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22 Great Graduation Gift Ideas

May 14, 2008 2 Comments


Teenagers and twenty-somethings can be hard to buy for. Fortunately we have a huge array of items to choose from. Whether you’re looking for a graduation keepsake, a dorm/apartment warming present, or something a little more “hip,” it’s easy to find something that the graduate in your life will love. Here’s a list of great gift ideas for the high school kids who are going off to the college and the college kids who are ready to go off and join the world.

1. Bible
2. Jewelry
3. Sunglasses
4. Pocket knife
5. Wallet
6. Watch
7. Souvenier throw, blanket, or embroidered pillow.
8. Books
9. Planner, Calendar, Diary
10. Picture Frame
11. Stuffed animal
12. PDA, cell phone
13. MP3 Player, Ipod, or portable dvd player
14. Graduation Plaque or figurines
15. Computer software or accessories
16. Plaque or figurine related to the student’s future major or career
17. Bedding, a microwave, a lamp, and other dorm or first apartment supplies
18. Movies or music
19. Supplies related to a hobby or the students major (like art supplies, a musical instrument, etc.)
20. A digital camera
21. Brief case, laptop case, or backpack
22. And if all else fails, there’s always cash or gift cards

Filed Under: shopping

Shopping for Graduation Gifts

May 13, 2008 1 Comment


Graduation season is upon us. Some of the colleges around here have already held their spring commencement ceremonies, and the high schools will be coming up shortly.

For those of you looking to buy the perfect gift for the high school and college graduates in your life, here is a list of links to help you out.

Graduationgifts.com

gifts.com

graduationpartygifts.com

Things Remembered

Find Gift

A+ Graduation Gifts

Barnes & Noble

Leather Tree

Cafe Press

Amazon

Etsy

More graduation posts coming up! Have a great day!

Filed Under: shopping

10 Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

May 5, 2008 3 Comments

Sometimes it seems like women (namely, mothers) are the hardest people to buy for. Since Mother’s Day is coming up this week, I decided to do a few posts on gift ideas. Here’s a list of general gift ideas for you to keep in mind this week as you search for the perfect gift for your own mom, or for other moms you know.

1. Flowers – A boquet, or better yet a potted plant that your mom can take care of.
2. A picture frame – What mom doesn’t love picture frames? And for a personalized touch, include a family photo a picture of your little ones.
3. Coffee cups, shirts, and other personalized items – I just love all these kits out on the market today, where you can take a photograph and have it printed on a picture frame, a coffee cup, and other items.
4. Clothing, jewelry & handbags – If your mom doesn’t buy a lot of clothes and other items for herself, this could be a good gift idea for you.
5. Knick knacks & collectibles – My mom is a big collector…everything from Barbies to antiques to Halmark Ornaments and Beanies, to Mickey Mouse toys and Bird plates…. She’s hard to buy for because she has everything she needs, so when all else fails, I get her something to add to her collection.

6. Candies, cakes, and treats – Get your mom some fancy chocolates or a gourmet cheesecake, or present her with your own homebaked masterpiece.

7. Photo album or scrapbook – Mom’s and grandmoms love pictures of the kids. Put together a photo album or scrapbook of the kids. This way your mom will have all their photos preserved without all the work.

8. Craft and scrapbook supplies – If your mom sews, scrapbooks, or does any other kind of crafting, you could buy her some supplies or get her a gift certificate to the craft store.

9. Salon/Spa Day – Get your mom a gift certificate for a day at the spa or a beauty salon, or better yet make it a mother-daughter day of it. Take your mom out for a morning at the salon, followed by lunch and an afternoon of shopping. Or share a day of pampering at a dayspa.

10. Dinner – Take your mom out for dinner, invite her over to your place for dinner, or bring the homecooked meal to her.

Filed Under: Misc Holidays, shopping

Winter Sales & Closeouts

January 18, 2008 2 Comments

Someone pointed out to me that many of the items listed in my “liven up your winter decor” post are on sale now. This inspired me to create a small list of items that you may find on sale now and over the next few weeks in your local store.

It’s kind of crazy going to the store and seeing swimsuits & shorts when it’s forty degrees outside, but at least when they make room for the spring and summer clothes, they do it by marking down the winter stuff. This makes it the perfect time to get a few new outfits for the remainder of the season or to go ahead and buy up for next year, especially if you have kids. And it’s a great time to get a few low cost items to spruce up your home.

So over the next few weeks, be on the look out for low prices on the following:
Blankets/Quilts/Throws/pillows
snowmen & other winter decor items
Winter clothes – sweaters, fleece, flannel, velour, sweatshirts, jogging suits, corduroy
Housecoats/Robes
House shoes
Winter pajamas
Candles
Electric blankets
Winter shoes/boots
Coats/jackets
Space heaters
Blue jeans
Also, certain lines of home decor and collector’s items (knick knacks and that sort of thing) that have been on display since Christmas (or prior to the holiday season) will begin to go on sale as well to make room garden decor and other summer items.

Here’s just a few places you might want to check out for deals.
Old Navy
Closeout Central
Goody’s Family Clothing
Big Lots

Filed Under: saving money, shopping

Christmas Savings

December 19, 2007 Leave a Comment

Between now and New Year’s is a great time to get good deals on Christmas decorations and other items. A lot of holiday items will not go on sale until the day after Christmas, but some stores are starting to discount items now. If you look in the right place, you can get a bunch of great items for 25, 50, and even 75% off the retail price. Here are a few examples:

Ornaments – I collect ornaments. I use some ornaments for my tree, and I display others in a cabinet throughout the year. If you collect ornaments or are planning to get new ornaments for your tree next year, now is the perfect time to do it. Every year I see new ornaments that I like, but it can get expensive after a while. Waiting till after Christmas to buy the ornaments I want has saved me a lot. Ornaments also make great gifts. My mom collects Hallmark ornaments, and her birthday is in January, so I usually try to pick up a couple of ornaments for her.

Cards – There’s a huge markup on Christmas cards. The day after Christmas, stores will have an entire bin full of discounted Christmas cards. It’s the perfect opportunity to buy ahead for next year.

Wrapping paper, gift bags, and supplies – Why not go ahead and buy extra gift wrapping supplies for next year?

Calendars – I love picking out my new calendar for the year. Usually I buy from the calendar stand that is set up in the middle of the mall. Several years ago I bought my calendars early. I’d see the one I wanted and I’d want to get it before they sold out. But a few years ago, I saw that had a 75% off sale after New Year’s, so I decided I would wait till then from now until. But then last year I was walking through the mall a couple of days after Christmas, and I found that they had already put the calendars on sale. Anyway, if you haven’t bought your calendar for the New Year, wait till after Christmas and check the stand at your local mall for a good deal. If they’re not on sale yet, then check back after New Years’s. Stores like Wal-mart and Target will discount their calendars as well, but they usually wait a little longer.

Christmas decor, trees, clothes, ect. – You can find great deals on all other decor and clothing for yourself or for next year’s Christmas presents. I bought my new Christmas tree the day after Christmas last year. It’s a lovely 6.5 foot tree, and I got it for about $10, and I absolutely love it! As long as you have a place to store it, stock up! (especially if it is something that you’d like to have regardless of the price and if it is something that you would have to buy in the future anyway!)

Filed Under: Christmas, saving money, shopping

Tips to Avoid Spending Too Much This Holiday Season

December 6, 2007 Leave a Comment

The holiday season is upon us. Christmas is just three weeks away, and Hanukkah has already begun. Millions of shoppers will rush out to the local mall over the next few weeks and spend hundreds of dollars on presents for friends and loved ones. Unfortunately most everyone will spend more money than they orginally intended.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the holiday season, and I love to watch family members open the gifts that I carefully selected for them. After all this is a season for giving. I also cannot ignore the fact that our crazy spending sprees are great for the economy.

However, I don’t think it’s a good idea to spend beyond your means, even if it is Christmas. A little splurging is okay, but we should all be careful. Unless you have an organized shopping plan and a little time to think things out ahead of time, it is very easy to get carried away, and before you know it, you are either out of cash or you’ve racked up a huge credit card bill. For this reason, I chose to write the following article. It features some tips on how you can save money and lists some inexpensive gift selections. This is a must read for anyone who hasn’t done all their holiday shopping yet:

Tips to Avoid Spending Too Much This Holiday Season

Filed Under: Christmas, saving money, shopping

Shopping for Holiday Decor

November 27, 2007 Leave a Comment

I love browsing in the Christmas section at the store. My mother and I collect ornaments, and even though I have more than enough to fill my Christmas tree (and my China cabinet) I just cannot help but look. I got to looking around at decorations online, and I decided to make a quick list of sites that sell ornaments and other holiday decorations. Some of these are the “usual” places, but hopefully I have a few new ones here for you as well.

Amazon
CollectiblesToday.com
Christmas Mouse
Current Catalog
Christmasplace.com
Christmaspeople.com
Christmas Express Online
Frontgate
Hallmark
Holiday Decorations Direct
Home Depot
JCPenney
Walgreens
Walmart

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, shopping

A Guide to Organized Holiday Shopping: Black Friday, Part 2

November 18, 2007 Leave a Comment

Here is part 2 of my Black Friday holiday shopping guide. I hope you’ll find it helpful.

5. Making a shopping list – On a sheet of paper make a list of each store you plan to go to and under each store’s name, make a list of the items you plan to buy there. Put a star next to the items you are most interested in. This will help you to prioritize your list.

6. Prioritizing & organizing the stores on your list – At this time you should prioritize and decide which stores you want to go to first. In my opinion, this is the most important step. There are a number of factors to base priorities on. You can use these factors to make one list, or a make a couple of lists based on these factors and coordinate the two.

  • Time of sale – Each store ends its sale at a different time. Some go until 11am or noon. Others are over by 10am. Then there are others that have sales for the entire weekend. Obviously you should first go to the stores that end their sales earlier.
  • Items you are most interested in – If a particular store has something that you especially want, you should go there first thing. Many of these items will be in limited quantities at the stores, so you should get there early.
  • Location of stores – In order to save time and gas, you should keep the locations of the stores in mind. Think of how close they are to your home and how close they are to one another, and map out your shopping route to avoid driving back and forth.
  • Normal everyday items versus the extraordinary – Keep in mind that many of the items in the sale ads are not going to sell out. In fact some of the items, namely bath and perfume gift sets, movies, and clothes, will be available for the next month, so try to save yourself time and buy these items later. Meanwhile focus your efforts on the “extraordinary.” Popular toys and electronics may or may not be available later, so you should put these as a top priority.
  • A store with one good item versus several – Some stores on your list may only have one thing that you want, whereas others will have an entire stock of things you are interested in. I would advise going to the stores that only have one or two items that you want first. Then when you go to the store that has several items, you’ll have more time to look around because you will have already been to the other stores. However, if you feel time slipping up on you, you may want to skip a couple of these stores that only have one item that you want, so that you can get to these other place before the sales end.

Once you have your priorities straight, and you have a well organized list, you should be ready to brave the shopping world. Don’t forget to bring your shopping list and your ads with you on your shopping trip. Also remember not to stress too much, and try to be patient and friendly with fellow customers. Getting the latest Elmo toy is not a matter of life and death. Don’t yell at someone if they get in your way or pick up the item that you wanted. The most important thing is to have fun and stay safe. Happy Shopping!

Filed Under: Christmas, fall, organizing, shopping, Thanksgiving

A Guide to Organized Holiday Shopping: Black Friday, Part 1

November 18, 2007 Leave a Comment

Many people buy into the “day after Thanksgiving” shopping hype, and if you don’t, then you at least know someone who does. And who could blame you, if you do? It is a great opportunity to buy quality Christmas presents at discounted prices. You may even find a few goodies for yourself. But before rushing out to battle the crowds…and I mean literally battle the crowds, here are a few “day after Thanksgiving” shopping strategies to keep in mind.

1. Making a list of what you hope to find – Before ever looking at any ads, think about what kinds of items you are hoping to find. Maybe you’d like to find a deal on a new computer or a digital camera. Or perhaps you are looking for sweaters to buy for family members. Make a list of exactly what you are looking for. This will help you to set limits for yourself and prevent you from going completely overboard.

2. Organizing ads – Nowadays you can view ads on the internet, but I like to do it the old fashioned way. Just buy a newspaper. There will be more ads than you will know what to do with. Start by discarding any ads for stores where you never shop and stores that have no items which you are interested in purchasing. Next sort the remaining ads into organized groups.(For example: Walmart, Kmart, ect. would go in one group. Electronic stores would go in another group.) Now that you’ve put the ads into like groups, you can pick up a small stack of ads at a time and look through them. By dividing the ads into groups, it is easier for you to compare prices and to stay focused on one thing at a time.

3. Viewing & Comparing Ads – As you view the ads, have a pen handy and circle any items that you find interesting. Place any ads you don’t like into the discard pile. As you are looking for the items on your wish list, you will find that some of the stores will have similar items. You may decide to buy one over the other by looking at the price or taking into account how close the store is to your home, or maybe you have a customer rewards card with one of the companies. (These three factors are especially important for items like clothing, movies, cds, and kitchen appliances, where the items will be the same or similar brands, and the items are pretty much interchangeable, regardless of where they are bought) However, some item comparisons are a little more involved. For items like electronics and tools put the ads side by side and read the specs for the items to decide which is actually the better deal. This all sounds like a timely process, but in the end it will save you money and time in the stores.

4. Create a stack of “good” ads. – After discarding all unwanted ads, and any ads that did not win in the price comparison race, you should be left with only small stack of good ads. At this time you may want to make a list of all the stores you plan to go to. If you still have a large stack, keep in mind, there are only so many hours in a day. Think of how much time you want to spend shopping versus how many ads you have, and try to weed out a few more ads.

Check back to read part 2.

Filed Under: Christmas, fall, organizing, shopping, Thanksgiving
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