Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Online Holiday Shopping- Suggestions??

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving or beginning of the holiday season as suits your geographic location. LOL How was that for being geographic-ly correct?

Sooooo- I am staying in and doing my gift shopping online this year for the first time ever.
A) because I am scared of catching some nasty bug
B) because I hurt and can't have my Enbrel until next week when my shipment arrives (2 1/2 weeks between shots ) and
C) gosh there are some nifty things out there!

I have found good stuff on etsy.com and 1000markets.com. I have been browsing Amazon for books, ofcourse.

My question to those of you who shop online are these... Any sites I should have a look at? Any advice about shipping? Any site to stay far far away from?

A little advice and suggestions would be great- I feel sure that I am not the only KA online shopper out there. PS- I have to buy for 5 teenagers this year- tough crowd to please!

Thanks bunches and hugs to everyone, stay warm, and be good to yourself

Anna

Well, I'm in Canada so my choices are different than yours, but I've done part of my Xmas shopping online for a few years now.

Here in Canada, my online shopping pics are:

Chapters/Indigo for books and toys
Mountain Equipment Coop for outdoor/camping/hiking/canoing gear
Lee Valley Tools for tools (husband, sons), gardening equipment and nifty gadgets, including kitchen and toys
Mastermind Toys for great selection of quality toys.

I buy a from a few US outlets as well - those who have good shipping arrangements. Primarily they are:

LLBean (clothes etc.)
Moolka.com for unbelievably wonderful European toys

Those are my regulars. If I want something special, I'll research it and try to find out whether the vendor is reputable. For example, I've bought great luggage and computer bags from Heys online.

Don't know if that's helpful because most of them are Canadian.

As for teenagers - what ages, sexes and interests?

Hey thanks Wendy!

Really good suggestions- I will check those sites out. I wouldn't think Canada would be a big hurdle though I could be wrong. Very new at this.

As for the teens-

12 year old boy- art, history, military history, classic literature ( currently reading The Man in the Iron Mask) cooking, photography (step son)

14 year old girl-(niece) cooking, softball, scrapebooking, crafts

16 year old boy- (nephew)sports, movies, outdoors

16 year old girl- (daughter) horses, music, books, drag racing , science, photography, travel

Any suggestions there will be appreciated- I am not much for the normal mass market gift- I like to give things that they will use or treasure or never even thought of wanting.

Thank you again for taking the time to write such a great reply!

Anna

Hi Anna,

well... an obvious thing comes to mind and that is the scrapbooking niece. Scrapbooking supplies are quite expensive for teenage girls. My mother is a quilter and makes beautiful quilts for family members and others but I know she always needs fabric and the material costs for a quilt are quite extraordinary. I found a couple of wonderful quilting suppliers online who had very different fabrics than she can buy locally. So I ordered an interesting selection for her. (I hope she doesn't come on KA - I don't think she does!!!) Anyway - I wonder whether you can do something similar for the scrapbooker. You might have fun picking out a selection that will go together.

The stepson sounds like an easy one if you're buying books but, maybe, with those interests, everyone gets him books! So the challenge could be finding something more unusual! Otherwise, the fall-back plan would be books on history, military history etc etc.

Does outdoors mean camping/hiking?? Or sports? When my boys were teenagers, I regularly bought good quality camping gear for them, that they couldn't afford themselves but were delighted to have. Typically, I went online to Mountain Equipment Co op and found lightweight cookware sets, camping stoves, headlamps, first aid kits, multi-tool knives etc.

Photography, of course, screams cameras etc. which they probably have but maybe a tripod, or books on photography (how to take good pictures) or computer software for editing and sharing photos... could be possible.

I hated wasting money on stuff that wouldn't get used so I used to hunt for very useful stuff that they would hang on to for years. Don't know if any of these ideas are helpful. They are not very unique, I'm afraid, and you probably thought of them all already! If I come across anything online, I'll try to remember to send you a link!

Just a quick follow-up, Anna. Has your stepson read "Black Hawk Down" by Mark Bowden, which is considered to be a modern classic and is described by one reviewer as the most exciting history book I've ever read? A companion book to this could be "In the Company of Heroes" by Michael Durant, which is the personal story of one of the characters in Black Hawk Down. Just thoughts on the book front!

Oh Wendy- the scapebook supplies that she may not have access to here is a very good idea- I will branch out on that one- Thanks a ton!

As for the outdoor gear- I had not thought about camping gear because his dad has so much but I really like the idea of starting his own set of gear since he goes off to college in 2011. That was a great hint and I think his other aunts and uncles will have fun with it too- plus he has a Jan birthday!

You are very good at this! I am so glad I posted and you answered! You really helped me get focused! Please let me know if anything else comes to mind or you stumble on something neat. We seem to be on the same wavelength.

Thanks again!!

Anna

LL Bean
Eddie Bauer
The Nature Store
Giant Microbes
ThinkGeek
Williams Sonoma
Sur La Table
Heifer International
Apple
Jerry's Artarama
Cheap Joe's (Art Stuff)

Wendy- go call on the books! I will check those two out right now. Thanks again!! Big help!

Sue- several of those are new to me- I will check them out as well- I'm super interested in the art ones- good lead for the 12 year old. Thanks for the reply!

Anna

I have done most of my shopping online. Of course, for me I shop for girls so most of my shopping is on the clothing websites that they like. I do check out etsy but I have never bought anything there. I check out Amazon too and have bought books and flowers there.

I plan to be here shopping early tomorrow for Cyber Monday,
I really am through but if I find something my grands would like for a really good price then I am "not" through. :o) I love shopping for those precious girls. I got our grandson a year subscription to X-Box live and also a gift card for some points and then he always will take money. He is easy with what he likes.

Blessings.
Possi

ola,

Etsy is great (even got my wedding ring done from there)
ebay ebay eaby!
For books, this site has cheap book and worldwide free delivery
http://www.bookdepository.com/

Hopr you are feeling bit better!