Airmiles Armchair Chatter

[Aladora]

Santa has decided that all stocking stuffers shall not be wrapped this year.

I managed the presents but paid dearly for it today.
My shoulder/arm is screaming No More!
View attachment 922289

Hugs Mel

So my husband and I have debated this for 25+ years. My family wraps stocking stuffers and his does not. Since I deal with all the wrapping, etc. I keep to my family tradition.

This year he said that I should ask online to see which of us is with the majority and the results were really interesting.

I had 2 responses and someone else in the moms group added a third.

1. Heck yes, everything gets wrapped.
2. No way, just toss everything in.
3. Some are wrapped, some are not.

1. 128 votes
2. 132 votes
3. 126 votes

So, pretty much an even split which is not what I expected!

 

[mort1331]

Personal rant coming. We have never dinned at Ohana but I have always wanted to. Could never get a reservation for two. Last visit we even tried last minute walk up. No go. Our window to book has now opened for our Feb. stay, so I just went to book. If I book for the two of us we have to either go at 3:05 or 7:15. To early and to late. If I book for 3 we have 4:45, 4:50, 5:05, 5:10, 5:15 and so on. It's really annoying that tables for 2 are so rare. It's the only restaurant I have had this issue with.
Rant over. I just had to get this out.

so book for 3 and adjust next month,,,not like a lot of people already do that

 

[Pumpkin1172]

So my husband and I have debated this for 25+ years. My family wraps stocking stuffers and his does not. Since I deal with all the wrapping, etc. I keep to my family tradition

Both my family and Dh's family is no wrap. I do put an orange every year in the tow of the stocking, their favorite candy, package of nuts, a gc and then other little things we pick up. Our stockings are NOT meant to be a place for big dollar ticket items. I enjoy trying to neat little things they will use or needs in their stockings.

The gift I think wins most unique, it for our ds(s) is those hand gloves with the lights on them. They are electricians, and work in dark areas - so I think these may come in handy for them in those awkward dark spaces.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Personal rant coming. We have never dinned at Ohana but I have always wanted to. Could never get a reservation for two. Last visit we even tried last minute walk up. No go. Our window to book has now opened for our Feb. stay, so I just went to book. If I book for the two of us we have to either go at 3:05 or 7:15. To early and to late. If I book for 3 we have 4:45, 4:50, 5:05, 5:10, 5:15 and so on. It's really annoying that tables for 2 are so rare. It's the only restaurant I have had this issue with.
Rant over. I just had to get this out.

I would just book for three people and say someone backed out at the last minute.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I used to put gifts in our stockings, only because with three cats I didn't want them sniffing out the candy, chocolate, etc and eating it! I had "candy boxes" for everyone that were wrapped.

Now that we have no cats, food items only will go in there.

 

[tinkerone]

I would just book for three people and say someone backed out at the last minute.

so book for 3 and adjust next month,,,not like a lot of people already do that

This is what I did, booked for 3. I figure even if I have to pay for three its been on my list of 'to do' for to long and I'm getting it done......and I'm not going to feel guilty.

 

[tinkerone]

Santa has decided that all stocking stuffers shall not be wrapped this year.

I managed the presents but paid dearly for it today.
My shoulder/arm is screaming No More!
View attachment 922289

Hugs Mel

What happens here is I purchase those photo boxes you can get from Michaels. They are the size of a shoe box. All the stocking stuffers go in there, unwrapped, along with an envelope of cash. The box is then wrapped and Merry Christmas, here's your gift. It's so much easier on me. The one exception is for the grandson. He is eight and doesn't want cash, that means little to him, so he gets toys, art supplies and books along with a little bit of cash. He likes to open gifts as most children do. My granddaughter is older and past that stage. She loves the cash so she can shop on her own. The photo boxes they can keep as well as I pick out ones that have designs that they can put to use to store stuff.
Since I pick up the boxes early in the year and stocking stuffers throughout the year, Christmas is pretty easy now.

 

[dancin Disney style]

This is what I did, booked for 3. I figure even if I have to pay for three its been on my list of 'to do' for to long and I'm getting it done......and I'm not going to feel guilty.

Is Ohana still a pre pay reservation? If it is, you will have a hard time canceling that third person. It will require an actual phone call and maybe more than one call. The problem is their system will cancel the whole reservation because it will want to move a party of 2 down to a two top table which will not exist that late in the game. If you get the right person on the phone they can just remove the extra person without canceling the whole thing.

If it is no longer a pre pay reservation then it won’t matter that you show up with 2 people instead of 3. We do it all the time and they don’t care. All that matters is that you show up.

We have done Ohana several times. It’s good but definitely does not live up to the hype. In fact, in recent times it has a bit of a bad rep. Expect to be rushed through your meal.

BTW, anyone can go next door to the Tambu lounge and get the same food. No reservations required.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Stocking stuffers….people wrap them, this is a thing?

 

[bababear_50]

What happens here is I purchase those photo boxes you can get from Michaels. They are the size of a shoe box. All the stocking stuffers go in there, unwrapped, along with an envelope of cash. The box is then wrapped and Merry Christmas, here's your gift. It's so much easier on me. The one exception is for the grandson. He is eight and doesn't want cash, that means little to him, so he gets toys, art supplies and books along with a little bit of cash. He likes to open gifts as most children do. My granddaughter is older and past that stage. She loves the cash so she can shop on her own. The photo boxes they can keep as well as I pick out ones that have designs that they can put to use to store stuff.
Since I pick up the boxes early in the year and stocking stuffers throughout the year, Christmas is pretty easy now.

I love this idea and am going to do it next year for sure. Thanks for sharing
Hugs Mel

 

[Aladora]

Stocking stuffers….people wrap them, this is a thing?

According to my totally not scientific FB poll, 1/3 of people wrap all stocking stuffers and another 1/3 of people wrap at least some of them.

 

[tinkerone]

Is Ohana still a pre pay reservation? If it is, you will have a hard time canceling that third person. It will require an actual phone call and maybe more than one call. The problem is their system will cancel the whole reservation because it will want to move a party of 2 down to a two top table which will not exist that late in the game. If you get the right person on the phone they can just remove the extra person without canceling the whole thing.

If it is no longer a pre pay reservation then it won’t matter that you show up with 2 people instead of 3. We do it all the time and they don’t care. All that matters is that you show up.

We have done Ohana several times. It’s good but definitely does not live up to the hype. In fact, in recent times it has a bit of a bad rep. Expect to be rushed through your meal.

BTW, anyone can go next door to the Tambu lounge and get the same food. No reservations required.

It's not a pre pay. I'm sad to hear it could have gone down hill. I hear about it a lot, have wanted to go for years, and have watched some Youtube on it. I have heard they try and rush you but that never bothers me. I can sit past a nasty stare any day of the week.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Once the kids were past the "age" stockings were stuffed (no longer have anyone here to do that for) with things they needed, in full sizes because some well- meaning auntie knitted them KNEE-HIGH ones that streeetttch. Favourite candies/chocolate, cute things I picked up through the year, magazine, lottery ticket, socks, Shampoo, toothpaste , you know, boring things! Never wrapped, just stuffed in at midnight. They got one big present from Santa (unwrapped as well) and one from us and one from each other. That's it, we kept things low-key.

now that we've got grandbabies it's hard to pump the brakes! Still try to keep it to a max of 2 gifts though. We've gone together with our daughter and her family to give Arthur a MASSIVE start into Thomas the Train with a table, tons of tracks and trains and a set of bridges. Found him this cute set of jammies at zehrs tonight that I'll just slip in the big box we've picked up to store it all in

Each girl will be getting 2 presents - because they're moving in January one will stay in our house until then and the other is to use now. I've yet to find anything for our daughter's partner

 

[Donald - my hero]

this just showed up in my email!

Not a bad year!

 

[kimbert]

Question about linking Mastercard. I have a bmo m/c (so now AM says I'm automatically linked). I have a secondary card on the same account (different card number) in my husband's name. Is that secondary card able to be linked? Is it now automatically linked as it's also bmo?

Can you even link more than 1 m/c to a single AM number? Thanks!

 

[Debbie]

Stocking stuffers….people wrap them, this is a thing?

Yes. LOL and I rue the first day I did that, but it was our tradition 70+ years ago.

5 kids, 5 different Santa papers that ONLY got used for the stockings/gift under the tree from Santa. I was thrilled when I didn't need to coordinate those hidden rolls....until this year. My granddaughter (5yo) is coming to visit from Cairo, so back to specific papers for the stockings with the rolls hidden in my closet. Santa came!

 

[dancin Disney style]

It's not a pre pay. I'm sad to hear it could have gone down hill. I hear about it a lot, have wanted to go for years, and have watched some Youtube on it. I have heard they try and rush you but that never bothers me. I can sit past a nasty stare any day of the week.

LOL…I think it went downhill years ago. Having never been, and now low expectations, I’m sure you will enjoy it. I would go again.

The rushed through aspect is that they rapid fire serve all the food.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I did half of my wrapping tonight. I have to show DH all of the gifts for DD16 and DS28 just so he is in the loop when they open them. One year I forgot to show him everything and he was just as surprised and they were on Christmas morning LOL

 

[momof2gr8kids]

According to my totally not scientific FB poll, 1/3 of people wrap all stocking stuffers and another 1/3 of people wrap at least some of them.

We do not wrap here. When I was a kid my parents (mom I should say ... ha ha... dad showed up to the tree... ) would have our one big gift from santa unwrapped as well. That way we could get up and play with our one gift, giving them a big more time to get out of bed! We did that with our kids as well. One exciting gift from Santa and stocking stuffers unwrapped.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

I did half of my wrapping tonight. I have to show DH all of the gifts for DD16 and DS28 just so he is in the loop when they open them. One year I forgot to show him everything and he was just as surprised and they were on Christmas morning LOL

Ha Ha I remember one year my husband saying oh that's so cool, who got them that? Ah... we did hun! lol

I actually hate shopping. I drag my husband out at least one day Christmas shopping with me and it's even more painful. I'd rather talk about what we want to get, take our list, and power shop and show him what we got.

Also, with online shopping it's so much easier. I like to support local when I can, but often they don't have the sizes I need when buying clothes. Or, the website says 20 in stock and there's none to be found and when you do find a staff person, another 20 minutes for them to locate it in back. I'd rather do store pick up.