$1 for a chance at $1000 DealPulp Credit

So I realize that I should never get into gambling. Today, DealPulp (a daily deal site similar to Groupon) is running a special where you can spend $1 to purchase a minimum $2 credit to their site. 1000 customers will get anywhere from $5 to $1000 for their $1 purchase. Sounds fun, and I had the extra buck to spend. I have purchased from DealPulp before and find them to be a great site.

Since you are guaranteed at least $2, it's not quite like gambling...but the thought of earning more certainly thrills me!!!

So...if you're feeling lucky (and have the money to spare), go for it! AND...if you get something larger than $2, PLEASE leave a comment on this blog post. I would LOVE to know if anyone gets a better deal out of it than the $2 (which is still a good deal). Once you buy your credit, just wait for the right deal to come along and...voila...your credit is already there!

Sign up here to take advantage of this deal today!


(FYI, the link is a personalized referral link, and I will get some credit if you sign up through my link. Just wanted to be upfront about that and say thank you if you happen to sign up through my link.)

$15 Ebay Gift Card for $7 - WOWZA!!!

Today Groupon is offering a $15 Ebay gift card for $7. Confession: I bought it this morning, and it is my first Groupon purchase. I just bought Millie some bows on ebay a few weeks ago...wish this had been around then, but I will certainly use it! I just cancelled my newspaper subscription (gasp!), so I think I may use this to purchase some coupons that I need for upcoming sales.

Anyway, here's how to do the deal:

1. If you haven't already, sign up for Groupon here.

2. Once signed up, go here for the ebay deal (http://www.groupon.com/deals/ebay). You have to use this link, as it will not come up on its own in your city. Be assured, you can use it, because it is a national deal. I have already received my email confirmation of the deal with my unique ebay code.

3. Make your purchase, and have fun shopping!!!

The code should appear in your email/Groupon account within a day. I think they are running a little slow in sending out the confirmations since the deal is popular.

(FYI, the Groupon link in step 1 is a personalized referral link, and I will get some credit if you sign up through my link. Just wanted to be upfront about that and say thank you if you happen to sign up through my link.)

Free $20 Target Gift Card today!!!

Today only, if 4 people sign up to received daily deals from Plum District through this link, I can receive a $20 gift card from Target. Once you have signed up, you can turn around and share your own link with friends and earn a gift card yourself. No purchase necessary!

If you have never signed up for Plum District, would you be willing to do so through my link?

Now go get yourself a free gift card too!!!

315 Swagbucks for buying the Living Social Fandango Deal

Ok, I thought the Living Social deal I posted yesterday was awesome, but it got even better as the day went on.

There is a GREAT opportunity to get an even better deal with it, because you can purchase the deal through Swagbucks and receive 315 Swagbucks for your Living Social Fandango purchase. Considering an Amazon gift card is only 450 Swagbucks, you are basically getting $3.50 (70%) toward a $5 Amazon gift card with your purchase. So...it is a little like getting the two movie tickets for $5.50 when you account for the 315 Swagbucks applied toward a gift card. Make sense? I'm on baby brain right now, so I don't know if I am explaining myself well.

Here's what to do:
1. Sign up for Swagbucks (if you haven't already) here.
2. After signing up, go to the Swagbucks home page, find the Fandango deal on the scrolling banner in the center of the home page, click on it, and you will be directed to the web site to make your purchase.
3. Buy your tickets, and your 315 Swagbucks should be credited by the end of the day.

I did this yesterday, and I was credited the Swagbucks before the end of the day. But...you have to purchase the Living Social deal through the Swagbucks home page (It's on the banner on the home page) in order to get the 315 credit.

If you are new to Swagbucks, this is a GREAT way to get started. If you sign up here, you get 30 Swagbucks just for signing up. Once you have signed up, do the Living Social Fandango deal through the Swagbucks home page link, and you will end your first day with 345 Swagbucks. Not too shabby!!!

If you want to know more about Swagbucks, you can check out my post about it here (Please note that the giveaway on my Swagbucks post has ended).

Anyway, just has to pass this along. The deal ends tomorrow (Friday) morning.

(FYI, the Swagbucks link is a personalized referral link, and I will get some credit if you sign up through my link. Just wanted to be upfront about that and say thank you if you happen to sign up through my link.)

2 FULL PRICE movie tickets for $9!

WOWZA! Today you can get 2 full price movie tickets (including convenience fee) from Fandango.com through Living Social.

Have a baby in my lap, so I won't write much more.

I love these daily deal sites. Donny loves going to the movies, and this will be a GREAT way to afford it!

To get in on the deal, click here.

(FYI, the link is a personalized referral link, and I will get some credit for your purchase. Just wanted to be upfront about that and say thank you if you happen to purchase it through my link.)

Publix Italian Sale - Especially HOT in Oviedo

My favorite shopping experience is "getting paid" to buy groceries. The Publix Italian Sale runs through next Wednesday or Thursday depending on how your store works, and if you live in Oviedo, you can do just that. Even if you don't live in Oviedo, the deals are still pretty good.

Here's how I got "paid" $1.50 to take home 20 cans of Green Giant Veggies in Oviedo.

Green Giant Veggies are priced at $0.85 in Oviedo (about $1.35 everywhere else) and are BOGO this week.
I bought 20 for $8.50.
I used the $5/20 select items coupon.
I also used 5 copies of the $1/4 Green Giant canned veggies coupon to get another $5 off my total.
The coupons took $10 off my total, but my canned veggie total was only $8.50...so that produced $1.50 in "overage."
I bought a box of Truvia for $1.99 (after my Truvia coupons).
My total out of pocket for 20 cans of veggies and a 40 ct. box of Truvia = $0.49

I don't know why Publix allows the combining of these coupons, but I will gladly take it. It seems to me to be two store coupons on the same items, but they allow it. I guess it's like doing a $5 off $30 purchase and a store coupon for the items in that purchase as well. Anyway...they allow it.

This scenario is only good at the Palm Valley Publix in Oviedo across from the Neighborhood Market Wal Mart (Alafaya at McCulloch). The canned veggies are still a good deal at other Publix stores. I think they are priced around $1.35, so the same scenario would be $3.50 out of pocket for 20 cans of veggies which is about $0.17 per can. Not too shabby!!!

The other amazing deal in Oviedo is Progresso soups. They are priced at $1.31 in Oviedo and are on BOGO.

Here's how it plays out with similar coupons:

20 Progresso soups for $13.10 total.
I used the $5/20 select items coupon.
I also used 5 copies of the $1/4 Progresso Products coupon to get another $5 off my total.
THEN use any of these manufacturer's coupons for additional savings:
$1/4 Progresso Soup Cans 2/13/2011 GM Insert (exp 4/9/2011)
-$1/4 Progresso Soups 1/16/2011 SS Insert (exp 3/12/2011)
-$1/4 Progresso Soup 1/2/2011 GM Insert (exp 2/26/2011)
$1/4 Progresso Soup Printable
$1/4 Progresso Soup Printable

If you only have the Publix coupons, you pay $3.10 out of pocket for 20 cans of soup.
If you can come up with 5 additional $1/4 manufacturer coupons from the list above, you will get $1.90 in overage to apply toward the rest of your groceries. Sweet!
Again, this amazing deal is at the Palm Valley Publix (Alafaya at McCulloch) in Oviedo, but it's still a good deal at other locations.

FYI, if you live in Oviedo or near Oviedo, the Palm Valley location consistently has better prices than most Publix stores. If it is convenient at all to go there, it is worth it in the extra savings.

Big thanks to my sweet and hard working hubby who made these trips to Publix for me (since he is in Oviedo 4 days a week).

If you want to see more ad match-ups for the Publix Italian Sale, you can check out I Heart Publix.
And thanks to Southern Savers for the printable Italian Sale coupons.

Happy Italian Days! I love this sale!!!

Target Frozen Food Extravaganza!!!

I don't get out much these days since baby came to town, but the kids and I made our first trip to Target this week...all three of us...and boy was it worth it.

Target is running a deal regionally (Orlando is included) where you buy ANY 7 frozen foods, and you get a $5 Target gift card when you check out. You have to check your local ad (you can do that on their website) to see if your city is included in this deal. I was skeptical if it really would include ANY frozen food. Sure enough, my Target had stickers on the frozen food freezers that said ANY frozen food.

In our house, we eat a lot of frozen peas. I had recently stocked up on frozen spinach, so all I really needed was peas. I checked out their peas...$0.99/bag. WOWZA!!! I knew a good deal was in the making. I promptly started filling the front of my cart (cause Will was already covered with other items in the main part of the cart) with frozen peas. 12 bags later (and 2 bags of california blend veggies for stir fry), I proceeded to the check-out to see if this deal was really going to happen. My diaper bag (in the front) was covered with frozen veggies.

I had more things to purchase, so my plan was to buy the veggies first, reap the gift cards, and then use the 2 $5 gift cards (cause I was buying 14 bags) toward the rest of my items. This way, I am sure to use (and not lose) the gift cards.

Soooo...here's what I did.

12 bags frozen peas $0.99 each = $11.88
2 bags California blend veggies $1.29 each = $2.58

Total paid for veggies = $14.46
Received two $5 gift cards (for buying 14 frozen foods) = $10 back to me
Total out of pocket for 14 bags of frozen food = $4.46 ($0.32 each)

You can roll this deal as many times as you like, so if you have nothing else to buy at Target (Really? Nothing else to buy? Come on...it's Target! It's the one store where my self-control is tested and rarely wins.), you can buy 7 frozen foods, reap the $5 gift card, and then do another transaction to buy 7 more frozen foods, use your gift card, reap another...and so on.

This deal (as far as I know) is good through Saturday. It's a great way to get a good deal without even needing to clip a coupon.

BUT...if you wanted to make it sweeter and you eat frozen veggies, there is a $1/4 Target brand frozen veggies coupon found here. You can use this in conjunction with the gift card deal to make it even sweeter. You can usually print 2 per computer.

Happy Targeting!!! And remember to use some self-control (or at least try). Target is the worst for sucking all my savings away with impulse buys. But I love it!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy ONE YEAR to Maven on a Mission!!! I love sharing my love for deals with those of you who read this blog. Thanks for following me!

Kim

HOT! $20 Amazon Gift Card for $10!

Wow! $10 for a $20 Amazon gift card!

I just made my first purchase on one of these group deal web sites - Living Social. When you sign up here (If you don't mind to use my link, I get some credit for referring you), you get a $5 credit (that you can't use on this deal...boo), but $10 for a $20 Amazon Gift card is still great. It's good in Orlando, but I think you could buy it from anywhere since Amazon is a national chain.

Now back to the baby...

Great Deals on GROUPON Orlando

Hey friends! Hope your Christmas was great and you got a good deal or two under the tree. :) I would LOVE to hear what the best deal was you found this Christmas season.

I wanted to highlight some great deals I came across today on Groupon. I haven't used Groupon much, but I have friends who are nuts about Groupon. These deals might be too good to pass up.

Today on Groupon Orlando you can get one, two or all three of these great deals:

1. Bill's Car Wash (our fave in Orlando): 3 Express Car Washes (a standard car wash) for $10. We usually pay $10 for just one car wash, so it's like getting 2 for free! They are good until June, so you have a long time to use them.

2. Shutterfly (my fave photo company) - Get 2 photo calendars for $20. That's a great deal too! I made my mother in law a Shutterfly photo calendar for Christmas, and they always turn out great. You can make one for yourself and have an extra for a gift. Wahoo!

3. Orlando Rep Theater - I have been thinking about taking the kids to a show. Well, Groupon has adult tickets for $10 (a $17 value) or kids tickets for $5 (an $11 value).

Anyway, the deals on Groupon can sometimes be random and somewhat impractical, but these three are actually really good. All you have to do is sign up here, choose Orlando as your preferred city, and start shopping! Once you buy your "Groupon," you will be sent a link to print a coupon for your deal. Print and enjoy!!!

Help me win an IPAD for Donny!!!

Shameless request for help here - Donny's been asking for an IPAD, and I always laugh it off. BUT...If I can get 400 people to sign up to receive emails (no purchase necessary) through my referral link from No More Rack, I can win an apple IPAD. PLUS...if you sign up with my referral link, I think you get a $10 credit to the site (not totally sure). I have to have 400 people by noon on Thursday (just 48 hours!!!) to win the IPAD. It's not a drawing...I win if get 400 people to sign up! How cool is that?

Sounds impossible. Let's see if we can make it happen.

Would you consider banning together with me to make this happen by posting my referral link on your Facebook or blog or Twitter? Leave a comment if you do. If we make it to 400 (still sounds impossible to me), I'll giveaway something cool. Nothing huge...but something cool.

Thanks so much for reading Maven on a Mission!!!
Kim

Friederichsen 2010 Christmas Card

Peppermint Pink Christmas Card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy Black Friday!

And welcome to one of my favorite weekends of the year. I am sitting this one out this year (except for my price adjustment trip to Target that I wrote about here and a trip to Walgreens and CVS to get a few good "free" or "moneymaking" deals on stuff I actually need).

Anyway, I am shocked with how many Black friday deals are also happening online. Many of the major retailers put their deals both online and in the stores, so if you are staying in like me, you might enjoy taking a few minutes searching some deals online.

I am spending the day at the beach with my family, so I won't be posting anything. BUT...I wanted to recommend one web site today (and through Monday) if you want to get the latest deals. Sheri over at Swaggrabber seems to be updating the most frequently. I have a few other blogs that I like better on a day to day basis, but for Black Friday and Cyber Monday I would go here for the best and most up to date deals.

Have a great day, happy shopping, and bring on the Christmas music and decor!!!

Merry Christmas (29 Days early)!

Little People Nativity Set - $13.99 this week at Target!

One Target deal I forgot to put in my post yesterday is the Little People Nativity set is on sale this week at 50% off for $13.99. I looked around a little, and most of those sets retail close to $30. Target's regular price of $27.99 is the next best price I could find. I think I paid $19.99 for our set a few years ago.

Anyway, if you have little ones, this set is a wonderful way to get them interested in talking about the birth of Jesus. We put it under our Christmas tree. Even as my kids are getting a little older, they still like playing with it. A fun thing we do with it - we don't put the baby Jesus out until Christmas morning. Now that they are older, they ask where Jesus is, and it's fun to tell them that we have to wait until he comes as a baby on Christmas morning. When Jesus arrives on Christmas morning, they are reminded of why we really celebrate Christmas. So there's my plug for this product.

At this price, you could even get some as gifts! What a fun gift this holiday season.

You can look at the product here and even search to see if a store near you has it in stock (although that is not a guarantee it will be there...but it's always good to check).

By the way...have a Happy Thanksgiving (and Merry Christmas...34 days early!).

Getting Black Friday deals at Target without waking up at Black Friday hours.

Welcome to Black Friday week. What are you looking for this Christmas? We are not looking for much. A downsize in home and baby on the way has led us to seek as much of a "stuff-less" Christmas as we can. BUT...I'm always looking for a good, sensible deal.

I am going to list a few things I have seen that would be worth the trip to the store...BUT, I will not be going at 4 a.m. on Friday. From what I have read on cincy savers, Target is the place to do the best Black Friday deals. Why? Because I can get my deals without actually going into the store on Black Friday. Target has a price adjustment policy which says the following:

• If Target advertises a lower price either the same week or the week following your purchase, bring in your original sales receipt to Guest Services for an adjustment.

• Exclusions: Price adjustments are not made for clearance prices or Target.com prices.

Soooo...I am heading to Target on Monday to get Hunter some Leapster games (shhhhh, don't tell). I will use my $5 off coupon found here. I have no idea how much I'll pay out of pocket...probably $22-$25 retail and $15-$20 after my coupon. THEN...this Friday or Saturday I will go into customer service (which I've heard isn't too crowded on Black Friday), take in my receipt, my items, and my Black Friday ad that lists Leapster games on sale for $15, and I will get cash back for the difference of what I paid (retail) and the $15 sale price. After the Black Friday price adjustment, I will pay (with my coupon applied) $10 per game. Not too shabby considering these retail $20 or more.

Have I done this before? No. Is it worth a try? Of course. I have already printed my price adjustment policy from the Target web site, and I plan on having it in hand in case there is a problem. In my understanding, it is a corporate policy, and they should follow it.

I will also be doing the same thing with pajamas that will be on sale on Black Friday and maybe some fashion scarves.

I have read on cincy savers that Target will not price adjust for items labeled as "doorbusters," but I can't find that in their policy. Just a heads up in case that is true. Again, I've never tried this before. BUT...if they won't price adjust something for you, you can always ask if you can return it and repurchase it right there at the Black Friday price. I have never had a customer service rep. tell me "no" before to that request, but you never know. I actually called the Casselberry Target tonight and asked a question about price adjustment (not Black Friday related), and she said if it didn't automatically adjust that we could just do a return and repurchase at the lower price.

Would you like to check out the Target Black Friday ad to see if there is anything you want to buy ahead and try to price adjust on Friday or Saturday? You can view a scan of the ad here.

While you're out getting your Black Friday deals ahead of time at Target, the deals for this week from Sunday-Wednesday at Target are pretty good too. Check them out here. The two best deals I see are the following:

Leap Frog Tag books are buy one, get one free with a sale price of $9.99. There is a coupon for $5 off 1 Tag book here. You have to watch a 45 second video and then sign up for something related to Chevrolet. I just checked "no" on all the options about being contacted for future offers, and then I printed my $5 Tag coupon. I was able to click the back arrow and then click "resend," and it let me print a second copy of the coupon. In my conversation with the Casselberry Target today, Shiela Marie in customer service told me that I could use one coupon on the "buy one" and one coupon on the "get one free." I do that all the time at Publix, but I wasn't sure if Target would do that as well. I told her that my $5 coupons would cause me to go over an extra penny, because the sale price is $9.99, and my coupons would give me a $10 discount. She said the cashier could adjust the coupon down by the penny. Guess what that means???!!! FREE TAG books!!! I have read that even if you don't own the Tag system, they are great hardback books for the kids.

Also, I will be getting "Beauty and the Beast" on DVD/Blu Ray combo. Millie is totally into this movie, and it has always been my fave. You can read more about this deal here, but basically, there is a $10 off manufacturer's coupon available through Disney and a $5 off Target store coupon in the Target ad tomorrow that you can stack for $15 off the $24.99 sale price. The coupons alone make the movie $9.99 (which is a great price), but there are two rebates floating out there for $5 each that will make the movie FREE if you do both rebates...and all you'll pay for after rebates are three cans of Campbell's soup and two packs of bagels. Again, Hip2Save has written about the coupons and rebates here.

There is also a Fisher Price Loving Family dollhouse on sale for $19.99 down from $39.99 starting tomorrow. I don't know which one it is, but I thought I would mention it. I was in the market for a dollhouse this time last year, so I might have jumped on that. Again, the ad scan for tomorrow's deals at Target can be found here.

Sooo...great deals to be had at Target this week. What will you be getting? What other stores are you going to shop this Black Friday? Personally, I may be more of a Cyber Monday girl this year.

Merry Christmas (35 days early)!

Hallmark Store $10 off $10 purchase coupon for moms or expectant moms!

Wow! This is a great deal. Register to receive emails from Hallmark stores here, and you will get a coupon to print for $10 off a $10 or more purchase. Many Hallmark stores carry popular gift items like Willow Tree figurines, Vera Bradley, jewelry, etc. Not to mention you could score free Christmas cards, wrapping paper, or an ornament for your tree. The coupon states that you can use it on sale items too.

By the way, I want to mention again that if you are signing up for email lists like these, I recommend you create an email specifically for receiving coupons and deals. That way your normal email won't be bombarded with emails from theses stores, but you can still get the great coupons and deals when you sign up for them.

I already signed up and printed the coupon out. It expires 12/24/10. Yay! I will definitely put this in my coupon holder for my next trip to the mall.

Thanks to moneysavingmom for the heads up on this great coupon.

Merry Christmas (35 days early)!

Help me get closer to a new camera!

Good morning, folks! I am going to try to post a deal or two later today, but this post is somewhat self-seeking. If I can get 15 friends to sign up under my referral link below for this web site hosting a contest, I will get a $25 Amazon gift card. I have been saving up my Amazon gift cards earned through Swagbucks to hopefully put towards a nice camera before this baby comes in February. So...cha ching! An extra $25 gift card in the pot would be awesome. If you don't mind, would you sign up under my link here?

http://www.itsthoughtful.com/christmas-gift-contest/4709/ln/

The site is a community site where subscribers can post their creative gift ideas. It's actually a pretty neat site, but, let's be honest, I'm in it for the perks. Once you sign up, you can turn around and try to get 15 referrals yourself. Need a free Christmas gift, anyone? This Amazon gift card would be perfect. Just FYI...if you try to get 15 referrals, I want to let you know that the site has been clear that they will limit the promotion to 400 free gift cards. So...if more than 400 people qualify, they will randomly select the winners of the gift cards. So it's not a sure thing...but we all know 15 people, so it's worth a try!

Thanks again for reading my blog. I'll have some Black Friday ideas up before the end of the weekend. Have a great Saturday!

Thanks also to moneysavingmom and Hip2Save for the heads up on this offer.

Creative and afforable Christmas wreath

I am sure there are lots of "how tos" out there on making your own Christmas wreath, but I saw this post this morning on moneysavingmom, and I fell in love. If you like boutique looking things without spending a lot of money (or too much time) this is for you.

Please read this post here from Dittle Dattle for instructions on making this monogram Christmas wreath.

Although her blog post involves power tools and wood (which I'm sure are great), here's my plan:

• Get free tree trimmings from Lowe's when we go buy our Christmas tree. They will usually let you gather any trimmings that fall from the trees as they cut the stumps off. So take a bag with you if you want to keep needles from getting all over your car.
  
• Use cardboard or some other heavy board that I can find, cut an "F" with Donny's box cutter, and have at it with the trimmings and some wire.
• Dig through my Christmas decor and see if I have any spare ribbon to hang it. I think I do, but if I don't, I'll take a 40% off coupon to a craft store and buy just what I need (which shouldn't cost much more than $1). BUT...I bet most of us could find some ribbon around somewhere (or hang it some other way...think out of the box!).

Now, for those of you who know where I live, you can check in a few weeks to see if I actually did it. I really do love this idea, and I need a new wreath. Check out my door on Dec. 1 and see if I followed through.

I would love to hear from you. What are your favorite frugal holiday tips? Feel free to comment on this post. Really, I would love to hear.

Merry Christmas! (38 days early)

A plug for Shutterfly...and a way to get free holiday cards

I love Shutterfly more than Snapfish. There, I said it. I have enjoyed Shutterfly's photo quality in their photo cards and calendars so much more. I also think their styles are amazing. You can use 1 picture or multiple pics in your photo card. I love those options. Check out their holiday photo cards here.

My favorite Shutterfly Christmas card was from two years ago (2008) when Hunter was 4 and Millie was 1 1/2. I was able to put three of my favorite pics on it - one of our family with Santa, one of the kids together, and one more formal family pic. That's what is so great about getting to choose multiple photos...you can put just about whatever you want on your card. I also loved the fun colors the card offered. The green on it was more of a lime green which matched well with some of the bright colors my kids were wearing. It was still red and green for Christmas...with a fun twist. I also love Shutterfly, because there are always coupon codes out there to get discounted cards. You can read about Shutterfly's current special offers here.

I also used Shutterfly to do Millie's birth announcement. I think I put 8 or 9 pics on it. Again, I LOVE the option of multiple photos. Take a look at their birth announcements here.

A favorite gift for Christmas is a photo calendar. I think someone in our family will be getting one this year, and I plan to go here to do it. Shutterfly really has a lot of options to make a calendar your own.

This year I am excited to get our Christmas card going...although I have no idea yet what picture I am going to use. Right now all we have are Halloween photos...so I guess I need to get that camera out. We'll see. At 29 weeks pregnant, I'm not too inspired for a photo shoot...but I know I need to get it done.

I honestly do prefer Shutterfly...so much so that I am blogging about them to get some free holiday cards. If you have a blog, you can get 50 free cards too! Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… learn more: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Ah ha! Now you know why I really wrote this post...free stuff. If you blog, you should do the same...and send one to me!

Merry Christmas (39 days early!)

Christmas Thoughts, Michaels, and Inexpensive Personalized Ornaments

I asked Donny the other day if I could turn on some Christmas music, and he promptly replied: "No. It's too early." Not too early for me, though. :) I get flutters every time I think about Christmas approaching...for many reasons. I love the lights, the decorations, the music...the spectacle. I know that many would blame all the spectacle on the commercialization of Christmas, but it still stirs my heart. Thankfully, it stirs my heart to worship Jesus, the babe and Savior of the world who was born on Christmas. He didn't get a lot of earthly spectacle when he was born. The heavenly spectacle...wow. Anyway, I figure if the earthly spectacle of Christmas stirs my heart to the Lord, then BRING IT ON!!!

Honestly, one of the other things that stirs my heart is a good deal...and there are plenty to be found this time of year. I am going to try to post more over the next few months (before my own babe comes) to keep you up with what I think the best deals are. This pregnancy has made me more picky about what a good deal is, so when I post you can know that it is a good deal...cause I just don't have the time and energy to post everything that comes along the way these days.

Anyway...back to why I am posting this morning. I LOVE personalized ornaments. My mom got my sister and I one every year from when we were three through our elementary school years. As a kid I loved hanging "my ornaments" up every year and finding just the right spot for them. Mom passed them on to me after I got married. Most of the ornaments have the year on them, but they are all different. Most of them have our names on them (except for the one that has our picture on it). BTW, remember that I am a twin, so I rarely talk about anything in my childhood (especially holidays) without referring to "us" or "our," because we did everything together.

Can you tell my kids are playing well together this morning? That's why I have the time to go all over the place in this post.

Back to the point...I have continued the ornament tradition with my kids. With each year that we had a new baby, I got a new family ornament at the mall personalized to show our new family with our new addition. I also did a personalized ornament at the mall one year for Hunter. When I went to pick it up, there was a mistake on it. I asked them to redo it. The lady asked me to wait for just a minute. I watched her scrape off the mistake and take a sharpie to fix it. "What???!!! You mean you just write the name on there with a sharpie? That's all???!!!" I don't know what I thought I was getting, but for $7-$10 per ornament, I thought it was something more than a lady with a Sharpie. If you have 2 or more kids that you are getting an ornament for, it becomes a very expensive endeavor to have them personalized.

After my "all you need is a Sharpie or a paint pen" realization, my ornament strategy changed. The next year, I went to Target and bought a Cars ornament for Hunter (age 3) and a Princess ornament for Millie (age 8 months), bought a white paint pen at Michaels, and I personalized their own little ornaments just how I wanted them. When I made a mistake guess what I did? I scraped it off and started over. AND...now my kids have a personalized ornament in Mommy's handwriting. I like that.

The next year I bought an ornament in which I could put a recent picture of them. I still took a Sharpie and put the year on the ornament. Last year, we bought ornaments for them at Disney, because it was our last year to have annual passes. So no personalization last year, but they each got an ornament, and I will always remember those ornaments from our last Disney year (2009).

Well, this year I haven't quite decided what I am going to do, but I saw something in Michaels yesterday that totally sparked my interest. They had "ready to personalize" ornaments that are just like the ones at the mall for $1.99!!! AND...you could totally use one of the 40% off coupons that comes in the paper or email (You can sign up for coupons on michaels.com).

Random - Did you know you can also use Joann's or AC Moore coupons at Michaels too? Michaels and Joann's will take one of each type of coupon in a single transaction, so in one transaction you could use:

• one Michaels newspaper coupon
• one Joann's newspaper coupon
• one Michaels email/printable coupon
• one Joann's email/printable coupon
• any other different form of coupon (receipts sometimes print coupons or if you have a coupon from AC Moore, etc).
  

It's another way to make your dollar stretch further at those stores. Sometimes those stores sell Crayola sets or Melissa and Doug, Thomas the train, or other things that are expensive at most toy or book stores. Check at your local craft store and see if you can use your 40% off coupon on those items. Remember that those coupons often have exclusions and are almost always on regular price items only.

Soooo...if you bought one of those $1.99 ready-to-personalize ornaments with a 40% off coupons, you could get an ornament for your child for $1.20! All you would need is a paint pen or Sharpie. Let me confess - I don't have good handwriting, and I am a perfectionist when it comes to stuff like this, but I still like doing it for them.

One other idea - Michaels also had nice 2"x3" photo frame ornaments that have "2010" on them for $3.99 (regular price). These ornaments with a family photo or a photo of all the kids in it would be a great way to do a personalized family ornament for your own family or for grandparents or other family members.

Wow...I wrote a lot longer than I thought...and my kids are getting restless. I was inspired yesterday by the ornaments at Michaels and wanted to pass along the idea.

Merry Christmas!!! (42 days early)