Usually I totally ban going to department stores this time of year, between the lines and utter chaos in the parking lots I've found I just can't handle the mess. So when I was given a mission to buy a secret Santa gift at Marshalls I had mixed feelings about it. For one I've really enjoyed all my other Marshall and T.J. Maxx assignments in the past and I've gotten some really great deals but I had this image of the store totally trashed and filled with people that filled me with a bit of dread.
So last night I braved freezing rain, cold weather, and the possibility of finding the entire store in chaos at 5pm on a Friday night to buy my Secret Santa gift. Do you know what I found? A totally clean store, fully stocked shelves of name brand toys, and possibly one of the best organized stores I've seen thus far this holiday season. All at Marshalls! Then the problem came... picking out the gift. I've been charged with buying a really awesome gift for a fellow blogger for the sum of $25. If this had not been Marshalls I would have laughed at the thought of actually getting something decent for $25 but the problem really became trying to decide what cool stuff to get for my $25!!
In the end I decided to buy two identical gifts... one for me and one for the fellow blogger. Inspired by the fact that I was about to go home and do some holiday baking I decided to buy a few cool items that would make that easier and make the presentation prettier. I started with a great ceramic cooking dish, a pourable mixing bowl, and a set of mini bowls which actually have the measurements on them as well which is great if you have some baking to do. All in all the ceramic baking dish alone should have cost at least $30. I ended up coming in just shy of $25 for each set. Though I can't tell you who my secret Santa recipient is, yet, I really hope she likes it!
What was supposed to be a 10 minute shopping trip turned into well over an hour, not because there were huge lines, but because I totally got stuck in the toy section. I was floored to see some of our favorite toys and brands at outrageously cheap prices and I really had to do everything I could to control myself as I swore I wouldn't buy one more thing for Connor. heh. I saw great sets from Learning Resources, an awesome Transformer Mr Potato Head that took an immense amount of willpower to leave behind, several Zambi the Elephants, and so much more! There were also several Hasbro board games on clearance which have rebates available for them that would have made them close to free after rebate as well. Tons of great last second gifts if your still looking!
There was also a huge display of my favorite cookware of all time, Le Creuset, at about 1/3 the retail value. $50 for a fairly large dutch oven which normally you never see under $180 even on sale... if Santa would like to bring me one for Christmas I'd be much appreciative! After lurking around in the toys and cookware for a good hour I did venture out and checked out the baby clothing as well as its about 8 weeks till our new munchkin comes and there were tons of great ideas for name brand infant clothing as well. I even saw several pairs of Robeez at incredibly low prices!
With only a few shopping days left I know if your a mom like me you'll want to avoid as much of the last second holiday rush as you can. Lets just say I could have finished my entire holiday list at Marshalls last night if I still needed more gifts. There were so many great ideas at awesome prices it took everything I had not to buy more! From toys to electronics to name brand perfumes your bound to find something for everyone on your list with one stop and no need to run around chasing sales!
Marshalls and TJ Maxx are also hosting a Carol-oke contest. Record yourself singing your favorite Christmas carols. Post the videos to the Carol-oke Youtube page and be entered to win a $5000 holiday shopping spree!! What we wouldn't give to win that!
In the meantime head on over to your local Marshalls or T.J. Maxx and check out the great deals! If your looking for some last second toys I highly recommend checking out the toy section as well! When I say they were well stocked I mean my local store was WELL stocked.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Last minute shopping at Marshalls!
Friday, July 17, 2009
I need a Marshalls and TJ Maxx Spendervention!
This summer did not at all go as planned for me. My intention was to get through the wedding and kick some major booty on the blog and get all of my reviews caught up, and even ahead, before starting school back in the fall. I almost hate to admit that I totally failed but needless to say this summer was not at all under my control. It started off pretty good with a wedding and a fabulous honeymoon at Disneyworld. Then things got a little weird from there, the birth of my nephew, my mom getting very sick, some random nonsense, and then finally my own pregnancy which has totally knocked me down a peg or two. With only a few weeks left in my summer break and Blogher and a family vacation breathing down my throat I've given up on my whole "getting caught up scheme". I did however get a little intervention thanks to Marshalls and TJMaxx!
Nothing makes a girl feel better than a little shopping trip and Marshalls and TJMaxx was kind enough to send me $50 to each store to get a little shopping "Spendervention" in! I have to say I did feel a little better getting away for a few hours, leaving Connor with his daddy, and having a little "me" time. No matter how many times I shop at Marshalls or TJ Maxx I am still always super surprised as to what I can buy for my money. My Marshallsand TMaxx just happen to be within a mile from each other so I hit up both stores in the same day and spent my gift certificates with glee.
In the end for my $100 I came home with two beautiful new striped towels, a towel bar that hangs over the door (Which I actually am using to hold my bridles at the barn and all the girls are super super jealous!), Kitchenaid Salad "spinner" (A little something I've always wanted but never purchased for myself), a cool adaptor for my car that allows me to play my Ipod over the radio, 2 Cuisenart cookie sheets, and a few other small random goodies. All in all everything would have cost me over $200 at a department store as everything I bought was on one of my wish lists somewhere else. I think I spent all of $5.99 each for my towels and they are easier better quality than the ones I had on a wish list elsewhere for $19.99 each. All in all I'm super pleased with my purchases and most of all I really enjoyed hunting for the best bargain. I always end up spending way too much time when I'm in either Marshallsor TJMaxx as there are just so many cool things to see and so many things I'd love to purchase, narrowing it down to just $50 worth is always difficult. heh.
If you've never been to a TJMaxx or Marshalls they are not at all outlet stores, you don't have to wait for a sale for it to be a good deal, and it's not last years seconds. Marshalls and TJMaxx offers incredible savings on excellent in style merchandise anywhere from 20% or MORE off the department store prices. They do this by looking for great deals on awesome items. You can useally find me prowling around the housewares section as Marshalls and TJMaxx is by far my favorite place to buy quality cookware for almost nothing!
I didn't forget about you guys. Marshalls and TJMaxx gave me two really beautiful designer purses to give away on my blog. The first is a 1 brown animal print clutch (style EP-4266CHG0) by Hobo International a $100 retail value, sold at Marshalls for $59.99. The second is a really gorgeous white leather Arcadia purse (almost tote sized its large) which is tempting as it would be a perfect diaper bag, heh, but I really want to share it with one of my readers! A $300!! retail value, sold at TJMaxx for $169.99!
To enter :
- Leave a comment on this post. Visit the Marshalls and TJMaxx websites and tell me where you can find the closest Marshalls and TJMaxx to your house and which purse you'd like to win!
- Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
- Please US entries only.
- To get extra credit :
- For an extra entry :
- Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
- Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
- Let people know about the giveaway on Twitter with a link to the giveaway!
- THREE extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
- This contest will end August 15th at midnight!
