Luckily, I was successful in getting the bulk of my Christmas shopping completed on Saturday, meaning I’m done besides miscellaneous things and odds and ends. I think I have a piano teacher and a couple of others to grab something for and I still need a few extra things for my daughter. I also need stocking stuffers and maybe some dollar store stuff for the gifts from Santa. I realized that I don’t like giving Santa credit for the really cool gifts, I prefer those are from “mommy”. I guess that’s called Santa envy…or something.
I realized Saturday that there is another store I adore besides Walmart, and it’s TJ Maxx. If you don’t have one near you, you’re sorely missing out. TJ Maxx is similar to Marshalls and sells really marked down name brand merchandise. You can find lots of designer clothes and accessories and even household furnishings and lots of artsy, cool stuff.
An important tip for shopping is to find stores that you can buy name brand stuff from for those times that Walmart won’t work. Name brand and designer don’t always equal better quality, but a lot of times it does. If there’s something that you know you’ll have to spend a little more on or costs about the same as a lesser quality item at Walmart, go to TJ Maxx. Although not a Christmas gift or part of my Christmas budget, I found the cutest puffy white winter coat for my daughter, with a removable furry hood for only $15.00. I was even able to get it in a size 7/8 so she may even be able to wear it next year. You can’t find a decent winter coat for a kid even at Walmart for $15.00. I also found a couple other gifts on my list at TJ Maxx, and even though some people wouldn’t even know the difference, it feels good buying name brand and designer brand items for gifts.
I bought all of the toys from Toys R Us, which was having their “Doorbusters” sale. They also have a number of other promotions including $20 off purchases over $75 if you use your PayPal account and free shipping on purchases of $49 or more.
I almost forgot, I also got the tree up (finally) and even though I believe it may be leaning to the right a little, and some of the lights aren’t working, it looks pretty good. My daughter helped me get the presents wrapped as well so for now I think we’re looking pretty good.
And it’s still a couple weeks before Christmas. Hey, as long as it’s before Christmas Eve I’m pretty impressed with myself.
The budget is another story. I need to buy groceries still this month…but I’ll cover that some other time.