Tara3117

Remember the snow globes at JC Penney? That was fun! I have great memories of Kohl's, waiting in line for them to open. That's a must for me every year!

Love this! The 50% off toys is basically why I go there. It's also interesting that they started Thanksgiving night in 2013. I remember sneaking out of the house after I put my son to sleep that year. He was only 5 months old on Thanksgiving. Feels like a lifetime ago!

Got this email from Toys R Us today... Our promise to you The holidays are all about giving, and that means a lot to us. That’s why we’re introducing our Price Match Promise: Not only will we match competitors’ prices, we’ll donate $1 to Toys for Tots every time you price match in store, up to $1 million. Here are the basics: We’ll honor a price match for in-store purchases. Simply go to Customer Service for assistance.Items purchased must be identical to the items advertised–same brand, same size, same style and function–although variances in color will be accepted.The original, complete competitor ad, with valid dates, must be presented at time of purchase. Advertisements presented via smartphone must be displayed on the competitor’s website or app. Online prices must be verifiable via the competitor’s website.A price match may be granted at the time of purchase or within 14 days of purchase date with a valid receipt.When 2 or more of the same item are purchased, price match will be limited to 2 of those items.Prices are matched after deducting any Toys“R”Us and/or Babies“R”Us coupon savings and other offers from our price.We do match: Identical items in local retail competitors’ print advertisements—same brand, same size, same style and function, although variances in color will be accepted.Pricing of an exact item at a competitor’s location that is the result of a single item percentage (%) off discount or coupon, such as a competitor’s coupon for 20% off a single item.Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com online pricing.These competitors and their websites:AmazonBaby DepotBarnes & NobleBest Buybuybuy BABYdiapers.comFred MeyerGameStopHobby LobbyJCPenneyKmartKohl'sLEGOMacy'sMeijerMichael'sSearsTargetWalmartYoYo.comWe don't match: Competitors’ “Buy One Get One” (BOGO) offersCompetitors’ “Gift with Purchase” (GWP) offersOut-of-stock or limited quantity itemsA competitor’s price that is a result of a promotion requiring a minimum purchase amount (ex.: Save $10 when you spend $50), or that has other conditions, such as storewide or category-wide couponsAdvertisements and websites with typographical pricing errorsAny competitor’s advertised store or online pricing for Thanksgiving through Cyber MondayCompetitors’ online pricing that is limited to one day or less (ex.: doorbuster items, one-day deal, 6-hour sale, evening sale)Subscriptions, Services or Marketplace products (ex.: pricing from a 3rd party selling products via a competitor’s site)Clearance, closeout, damaged product, used, refurbished, open packages or liquidation sales

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0872866831/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i2?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=0872866831&pd_rd_r=54e47ba9-b368-11e7-ae57-8f0a228b7969&pd_rd_w=yOvg3&pd_rd_wg=H4A1l&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=X52RK30EZ4QK5STCMZ6G&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1dd2ffc3-992f-4bde-81b0-de270e0ead5a&pf_rd_i=desktop I was thinking of getting this book for my 10 year old niece, but I think it might be over her head.

I'm looking for a free phone. Work changed it's Mobile Data policy and now I need to have a separate phone for my work email. Doesn't have to work great - literally just needs Outlook, a PDF viewer and Excel. Hoping if I wait for BF, something nice will be free when I add a line.

We're always wrapping on Christmas Eve so I told my husband that this year, we're going to designate one wrapping night a week where we open a bottle of wine (this is very important), put on a Christmas movie and wrap everything that we've gotten over the last week. We stash the kids' presents in the attic. Saving everything until the last minute is chaotic and dumb on our part so I'm hoping to change that up this year. We'll see how that goes.

My Christmas Club deposit was made this week! Let the spending begin!

Through all my years of BF shopping, I've both planned out every detail and winged it without a plan. Your success depends on: 1.) How much time and effort you have to put into it 2a.) What you're shopping for 2b.) How important it is that you find and/or save money on that item If you want big ticket or hot items, then you need to plan your trip based on the deals. Prepare to wait in line before a store opens. Figure out what makes the most sense based on the stores locations, where you're going to park, how you're going to carry the items through the store (ie. Kohl's doesn't have carriages so you have to bring something to load your loot into), how you're going to pay for it, if you need coupons. 3 ring binders with a pouch for coupons is always a good bet for organization. If you're going for items that are not likely to sell out but are only on sale for a period of time, you need to obviously make sure you're there before that time is up. AC Moore usually has deals until 10am, for example, so while it's not a high priority store for me, I do need to put it higher than a store who doesn't have doorbuster savings. Black Friday is the kind of thing that can drive you crazy with all the planning. If you don't have the time or energy to do the planning, you will survive. Just stick with your favorite stores, find a shopping buddy and have fun. Either way, it's all good!

I was casually looking that those Fingerlings for my nieces but I couldn't find them anywhere. Everyone has Hatchimals this year though! (PS. They are $59.99 at BJ's if you're looking!) I was looking at those L.O.L. Surprise balls, but I don't know if my nieces would be into them. They are ages 7-11.

From their bankruptcy statement, it sounds like they did. If their vendors don't want to sell to them right now, that's another issue I suppose. From the statement: Mr. Brandon continued, “As the holiday season ramps up, our physical and web stores are open for business, and our team members around the world look forward to continuing to put huge smiles on children’s faces. We thank our vendors for their ongoing support through this important season and beyond. We also appreciate the strong support our investors have provided over time and the constructive role they are playing in this process that will allow us to create a brighter future for our company. And as importantly, we thank our team members in advance for their hard work and dedication to serving the millions of customers who will shop with us this holiday.”

I was thinking with TRU's bankruptcy that there's no way they will close down on Thanksgiving. They need all the hours they can to get people in their stores!

I'm with you Sister! I live in MA where stores can't open on Thanksgiving, but they are open right across the border in NH and it's a pain. I'd rather enjoy my Thanksgiving dinner!

This is awesome but until the major stores sign on, it's almost meaningless. Toys R Us, Target, Kohl's, Walmart, Macy's, etc need to get on board if there's going to be any change to the Black Friday creep that we've been seeing lately.

Legos, particularly the Super Hero ones.

I would be so excited if this hit my local market!

I'm hoping this means better sales, like how Gymboree has better sales and coupons now that they are bankrupt. I do like the idea of an open space with birthday parties, etc. But they honestly aren't my first choice for toy shopping. I'd rather go to Target and get 5% off.

Harbor Freight 10/13

That Hot Wheels garage looks so cool but I'm definitely not paying $200 for it.

Spot on!

I went to a KMart that isn't closing this week. It was the saddest retail experience ever. The store was dark, kind of smelly and needed a coat of paint. Everywhere. The poor kid working the register didn't have a clue how to do his job. How does a store like this exist in 2017? They did have the Lego set I was looking for that may be discontinued, so I at least had that going for me. I hope to never need to shop there again. It was not a pleasant experience at all!

You probably have better luck with a local bank than a big bank. That's where mine is at least. I had to set up a statement savings club instead of a passbook because you can't direct deposit into a passbook account. It's definitely worth asking!

My local bank has a Christmas Club, where I direct deposit $30 from each paycheck. They pay out in September, so I always have a quick $780 to spend right away. I have been thinking about upping that because we have so many more people to shop for every year (16 kids ages 10 and under this year with at least one on the way for next year). It was not pretty when I saw my Mastercard bill this month. Not pretty.

Me too! I don't know if I'm better off spending my time planning my son's birthday party (April) or our summer vacation! But I need something!

They already reduced our Sears from 2 floors down to 1, so I would think we'd be safe for a little while longer. I hope. Sears is kind of a must-have store for me.

Thank you BoPeep for your hard work organizing the swaps! I hope that PogiPorkChop will be able to join us next year!