Christmas Shopping on the road

[Dreamer]

Just wondering how everyone handles shopping while on the road? Do you take advantage of downtime, grab a few gifts and store them in the truck til you get home? Do you wait til you get home for a couple days, go out of service and do a mad dash?

Or, do you consider Ebay and Amazon two of your best friends?


Dale

 

[Jenny]

We have done all of our shopping while out on the road. In our down time, waiting for a load, we would go out. Unfortunately after we started we didn't make it home for two months so there was a lot of stuff in there. But, we were all done, except for one person, by December 1st.

 

[chefdennis]

My 3 adult kids and 1 son in law and my 15 y/o daughter are all huge college football fans...sooo dad stops at as many college book stores as he can to pickup 5 "Athletic Dept" Property of" ...T-shirts....from Clemson to western ill to north texas st and a popular High School football program in Odessa texas...I stop whenever i can BUT...finding the "bookstore" on most college campuses can prove to be a challenge...and i would never try it if i were in a CV.....

No shopping for the wife, she got a new hot tub 2 weeks ago, wants a new car the 1st week of the yr......but ill shop for her as i always do, on Christmas Eve with a few buddies from the old car/truck business....shopping early then lunch....then home for Christmas with the kids, dinner with the wifes whole family....

 

[Jack_Berry]

i think a pair of flying j shot glasses from each state makes a warm gift. nothing says holiday toast like a shot glass.

 

[ebsprintin]

I'm not much of a holiday present shopper, but most of my shopping these days is online, and I have things shipped to where I think I might be. For my nephew I'm putting together his first real tool bag of tools, and that shopping I'm doing from the road as I come across stores I don't normally get to see.

eb

 

[LDB]

Online with alibris.com added to the mix.

 

[greg334]

i think a pair of flying j shot glasses from each state makes a warm gift. nothing says holiday toast like a shot glass.

Especially when you are asked to toast with each state.

 

[iceroadtrucker]

Well 2 years I did as I was able to take the truck home.
I was able to make some body very happy.

Last year I was 5 days late got in on the 31st of Dec.
That not going to happen No way.

This year Nope no load will change my mind. I got to take a buss to be home on the 18Th of DEC. So really not a lot of room. I Hope the better half will help me out on this one

I don't care no matter what I will be home Newport News VA on the 18Th of Dec. Plan accordingly. I got a promise to keep & I'm going to keep it This Year!!!!!!!!!!!

Sitting in the Devils Lair.

Baltimore

I may keep saying it but I'm serious and its in Writing.

 

[Jack_Berry]

Well 2 years I did as I was able to take the truck home.
I was able to make some body very happy.

Last year I was 5 days late got in on the 31st of Dec.
That not going to happen No way.

This year Nope no load will change my mind. I got to take a buss to be home on the 18Th of DEC. So really not a lot of room. I Hope the better half will help me out on this one

I don't care no matter what I will be home Newport News VA on the 18Th of Dec. Plan accordingly. I got a promise to keep & I'm going to keep it This Year!!!!!!!!!!!

Sitting in the Devils Lair.

Baltimore

I may keep saying it but I'm serious and its in Writing.

this has ....what...to do with the subject?

 

[x06col]

Better half/opposite sex, Christmas present, been on the road a long time. Really Jack, don't your imagination work better'n that??

But, I always chose to assemble gifts that were relevant to the recipient from exotic/unique places while I traveled. Shur is more meaningfull than scrambling in the big box stores at the last moment for "something".

 

[greg334]

Who has money to buy gifts?

Who has time to chase the list?

We, my wife and I, have decided to cancel Christmas, instead of buying a new TV and paying those pesky bills as we have in the past, like giving money and food to others as we normally do but now we feel it is important to do more than before. Outside of the few coats and boxes of food, we did something different with a bunch of friends we went to these sites;

Operation USO Care Package

Operation Gratitude

Any Soldier

Soldiers' Angels

So far the first two we have worked with as a group, the last two we are going to before the end of the year when I make enough money.

While you are all hoping to be at home enjoying this federally mandated holiday, I hope to be on the road making money to spend on something I get some enjoyment out of.

I know most will think I'm a scrooge because I am not handing out gifts to ungrateful relatives - kids on her side of the family have more than Bill Gates - but what is this holiday all about anyway but to spend money we don't have on things we don't need.

So put it to good use this time, and be like me Greg the "scrooge" and send some money to strangers who are there to defend the country. (oh and by the way, help out a family who has hit hard times this year too).

Many of you tightwad expediters can afford a few thousand, maybe some of you spend that a panera bread and other high class dives, but you know who you are - you million dollar apartment on wheels van and straight truck owners - come on join the club and enjoy life for once by helping others.

 

[Jack_Berry]

Better half/opposite sex, Christmas present, been on the road a long time. Really Jack, don't your imagination work better'n that??

col my imagination works fine. i just remember irt posting that whole soliloquy of his in another post. he wants to go home. cool. what does that have to do with shopping on the road and answering dreamers question?

 

[fastman_1]

Years ago we quit buying gifts for each other,instead we started going to the Soilders and Sailiors Home in Erie PA every Holiday, and we become family members of the vets that don't have anyone, we spend the day with them, and serve a meal to them, so no we don't shop on the road any more.

 

[TeamCaffee]

I have found the easiest way for me to shop as I do not like to shop at all is to order what I want. The shipping is a small price to pay over the stress of trying to find what I am looking for in a store and the hassle of checking out. That is truly a situation of poor Bob! Having said that this year we are not exchanging gifts between us or our kids we are exchanging memories. We are going to see the play Chicago, we are going to see a Blues Hockey Game, we are going to get messages (that sounds scary but the girls say we will enjoy it) and then we have a nice dinner planned at a Japanese Steakhouse. Each person picked out what they wanted to do and then paid for and planned the event. Our youngest daughter will be deploying after the 1st of the year and we felt that spending time with each other doing something we enjoyed made more sense to us. We also have a few game nights planned of Pitch, Cribbage, Apples to Apples and probably a cut throat version of Uno we all like to play.

Our Christmas starts next week when our youngest daughter arrives at the house and we cannot wait!

 

[nightcreacher]

My christmas shopping is very easy,can be done any where you can buy a Christmas card.Then remembering when I was a kid,hated getting things I didn't want,in the Christmas card I put a brand new bill,might be 100 might be a 10,but this way everyone is happy,and I dont have to wait in line

 

[chefdennis]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but for the moment i wll...Bob and Linda..enjoy the time with your family and make sure your youngest has a great Christmas and tell her that she is a true American Hero....she will be in my thoughts and prayers..Merry Christmas to you and yours....

Now back to the scheduled Thread.....

 

[Jenny]

Who has money to buy gifts?

Who has time to chase the list?

We, my wife and I, have decided to cancel Christmas, instead of buying a new TV and paying those pesky bills as we have in the past, like giving money and food to others as we normally do but now we feel it is important to do more than before. Outside of the few coats and boxes of food, we did something different with a bunch of friends we went to these sites;

Operation USO Care Package

Operation Gratitude

Any Soldier

Soldiers' Angels

So far the first two we have worked with as a group, the last two we are going to before the end of the year when I make enough money.

While you are all hoping to be at home enjoying this federally mandated holiday, I hope to be on the road making money to spend on something I get some enjoyment out of.

I know most will think I'm a scrooge because I am not handing out gifts to ungrateful relatives - kids on her side of the family have more than Bill Gates - but what is this holiday all about anyway but to spend money we don't have on things we don't need.

So put it to good use this time, and be like me Greg the "scrooge" and send some money to strangers who are there to defend the country. (oh and by the way, help out a family who has hit hard times this year too).

Many of you tightwad expediters can afford a few thousand, maybe some of you spend that a panera bread and other high class dives, but you know who you are - you million dollar apartment on wheels van and straight truck owners - come on join the club and enjoy life for once by helping others.

Greg, I am so glad that you are such a great person up on that horse of yours. Who is to say that one of our families aren't one of the ones who have been hit hard this year and lost everything that they had, and by us giving them small little gifts it doesnt lighten their spirits. Or that because of a medical condition they lost their jobs this year? Or how about the member of my family that has a terminal illness, that also beat cancer this year? Who's to say that by my giving them gifts is being a scrooge by not giving it to someone else who is having a hard time. I know that my family will appreciate it. And as far as peoples money they can spend it how they want it. Have fun working this Christmas while I am spending time with those who do appreciate everything that they have, and everything that we have done for them.
So next time you wanna call someone out, at least have the courtesy to do it directly, like I just did you.

 

[layoutshooter]

What little shopping we do is online. We don't buy much for each other, after all, we don't need anything, that would fit on a truck at least. We do buy for the kids and grand-daughter. Also for our little nieces and nephews and the grand ones as well. As to the adults, they don't need anything anyway. The gift part of Christmas is for the kids.

 

[greg334]

Jenny,
The post was part humor and part "hey get off your a** and do something for a stranger for once". I don't expect you to understand the history behind the post nor the people I'm directing it to, but believe me it wasn't you. You seem to take it personal like you have a reason to feel guilty about something and by being so defensive to say what you are saying about the post, you missed the point entirely.

Nevertheless the people who have struggled defending our country thousands miles away and those who are returning broken, we can help them.

By bringing home a step closer through an unselfish act like going to one of those sites and participating as they are asking one to do will mean a lot for someone who is sitting at a VA hospital or out in the field on the Middle East this Christmas. If you could see past your attitude then maybe you can understand what the spirit of Christmas is really about.

I know that may be a strange concept for you, seeing that you focused on my rhetoric and arrogance, but what makes you think that I don't have ill family members or people in my family haven't hit hard times?

You don't have to answer that, it was rhetorical in nature.

I won't get into helping a family who has hit hard times or strangers outside of the military because that may be beyond you at this point.

So there, I called you out - happy?

 

[SuperDuper]

I believe nothing sends your love to family like something that you have put your heart and soul into. With the various places I have visited doing this job, the great ideas for gifts are endless. My loving wife of 30 years will assurdly love the Pilot 24oz coffee cup mobile that I am just finishing up. I hope she treasures it as much as the Big AZ sandwich wrapper collage from last year. I am already thinking about next years gift and I don't want to give away the surprise but it involves individual packaged condiments from accross this great land of ours and used metal load seals. (The plastic load seals are tacky)