[Indy]

...bought a couple of X-Box 360's and resold them on eBay. The going price for a 360 on eBay is over $700!

The boys were excited this weekend. I was reading the ads on the X-Box 360. They actually thought I was going to buy them one...HAHAHAHAHA! I had a friend at the local "wallyworld" who was going to help me get a couple. I decided not to, as I would have to be there at 1145 at night. That's about 2 hours after my bedtime!

Just thought I would hit on something lighter this morning.

[ericsmom98]

Are they that hard to find? How much is the regular price? My husband would love one, I'm sure. Does it play the other xbox games or do you have to buy all new games?

[leastofthese]

Funny you should mention that today. I was at Wal-Mart shopping last night around 9:00 pm. We went to electronics so my son could drool over a few things he's been wanting. There were about 50 people in chairs (the ones from the sporting goods department a few aisles over) lined up around the aisles of the whole electronics dept.

I am so clueless about x-boxes & stuff, I thought maybe they were a college class staging a sit-in over some injustice, but the girl told me they were waiting for x-boxes that would come in at midnight.

So, Indy, 11:45 would've been way too late. Wal-Mart was only getting 45 sets and there were 50 or more people there by 9:00. You'd've had to be there much earlier!!!

[ericsmom98]

OMG that is ridiculous!!! lol

[lucyjoy]

I hope I never think I need anything bad enough to sit hours waiting on it. That's crazy.

[gregorysparents]

I heard on the news this morning that people were actually in line for over 77 hours for this "XBox". The average retail price is (I think) right around $400.

I can't think of any material things that I would stand in line for 77 hours for.

Christina

[wenrl]

You know that in January the price will come down and they'll be all over the place. I can't believe so many people need to play video games so much they'll suffer for hours in Walmart for the priviledge. I can barely stand 15 minutes in that place.

[Barksum]

Ok, ROFL here. Call me twisted, but this reminds me of the Cabbage Patch Mania of the early '80's. The trauma of parents running wild in any store that carried Cabbage Patch dolls, looking for the last one hoping to make Susie's Christmas "the best ever". (You don't want to know my best ever Christmas memory. It silenced all my co-workers for about 30 seconds, then my boss looked at me and said, "That is the most pathetic story I've ever heard.") It cracks me up that this is the same thing, only a more "mature" toy.

[wenrl]

Barksum,

Sorry to hyjack, but I am dying to know your best Christmas story ever!

All my childhood Christmas stories are the same... Asked for a puppy all year. Went to bed excited thinking THIS IS THE YEAR. Woke up thinking the lump in my sheets was a puppy. Ran to the backyard to meet my puppy. Thought everyone who stopped by might be bringing my puppy. Thought all my gifts might contain the leash and collar for my puppy. Thought the neighbors might be hiding my puppy for my parents. Never got puppy. 30 years old and still ask my parents, "Geez, why couldn't you just let me have a puppy?"

W.

[kay]

Originally Posted by Barksum

(You don't want to know my best ever Christmas memory. It silenced all my co-workers for about 30 seconds, then my boss looked at me and said, "That is the most pathetic story I've ever heard.")

Oh yes, we do!!

[qs mom]

They were camped out overnight at the WalMart here for XBox 360. I think it's crazy.

BUT . . . I'll be heading to WalMart at 3:00 a.m. to shop on Friday. So, I guess I'm just as crazy. Then I have to go to work by 8:00 a.m. and put in a full 8 1/2 hours. Run my kid to Tae Kwon Do, do dinner and hopefully CRASH!

[Barksum]

LOL I'm running to WalMart on Friday too, I think, because I need a vacuum and they have one on sale. Sigh.

Ok, here's the story. Even my DH thinks it's pathetic. LOL

"Way back in the old days when I was a little girl...." Well it wasn't that far back, but far enough that it was awhile ago! Anyway, we didn't have much money. My parents had moved the family to Alaska as part of a missionary program. We had very little money and were dependant on donations to us through the mission. Anyway, Christmas rolled around and we had no cash. We had plenty of evergreens for decoration and lots of imagination so the house was all dressed up. (Think silk purse, sow's ear. LOL We had a very basic house. Shelter, nothing fancy.) My mom had scrimped around and gotten enough yarn to knit mittens for my sister and I. We had some candy and walnuts, I think, for our stockings. But we weren't able to purchase anything for each other. Not wanting our tree to have nothing under it on Christmas morning we came up with the idea to wrap things we already had.

We found mis-matched socks (yes, a curse even in the old days) and wrapped them up. Since we didn't have many socks those packages didn't exactly mound up under the tree. We wrapped things stolen from each other's rooms, marked them for the person we stole them from, and sneaked them under the tree. This helped, visually, to make the tree look a little more festive. Then Mom came up with the idea to cut out pictures from the catalogs of what we would like to give and put the pictures in the stockings of the person we'd give them to if we could have afforded it.

On Christmas morning we opened our mittens (somewhat surprised, as we had seen Mom knitting them), and then unwrapped our socks and the items we'd purloined from each other. Then we looked through the stockings and at the pictures of all the things we would have bought for each other. We had a blast!

After opening the gifts (which took, what? a whole 10 minutes?) we had friends over to dinner. Everyone brought potluck -- stuff like bear, moose, salmon, etc. because that's what was cheap (!!!) as it wasn't store bought. LOL The kids all ran around and we had a great time.

Now you have to realize that for the most part all our friends where just as poor as we were, so it wasn't as if any of us felt left out because our friends had a pile of gifts and we didn't. Not one of my friends got a bicycle or board game for Christmas. Most of us got something that was needed, inexpensive, and only that one thing. There might be some candy in the stockings, too, but for some families there wasn't enough for even the necessities, let alone frivols. So all in all my sister and I didn't feel all that left out or slighted.

This is one Christmas that is always at the top of the list when we start reminiscing. We have many happy memories of our childhood and this Christmas is not remembered as a sad time at all, due in large part to my mom's happy nature and attitude, I'm sure. (There's a lesson there, I'm sure....) However, when we talk about this to others they all just look scandalized that we had such a deprived childhood. LOL It must lose something in the telling.

[Indy]

Back in the day....actually the mid 70s, my parents got a d-i-v-o-r-c-e. My father, being the wonderful person that he is, left my mother and moved to Colorado. He was gone for two years before contacting us. He left our mother with 4 sons and no child support. The mid 70s were not an easy time to live for a single mother with 4 mouths to feed. My mother worked two jobs, a secretary by day and a waitress on weekends. She struggled and worked hard to keep us boys. The fear of losing us kept her going.

We never had much, so we never expected much at Christmas. The first Christmas was real hard. I remember the next year when a local church provided all of the Christmas gifts and food. We were not expecting anything the second year. Mother didn't tell us anything. I remember I got this Evel Knevel van with figures. It was so cool! I think I was 10 years old.

My sons can relate to not having much when they were in foster care. They can make my stories sound trivial. I think they are moving on...but sometimes I have to remind them to be thankful for what we have.

I think it is especially important to help our children to recognize where they have come from to draw strength from it to grow and help others.

[leenab]

Last year was Raj's first christmas with us. We had a lot of presents under the tree. The boys started opening presents. Raj opened one gift, smiled and thanked us. Then he went into the other room to play with the toy. Om continued opening his presents (it was his 2nd christmas with us). When Om was done I realized that Raj had disappeared and all of his gifts were still under the tree. Well, sweet kid that he is thought that on christmas you only get one present. That had been his experience before. He was so content with just getting one. But once he realized that there were more with his name on them he was beyond excited and convinced that Santa messed up. And now that stores are decorated for Christmas he's been asking me if he thinks Santa will again bring him more than one present. He's still so sceptical of the whole thing.

It reminds me of a fdaughter we had A, who thanked me profusly for buying her new underware, shoes and clothes when she came to live with us. She was in shock that someone would actually buy her things.

[leastofthese]

Barksum,

I think the Christmas you described sounds absolutely wonderful! I'm always so frustrated and saddened that Christmas has come to be so much about the number of presents and the amount spent.

Leena, my little girl still thanks me over & over if I buy her a toothbrush or something equally as mundane. My son, who's 6, thanks me at almost every meal, with his sweet, "Thanks for making this for me, mommy. It's good." Makes me happy to fill their little hearts & tummies, but makes me sad that eating a decent meal or having a toothbrush is a big deal to them--'ya know?

Totally a different subject, but I hadn't noticed the new "smilie" until just now. I can imagine that on this board, it will be used quite FREQUENTLY!!! Maybe we can fit in a few of these too!

Have a good night everyone!