It’s less than a week till Christmas. LESS THAN A WEEK. That means next Friday, we will be DONE with Christmas. I know, I’m the master of the obvious, but I just can’t believe it!
And I’m still hopelessly stumped on what to get a few key people in my family. Like my dad. My brother. They are the type of guys that like everything–music, cooking, movies, cool clothes, etc. So, it should be easy. But it’s not because they have all the paraphernalia that goes with their hobbies. And I don’t know which one they’d like or already have. *sigh*
I’m actually pretty impressed with how well I’ve done for everyone else, though. I went to one of my fav-o-rite stores, TJMaxx this week and absolutely scored for a few people…
(AGAIN, IF YOU ARE IN MY FAMILY DO NOT READ THIS.)
My sister-in-law loves shoes so I got her these sweet ballet flats from American Eagle (actual retail price, Bob? oh, about $40) for $10. TEN. Then I found an adorable 3/4 length bell-sleeved jacket that matches the shoes perfectly and only cost $15. Then always a sucker, I saw some notecards with her initial at the check-out line and picked those up for $4.
THEN! I found a gray and PURPLE purse by Liz Claiborne (actual retail price? $55!) for TWENTY. *happy sigh* I got that for my aunt. How can she NOT like a purple purse?
Are you lovin’ those deals? Because I am!! That’s like $50 for two people. $50 for two pretty sweet gifts!
How in the world does TJMaxx do that? (Are you asking? Because I’m gonna tell you.) Apparently, TJMaxx/Marshalls are “opportunistic” buyers. They have shoppers that are on the road all the time sniffing out the big namebrands. So, if DKNY was going to make 60,000 blouses but Macy’s was only going to buy 50,000 of them, then TJM will come in and buy the 10,000 extra. Then instead of those pretend sales that the department stores do, TJM actually sells this stuff at the “sale” price all the time. Genius, right?
They are like these couponistas I’ve been admiring! They just know when to swoop in and buy the deal of the century! (Here’s some more info about TJMaxx/Marshall’s buying techniques from my friend Stacy at Mom Central.)
Speaking of shopping geniuses, my husband just happens to be one. Yes, I need to turn in my all-girl card because Les just trumps me in the shopping department. The other day I wanted to buy some new jeans from Target or Old Navy because of my new post-pirate size. He didn’t want to buy me anything there. He said, “Let’s go to Marshalls. I’ll get you some name brands.” And I KID YOU NOT, within five minutes, he had at least twelve pairs of jeans for me: DKNY, Lucky Brand, Calvin Klein and Tommy. All under $30. I’m stylin’, what can I say?
So, what does all this mean?
Take my husband to TJMaxx and make him do the rest of the Christmas shopping.
Why didn’t I think of that before?!
So…tell me your best TJMaxx or Marshalls deal. I love a good deal story…
