I relate. I realized I am the one many go to for support but I don't have a me for myself. Any chance you are an oldest child or fit the role of oldest (like first born after a 5+ year gap)? I have wondered if that plays into it.

Birth to 6, 6 to 13, 13 to 17, 17 to 18 Apartments x4 in college 2 houses with hubs 6 houses and 4 apts.

An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco is one we just found that my 7yo and I both enjoyed. True story, love the art.

No, but I drove to one a few years back and was shocked to see they shortened the driveway. 😉

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Traditional Thanksgiving foods are my favorite meal. I would never tell someone not to bring extra or alternate dishes, and it strikes me as odd. I would certainly never tell someone not to bring a traditional dish. (Side note here: MIL the last 2 years has had turkey, gravy, green beans, and macaroni and called it a day and it makes me twitch. We are going to my Mom's this year.😆) Macaroni and cheese is so ubiquitous, especially in the South, that I am not surprised a lot of people call it a Thanksgiving side. It doesn't make my top 10 list but I am not shocked to see it.

I bet one of those pea green lids would fit the 50+ year old container my grandmother gave me. She used to have 2 matching that held flour and sugar. She only gave me the one with a lost lid, and only this year, 2 years after she stopped cooking and storing flour or sugar. 😆

We have had this one for 5.5 years. Older kid is now 120# and it's still in good shape, no complaints about comfort. I have slept on one or another on the odd occasion. I wouldn't be happy to sleep on it for years as an adult, but it is just fine for small children, and within your budget.

Shutterfly is good. I usually have one in the works and they send me a coupon for a freebie when I haven't worked on it in a while.

My CVS had TONS of makeup marked 75% off. Literally every brand had swaths of clearance. Might be good for stocking stuffers for someone?

Christian Book catalog has the original style of freestanding Willow Tree nativity available. You can get the holy family, wise men, shepherds and animals for under $300. Does not include creche, stars, or angel.

I agree with the short and wide comment. We made it work by sizing down, tucking in shirts, layering etc. But they were rarely a perfect fit.

Yes, I think that the freestanding pieces were discontinued many years ago.

They run a bit large if you look at age size. He can wear a 6 in JJ when he can wear a 7/8 in almost everything else.

My 7.5 year old who is still like 40th percentile wore a Janie and Jack long sleeve button down to church on Sunday. I just looked at it; it's a size 6.

Janie and Jack WAS owned by Gymboree. I think Gap has them now. IME prior to Gymbo dissolving, the sizing was very similar to Gymbo. My kids are slim side of average. Carters typically fit them perfectly in age-to-size and Gymbo ran a bit loose.

Belk does great clearance, though. They often have an extra 10% off clearance, too. My boys are in sizes 8-18 and I am almost exclusively shopping Belk and Hollister clearance now.

Hanna Andersson for sure. Some Gap is comparable. There are also some brands at Belk for kids under 6 that are reminiscent of Gymboree. I can't recall what they are at the moment, as mine are past that stage. Gymboree is my forever love. We bought one outfit from the new TCP Gymbo site about 3 years ago. It was similarly sized and priced and the embroidery was good, but the shirt was not as thick as they once were. My younger one is still wearing Gymbo undies we got when they were closing.

We have the complete Willow Tree nativity. My MIL bought us new pieces every year until it was complete.

Almost done. I prefer to buy early when I find a deal versus wait around til December. I need to finish up a photo calendar (haven't gifted one in ages), and DH needs to find something for his parents.

I had 103* fever on and off for 3 days and that is what landed me in the ER. I was severely dehydrated.

It was 14-15 days before I really felt better, but was only super sick for 5.

If you can wait a few days, check ads from several stores bc I have been getting emails on coat sales from lots of stores.

I only bought one clearance bag of candy corn when the kids asked. Just Between Friends kids consignment is this month so I will make some $$ from that. My ER bill from being sick in August came in. $1700ish.

Elder millennial here. I loved my fashion plates. I got my niece an updated version last year.

From extended family? Too dang many. MIL overbuys and we have a lot of siblings. From us, it has varied annually. Last year I wrapped anything I bought from June 1 on, and they had a lot of stuff to open. This year is want ($ Lego), need (varied by kid), wear (varied), read. Plus some collector coins and minifigs in the stockings.