Gift Stash... the last laugh

Here are a few ideas of places to get gifts to stock up and create or replenish your gift stash.

If your kid's school sends home Scholastic book orders, they almost always have a $1 book which would make good stocking stuffers or an 'extra'. If your kid's school doesn't do this, you can order online. If I'm ordering books and they're for my own kids, I send the teacher a note saying when they're delivered, to either let me know so I can pick them up or put them in a bag so my kiddos can't see them. They have always done this with no complaints... at least to me, anyway. This is actually a win-win, because the school usually gets to earn books, from your orders. :)

Don't forget about discount stores like Ross, Big Lots, TJ Maxx, etc. It's very easy to snag gifts on the cheap there! The one I almost never think about are drugstores. I got a call from my friend Chelle last night saying after my first gift stash post, she went to Walgreens and racked up! They have their toys on clearance and she had about $40 in register rewards. Homegirl got about $100 worth of toys for $9! Woot woot!! Don't make me do the "I just saved a bundle" dance... it makes me look cheap. HA!

I know some of you may actually sneer at this next suggestion, but never overlook stores like Goodwill. I can't tell you how many items I have found with the tags still on them in there! Now, granted, some things should have just been taken to the dump, but lots of stores send things they don't sell there, rather than keep the inventory and get a tax write-off, then you get the savings. Not to mention, buying things at Goodwill (and other thrift stores) helps your community by giving people that otherwise might not be able to get a job elsewhere a hand up, rather than a hand out. Talk about a winner-winner, chicken dinner!

If you've ever taught a group, you've probably gotten some kind of a 'teacher gift.' Consumable gifts are huge, in my opinion, in this category. If you are a classroom teacher, I think I can speak for us all, when I say we love what we do, but I seriously don't need another gift with an apple on it... I mean, of course, unless it's electronic, then an iPad would be great. Here are a couple of suggestions for inexpensive gifts, but (believe it or not), people outside of teachers like to receive these, too.

Stores like Bath and Body Works almost always have some kind of clearance deal that makes great stockpile gifts like pump soaps, trial size stuff, and lotions for $1. Put a couple of those puppies together and call it a day.

In the same $1 train of thought, would you believe the Dollar Tree has cool items for gifts, sometimes? No, seriously. They almost always have a good choice of trademarked cartoon coloring books, nightlights, jump ropes, beach buckets, etc. and sometimes even in packs of more than 1 for $1. A couple of years ago, I happened upon some nice, name brand soaps and lotions. Don't think I didn't buy nearly all they had. You could get several things there and not spend a lot, at all! Sweet!

Where we live, the bakery that makes all the bread and croutons for Cracker Barrel is nearby. They sell that sourdough bread (that I think I could live on exclusively) for $1.25/loaf. As a Sunday school and regular classroom teacher, if a kid brought that stuff to me for Christmas, well, let's just say it might not actually make it in the door of my house before it was devoured. That said, you may live near something that's unique to your town and doesn't cost an arm and a leg, but also won't collect dust on someone's bookshelf or end up in a garage sale.

You may already be familiar with Restaurants.com, where you can buy gift certificates for less than half price. Are you also aware that sometimes they run deals where you can get a $25 GC for $2? Shazaam! Now you're the king (or queen) of gift giving!

I'm certain I've left out tons of places that you could probably rattle off where you have snagged great deals. However, now that your brain is running like a top, start a list of some of those places to check periodically. Also, always ask in your favorite big stores like Target, Walmart, Home Depot, etc where they put their clearanced items. They're not always front and center. I have previously walked into deals that were unadvertised and basically hidden (which I don't understand, if they're wanting to get rid of them, but whatever).

Am I saying you have to go shopping every day to try to sniff out deals. No way, Jack (or Jill). Just pay attention when you are shopping, because you never know what deal might be lurking around the corner that you could snatch up and put in your gift stash. And as my grandmother would say, "Go on now, git!" :)