beatles Rock Band is also.

This is the best summary of age appropriate games I could muster. Enough said here!

If anything, I maybe took the going on 18 too literal perhaps

But.. PERFECT list above here.

Only caveat being Gran Turismo is an exxxxxxxxcellent game, but, PS3 exclusive.

And yea... Halo is very first person shooter shoot-em-up. VERY good, but, may not be appropriate.

 

[Scurvy]

This is the best summary of age appropriate games I could muster. Enough said here!

If anything, I maybe took the going on 18 too literal perhaps

But.. PERFECT list above here.

Only caveat being Gran Turismo is an exxxxxxxxcellent game, but, PS3 exclusive.

And yea... Halo is very first person shooter shoot-em-up. VERY good, but, may not be appropriate.

Oops - you're right. Sorry about that! I guess all the games are starting to run together.

I actually agree with the Halo Reach suggestion. The Halo games are shooters, but they are really fine for younger people than most of the shooters in my opinion. The language can get a little rough (so if you object to all strong language it won't work, but the words are relatively mild) but the violence isn't really graphic. You mostly shoot aliens unless you're playing multiplayer, and even then the people are wearing suits so they don't look like normal people. It isn't bloody and you don't see body parts flying around. It wouldn't be great for small kids but I let my son play Halo way before I thought he should be playing most First Person Shooters.

Lyncecelia, Amazon is having good game deals all day today. I think there's a deal on a Madden football game now, and those are really popular. I'm not into sports games but my brother-in-law is and he loves the Madden games.

 

[lyncecelia]

I highly recommend all the Lego games - Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Batman. They are great for all ages. Even my teenager loves them and my husband and I play them together. The racing games are fun, especially Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Gran Turismo 5. If he's into music the Rock Band or Guitar Hero games are good. (I preger Rock Band, personally.) The lyrics on some of them can be a little iffy, but Lego Rock Band is very family friendly and Beatles Rock Band is also.

Hmm....I'll look into the Star Wars Lego game...I think he might like that one! Thanks! I'd love to get Beatles Rock Band, but I think I'm the ONLY one who would enjoy it He has Guitar Hero for PS2, so I'm sure that'll be a safe game. I'll look into racing too

This is the best summary of age appropriate games I could muster. Enough said here!

If anything, I maybe took the going on 18 too literal perhaps

But.. PERFECT list above here.

Only caveat being Gran Turismo is an exxxxxxxxcellent game, but, PS3 exclusive.

And yea... Halo is very first person shooter shoot-em-up. VERY good, but, may not be appropriate.

It's ok. The reason I said 9 going on 18 is because he is on that point where he doesn't like "little kid" stuff. I think it's part that he wants to set himself apart from his younger siblings....So, yeah. Sorry for the confusion though Ed! :

Oops - you're right. Sorry about that! I guess all the games are starting to run together.

I actually agree with the Halo Reach suggestion. The Halo games are shooters, but they are really fine for younger people than most of the shooters in my opinion. The language can get a little rough (so if you object to all strong language it won't work, but the words are relatively mild) but the violence isn't really graphic. You mostly shoot aliens unless you're playing multiplayer, and even then the people are wearing suits so they don't look like normal people. It isn't bloody and you don't see body parts flying around. It wouldn't be great for small kids but I let my son play Halo way before I thought he should be playing most First Person Shooters.

Lyncecelia, Amazon is having good game deals all day today. I think there's a deal on a Madden football game now, and those are really popular. I'm not into sports games but my brother-in-law is and he loves the Madden games.

Hmm....So Halo should really be ok? I'll have to look into that more closely...I heard mixed reviews on it I just don't want to get shot by his mom, that's all

I SO wish I could take advantage of the Cyber Monday stuff...but my first paycheck comes tomorrow (seriously?! I thought paychecks were always on a Friday! Lol)

 

[Scurvy]

Hmm....So Halo should really be ok? I'll have to look into that more closely...I heard mixed reviews on it I just don't want to get shot by his mom, that's all

I think for a young teen Halo Reach would definitely be okay unless they are in a household that is very strict about language and violence. But for a nine year old, I'm not sure. It depends on the child. The language isn't any worse than a PG (or PG-13 at most) movie, and I don't think the violence is really any worse either. But some 9 year olds aren't ready for that sort of thing. If you're iffy, I'd probably wait since there are so many other totally appropriate games to choose from. And then the Halo games will be waiting as great birthday gift ideas when you do think he's ready.

 

[kayrosek]

Hmm....I'll look into the Star Wars Lego game...I think he might like that one! Thanks! I'd love to get Beatles Rock Band, but I think I'm the ONLY one who would enjoy it He has Guitar Hero for PS2, so I'm sure that'll be a safe game. I'll look into racing too

It's ok. The reason I said 9 going on 18 is because he is on that point where he doesn't like "little kid" stuff. I think it's part that he wants to set himself apart from his younger siblings....So, yeah. Sorry for the confusion though Ed! :



Hmm....So Halo should really be ok? I'll have to look into that more closely...I heard mixed reviews on it I just don't want to get shot by his mom, that's all

I SO wish I could take advantage of the Cyber Monday stuff...but my first paycheck comes tomorrow (seriously?! I thought paychecks were always on a Friday! Lol)

I wasen't sure about Halo eighter but my neighbors 8 yr old loved it so I decided to look at it a little more closely and have now allowed DS10 to start playing it and we are usually pretty strict about games around here.

 

[kayrosek]

Did some more shopping today. Yay, for paydays! Got the final Wheel of Time book for DH, The new Diary of a Whimpy Kid book for DS 10 and a sketch kit for a friend. So glad to still be moving forward but still have so much to do. After reading all the craziness about the Monster High dolls I am so glad my girls have never mentioned wanting them. Headbandz, now that's a different story. I can totally see my board game obsessed DD 11 wanting to get in on that one. Qestion, would I be more or less likley to find it (Headbandz) after Christmas? DD's birthday is Jan 8th. and she want's a board game tournament party. I think she'd love this as part present, part party game.

Okay so I jinxed myself. Geuss what DD11 wants now LOL> I spoke to soon she just asked for the Monster High Dolls but luckily her grandmother just called and asked what to get her so I passed the craziness on to her

 

[justed]

I bought it in-store, so I believe it'll depend on the store. It was also a Black Friday deal, so I'm not sure what the current price is.

Ah here it is: the telescope in question. Currently it is selling for about $25, so that's not too bad.

The games for Xbox360--If they are rated T I have to use "my discretion" for them....so I don't know anything about those games! Lol. Also do you know of any Tony Hawk or other sport games? He's into football, basketball, snownboarding, and skateboarding. I'm thinking about adding one of those in...

As for Kinect--we aren't getting that right now. Maybe for his birthday (which is in January).

Cool, see you helped me this time! Thanks!!!

Yea... Halo is a mixed bag. It can be a bit rough -- especially if you play online.. That I would probably NOT suggest a 9 year old do. He would certainly love it though Maybe with screened friends types of things, but, not in an open public room.

Sailors blush in some of them.

Okay so I jinxed myself. Geuss what DD11 wants now LOL> I spoke to soon she just asked for the Monster High Dolls but luckily her grandmother just called and asked what to get her so I passed the craziness on to her

That's the christmas spirit!

They are out there though....

 

[5 for WDW]

Ok, I struck out with Justice and Monster High dolls. The woman on the phone there said that store does not carry them! Grrr!

I have signed up for a few of the tracker services online. So far, no luck. I am hoping these next few weeks are more promising!

 

[justed]

Ok, I struck out with Justice and Monster High dolls. The woman on the phone there said that store does not carry them! Grrr!

I have signed up for a few of the tracker services online. So far, no luck. I am hoping these next few weeks are more promising!

There's one I like the best.

I can personally say, they do work.

BTW, which one are you looking for again? Certain ones are rare which makes it harder to get.

Rare = only 1 per full box of dolls

 

[5 for WDW]

There's one I like the best.

I can personally say, they do work.

BTW, which one are you looking for again? Certain ones are rare which makes it harder to get.

Rare = only 1 per full box of dolls

Of course I am looking for Clawdeen..the hardest to find!
But, at this rate I would love any of them. We did buy Draculaura on Ebay but, I refuse to buy anymore from there. We have literally been looking for weeks now and have not seen one single doll.

 

[justed]

Of course I am looking for Clawdeen..the hardest to find!
But, at this rate I would love any of them. We did buy Draculaura on Ebay but, I refuse to buy anymore from there. We have literally been looking for weeks now and have not seen one single doll.

Really?

Mmm. I checked my personal favorite tracker.

Here's what I saw.

http://www.amazon.com/Mattel-N2854-Monster-High-Giftset/dp/B0037UR1XY/?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

http://www.amazon.com/Mattel-N2854-Monster-High-Giftset/dp/B0037UR1XY/?m=A1VC38T7YXB528

http://www.etoys.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4081992

Not sure which one you are using, but, that's what I see RIGHT now and they all have been in stock for an hour or so ... so.. you may not be using the same one.

Good luck.

PS - Those are the "easiest" of them to get, but, enjoy!

(mod note / plea: i hope this is ok this time. i made sure when i copied the links they did not have anything in them.)

 

[5 for WDW]

Thanks justed! I'm sorry, I should have mentioned that I have been able to find that set. Its the single dolls that are all MIA!

Thanks again though!

 

[kayrosek]

Okay has anyone seen Baby Alive Baby Achoo? Am I crazy or have they gone MIA?

 

[3princesses+aprince]

My daughters are in LOVE with the Monster High dolls! Besides their American Girls, it's what they most want too. SOOOO, luckily my dd9 wanted Cleo and Deuce, that was easy. But my dd11 wanted Ghoulia and my dd6 wanted Laguna Blue. I looked everywhere and used the tracker, but I wasn't having any luck besides seeing them on Amazon for a price I didn't want to pay just yet. We, luckily already have Clawdeen, Draculaura and Frankiestein. My brother bought them back in September. Even then he had to go to 4 different stores.

One day while I was watching the tracker, I started calling every store in my state and a surrounding state Do you have a Walgreens where you are. That's where I found Ghoulia and Laguna Blue. I actually spoke with an employee who called around every walgreens for me and had them 2 dolls delivered to her store for me to pick up. She was wonderful. Not every walgreens employee would do that, but if you have that store where you live, call everyone you can think of, and keep calling every few days to check their stock. They do sell them!

Good Luck. My friend is trying to find Clawdeen for her daugther right now!

 

[southern_redhead]

My daughters are in LOVE with the Monster High dolls! Besides their American Girls, it's what they most want too. SOOOO, luckily my dd9 wanted Cleo and Deuce, that was easy. But my dd11 wanted Ghoulia and my dd6 wanted Laguna Blue. I looked everywhere and used the tracker, but I wasn't having any luck besides seeing them on Amazon for a price I didn't want to pay just yet. We, luckily already have Clawdeen, Draculaura and Frankiestein. My brother bought them back in September. Even then he had to go to 4 different stores.

One day while I was watching the tracker, I started calling every store in my state and a surrounding state Do you have a Walgreens where you are. That's where I found Ghoulia and Laguna Blue. I actually spoke with an employee who called around every walgreens for me and had them 2 dolls delivered to her store for me to pick up. She was wonderful. Not every walgreens employee would do that, but if you have that store where you live, call everyone you can think of, and keep calling every few days to check their stock. They do sell them!

Good Luck. My friend is trying to find Clawdeen for her daugther right now!

Sooo... your girls have played with some of the dolls already right? How have they held up to play? I am a bit worried because I keep seeing reviews of arms and legs falling off and going missing. I know they are supposed to come off (I don't quite get that but whatever LOL) but I would hope it took a little exertion to get them apart and not just that they drop off during play. If DD hadn't mentioned these a couple of times after seeing the movie I wouldn't have bought them (based on the reviews) but since she wants them I am hoping they will hold up for play. She does know to be careful with toys so I don't worry about her being too rough with them.