Wow -- I should hire you all to do my holiday shopping!!

Okay, Early Bird Shoppers (rolling my eyes at the efficiency of some people), where are ya'll buying your stuff? I've checked PBS Marketplace, Amazon, bookcloseouts.com, overstock.com and deepdiscount.com and I'm not really finding stellar deals on anything on my giftee's wishlist.  Well, I found one pretty good deal here at PBS.  Just wondering.  Where are you Santas shopping?

What's somewhat sad is that I have two or three of my giftee's items on my very own bookshelf, but I know I won't get either one read before the mailing date.  LOL! 

I found NOTHING at PBS marketplace, but quite a few of my target books at Amazon (the used marketplace).  I squeezed THREE into limit!  -- Proud of myself, thankyou!  One of them looks so interesting, even though it's outside my usual comfort zone, that I'll probably read it first, if I have time.  :)

Three??? Yay!!! Do you have my name? do ya? do ya?

Kelly

i found one at amazon and 1 at bookcloseouts.  I really really liked my giftees list.  i added most of hers to my list.......lol

I managed to get three books from Alibris - one of them is new and and the other two are in "very good" condition.

I have 2 used book stores near me called Book Off.  They are great.  All fiction is either $5 or $1.  Usually you can find the same book on both the $5 and the $1 rack.  Non-fiction books are $1 to half the original price.  On Sunday I got 2 books for my SS and (drum roll please) a 1st edition copy of Ken Follett's new book The Falls of Giants for $1.  It was not on my WL but I bought it anyway.  I also go a couple of trade Jean Plaidy and something else, but I can't remembernow.  I spent $20 and got 10 books. I'm happy.

I just picked up a couple at Alibris.  The shipping really bites you there, eh?  Great prices on books, but when you add the shipping, it seems to be more than what you can get at Amazon's Marketplace.

Oooh, Donna, wow! Great find!

I finished my shopping too.  Just waiting for the goods to get here :)

You guys are amazing :)

Whee...just got two books for my Secret Giftee (I like that name, blubonnet!)  Now I'm excited!

I haven't bought anything yet, but I'm planning to go to the nearest town with a bookstore this weekend, so I'm going to look around there and see what I can find.

I just hope I can get out of there without buying anything for myself. LOL! I can't even say that with a straight face...of course, I'll buy something for me!

I ordered for my giftee last night--found best deals on Amazon.com used--I too squeezed in 3 under the limit and probably could have done 4, but to do that would have had to buy all ex-library---I know those are postable but I don't like them and since it's a gift, i didn't order any that weren't in at least Used-Very Good condition.  I don't know my giftee well but want to add some 'goodies' to her package, so I'll be on the lookout for those this weekend :)

I went to the FOL yesterday, but did not find anything for SSanta. Did find one for me, though. Will order from Amazon this weekend, which has a good selection of the person's wishes.

11-24-10

My gifts are on the way from Amazon, so they will be here in time to mail to SS

Mary

I found a GREAT deal on a book for my Secret Giftee on Abe Books.  Very excited about it and I hope she will be too!

Oooh! Received my giftee's books today in the mail.  After flipping through them, I promptly put them on my TBR list.  Ah, well,  She has good taste.

CR

So I love the HF Secret Santa exchange.  Who doesn't like surprises?  BUT I find that this endeavor to create the "perfect" package for my recipient has elevated me to a whole new level of neurosis.  First there is the picking out of the books.  I try really hard to only look at the list of the person I am buying for.  My WL has been at 200 for well over a year and my "reminder" list is really now just 8 pages of books waiting to be added to the WL which has no room.  Does this not peeking thing work? NO.  Of course not.  EPIC FAIL.  Now thanks to the wonderful taste of you ladies my Reminder WL overflow list has grown another 2 pages. 

So, I look at my giftee's list.  Maybe I'll get her this one and that one.  No, I just found a great deal at X site so maybe I'll get her this one and this one and this one.  Nope, better deal here so maybe this and this.  Before I know it I have missed dinner and managed to browse 200+ websites looking for the deal that will allow me to send the most to my recipient and still be within the limit set.  This would be so much easier if I didn't LIKE my recipient so much.  In fact I like all of you so there was no way around this BUT couldn't PBS cough up just one cantankerous member who joins the HF exchange and miraculously make them my recipient this year?  After all a stocking and a lump of coal is so much cheaper and less anxiety inducing than trying to pick out books for someone.  I can't even pick them out for myself!  How am I supposed to do this for another person?!  But NOOOOO...... just the opposite happens.  The person I am buying for just happens to be completely awesome so its back to the impossible job of picking out the books.  Finally, I make my decision.  (My decision being that while I was browsing  site #201 I fell asleep, rolled onto my keyboard and woke up to a screen that says "Thank you for your order").  Well it is out of my hands now.  I look at the order to make sure that I did indeed order the books for my giftee.  Why yes I have....AND 5 for myself!  HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?! 

Now I wait for the books to arrive and eventually they do (after checking my mailbox several times a day to make sure I didn't miss the mailman).  But I can't send just books. What else should I include?  Some goodies?  A BookMark?  But what if my giftee is allergic to chocolate or nuts or peppermint or absolutely loathes the color of the bookmark I pick out?  What about a holiday type ornament?  But WAIT!  That Christmas elf ornament I picked out looks cute but what if my giftee has an irrational fear of elves that causes her to run screaming from the room in terror?  While I am agonizing my boy crumbsnatcher walks into the room and asks if he can help wrap.  He is holding the cat.  NO!  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  AND GET THE CAT OUT OF HERE!  What if giftee is allergic to cats or crumbsnatcher germs?!   Now I will have to inspect each piece of tape for cat hair.  How come I never think of the important things like encasing myself in saran wrap and shaving the cat before I start important projects like this?!

Finally I make my decision and hope the end result is good and not like one of the many visions that have passed through my head in the past couple of days.... my recipient  lying on the floor next to my package covered in hideous red splotches, my homemade peanut butter cookies at her feet.  Little do I know she is allergic to peanut butter.  She reaches into the air.  Why?! Why?!  She screeches.. (only for some reason in my head this is in spanish- Por que????  Por que????)  See?  Totally Neurotic.

So fast forward two weeks.  I have picked everything out, have packaged it up and am ready to mail.  Or am I?  I once again start to agonize over everything-the books, the extra goodies, the packaging.  Fortunately my husband walks into the room and recognizes that strange look in my eyes which signifies another bout of madness indecision.  He snatches the package out of my hands and says "Enough of this.  Your friend will like what you bought.  Now I am going to the post office with this and while I'm gone how about you shower?  You've been locked in here for three days and you smell like a goat!"  And with that he is off and once again it is out of my hands.  Oh and I would just like to say I wouldn't be going through this if our hostess Deb showed up with her warning to HF newbies in 2007 when I first joined.  This whole ugly scenario could have been avoided had I read that when I first wandered in here.  Also I definitely blame Valli.  Even though I am one of her minions, I believe she set the $15 limit the first year we did this.  I realize this was to keep us all from going a little...AHEM...crazy.with the ordering.  She didn't take into account the fact some of us might already be just a little crazy to begin with. 

Seriously, I love you all and have had a lot of fun with the secret santa thing this year :)  Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.....

LOL -- loved your post...

...until I got to the part where I got blamed for my tardy advice. 

ROFL  Oh Holly my sides!!!!   My Favorites bits are.......

 Finally, I make my decision.  (My decision being that while I was browsing  site #201 I fell asleep, rolled onto my keyboard and woke up to a screen that says "Thank you for your order").  Well it is out of my hands now.  I look at the order to make sure that I did indeed order the books for my giftee.  Why yes I have....AND 5 for myself!  HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?! 

All of paragraph 3  and 4 especially crumbsnatcher, and shaving the cat!

You've been locked in here for three days and you smell like a goat!"

I realize this was to keep us all from going a little...AHEM...crazy.with the ordering.  She didn't take into account the fact some of us might already be just a little crazy to begin with.

Brilliant!!!  still laughing!

Oh Holly - another great post for the archives - to join with that previous one of Deb's! You gals are just great! The humor on this forum is not to be matched anywhere!

Bwahahaha...! I thought keeping the limit low would keep all of you from having to explain to your children why Santa couldn't visit this year because all of his presents went to your secret buddy....  :-D

Oh, that slayed me!!!

We so have to add "Por Que?" to The Official Historical Forum Quote List".

Thanks for the laugh Holly!! But it got me thinking, what if I choose a goodie my giftee is allergic to, or hates! Lol. Your neurosis is rubbing off!

Whew I just knew that it was too soon for me to take this on this year!!!!  Thanks for the heads-up Holly...365 days till next year...if I start with a list of possibilities now...OH NO!!!!