Time for some Christmas shopping. Post what you'll be buying or getting!

[minermark]

I need to put these guys on my next years list, LED has come a long way, one more year and these should be a tad more reasonable.

 

http://www.bigasslight.com/homes-shops/

[JL Sargent]

Those look really pricey!

[dtel]

I would think so, big *** lights probably have big *** prices  

 

I did see the prices of there big *** fans a few months ago, I almost fell off my chair, but they are really cool looking, designed like an airplane propeller.

[Fjd]

 

The year we got the hippity hops we almost killed each other. Remember those things?

 

Very cool story. I'm 51 also but I don't remember the hippity hops.

 

 

 

I remember buying one in the 1970s for my baby sister (she is 49 years old now), but don't exactly remember what it was called back then.  I'll have to ask her when I visit during Thanksgiving.  I believe that the balls went by several names and were also called space hoppers, hoppity hops, sit-n-bounce, or even a pogo ball, among other names. 

 

Children ‘hopping’ in a Hippity Hop Race

 

http://youtu.be/kQPn7sp-Bx8

 

Here is an ‘adult’ version used as a vehicle to raise money by a UK company for “Red Nose Day.”

 

http://youtu.be/MzlABaQQ3c8

 

 

I believe that any money collected in the race in the video above was part of the “Red Nose Day” effort of Sophos (developer and vendor of computer security software and hardware).

 

Red Nose Day seems to have become something of a British institution for many companies and individuals.  The money raised by activities on Red Nose Day in the UK go to help people living tough lives across the UK and Africa under the mission statement of ‘A Just World Free from Poverty.’

Edited November 25, 2014 by Fjd

[dtel]

All this talk about presents made me feel guilty so I went and got my wife something she needed, a media blasting cabinet.  She's happy

[Fjd]

My dad never did any Christmas shopping either, but mom did enough for both of them!!!

 

My parents always saw to it that we got the "deluxe" version of Christmas. They are truely some of my dearest memories. Waking up on Christmas morning after dreaming of the  Christmas Comstock we knew would be piled around the tree. My two brothers and I would try to slip downstairs just before dawn. I can still hear my mom saying "you boys stay in the bed till the sun is out", but we couldn't hardly wait. When the green light finally came we rushed in like mad men and would dig into everything without reserve. We would start building/assembling/erecting/throwing/shooting/playing. We did whatever the toy would allow!!! The year we got the hippity hops we almost killed each other. Remember those things? Anyway, after a few hours of this mom would move to the kitchen where an awesome Christmas dinner would be created for our family and friends. So many years this was our standard operating procedure. 

 

I'm 51 years old now and still love Chirstmas.

 

We grew up with very modest means and there was a lot of sacrifice during the year; however, my memories are similar to yours as my parents always tried to make Christmas special for us kids.

 

I have tried to continue that tradition in several ways to make Christmas special for a selection of unfortunate kids when I can.  One of my most memorable was actually very 'close to home' and was for my girlfriend's two daughters (I believe the youngest may have been 10 and the other was maybe 14 at the time) that had very limited prospects for a special Christmas that year. 

 

The girls' father had passed away unexpectedly a couple of years before (leaving them all with bills and very limited prospects) and their mother and I had broken-up during the fall and not really dating that Christmas; however, both of the girls had already considered me their father and did not want me to leave their lives, even though I had decided to leave their mother's life at the time.  After re-reading the next paragraph, I realize that it may have been similar to feeding a stray cat milk and finding the cat back at your door the next day.     

 

During the previous summer I had taken the girls to many double A baseball games, the X games tour (BMX bicycles, Skateboarding, etc.) that had booked dates in the city during the summer, events and places they each found interesting from an individual perspective, let them pick out as many pieces of clothes as they wanted from the 'teen second hand store' they loved to shop at, and general 'window-shopping,' among other things that they liked to do.

 

During the 'window shopping' expeditions I would watch and evaluate how they were looking at items and ask questions to help gauge the actual interest in the items.  That year, even though I was no longer dating their mother, I decided to go back to these stores and bought them most of the items that I had on the list from the window-shopping expeditions. 

 

When I got back in town I had the car loaded with wrapped packages but it was unclear to the girls who the packages were actually for.  I had the girls unload the car and put the packages under the tree.  The youngest had commented in such an innocent way that it was really exciting, like she was helping to unload Santa's sleigh (I love that she does NOT seem to have a pretentious bone in her body).

 

Once all packages were under the tree and the lights all lit and Christmas music playing in the background, I then showed the girls how to 'break the code' on the packages to indicate who they were for and divide them up. 

 

They were really shocked that I even came back to see them for Christmas and expressed more shock after opening the presents in wondering how I knew about all of this stuff that they really wanted, especially since they did not even remember telling anyone about most of the items. 

 

Now both are in their 20s (I'll be walking the oldest down the aisle for her wedding this summer) and both still talk about how magical Christmas was for them that year.  

 

The youngest is now attending college, working full time, and in her own place for the first time this year and wants to make the Thanksgiving dinner. Since she has never cooked a turkey before and has started asking me questions, I've coyly devised a few ways to help her with the task.    

 

On a side note, when she asks, I keep telling my girlfriend that I want an insulated Stumps gravity feed smoker for Christmas.  Once I have the cash to pay for it, she says she will be happy to place the order.

 

At this stage in my life, I like the aspect of the gravity feed smoker holding a really steady temperature as I do not want to always be watching the smoker and a smoker that fluctuates a lot in temperature can affect the juiciness of the meat.  From everyone that I know with a Stumps Smoker, the universal comment seems to be the temperature is extremely precise.  If you set the Stumps at 225 degrees, it might fluctuate three or four degrees, and that's it.  They have a reputation of holding a tighter temperature range than an electric or gas oven. I like his tag line too of, STUMP DON'T BUILD NO JUNK!

 

Wishing all on the forum a happy holiday season!!!    

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2014 by Fjd

[JL Sargent]

Cool Christmas story  Fjd.

 

I wanted a Stumps too until I found out about pellet smokers. So far I've bought one and did a conversion for another. Love the things because you are cooking with wood which I believe is the best way. I'm sure a quick search for "pellet smoker" would turn up the few threads where we discussed them if interested. Here is the thread with my conversion

 

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/152094-i-built-a-pellet-smoker/?hl=%2Bpellet+%2Bsmoker

Edited November 25, 2014 by JL Sargent

[Fjd]

Cool Christmas story  Fjd.

 

I wanted a Stumps too until I found out about pellet smokers. So far I've bought one and did a conversion for another. Love the things because you are cooking with wood which I believe is the best way. I'm sure a quick search for "pellet smoker" would turn up the few threads where we discussed them if interested. Here is the thread with my conversion

 

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/152094-i-built-a-pellet-smoker/?hl=%2Bpellet+%2Bsmoker

 

 

Thanks for the link.  Did you buy your pellet smoker from the Smoke Daddy site like your pellet hopper for the DIY build or another brand?

 

I actually did read your thread but did not get a chance to post to it.  I have one of the Smoke Daddy cold smoke generator tubes and have given his pellet hopper assembly some serious consideration too.  I keep thinking that one of his weber conversion kits would be interesting for the charcoal smoker and think the pellet hopper would make a great combination with an insulated box.

Edited November 25, 2014 by Fjd

[JL Sargent]

I bought this pellet smoker first and really do love smoking with it. After seeing mine in action, a buddy bought one too and he loves his. 

 

http://www.englanderstoves.com/pelletgrills.html

 

I bought the smoke daddy pellet hopper assembly from an individual on Craigslist to do the conversion with and it works really well also. I cooked 3 whole chickens on it yesterday that really turned out great.

 

I cooked with charcoal for 20+ years and I've been cooking with pellets for about a year now. I'm not planning on buying any more charcoal.