Day After Christmas Deals?

How many of you went shopping the day after Christmas? Where did you go and what scores did you find? Unfortunately I wasn't able to. I am hoping to get out at some point today to hit some sales if I can find any, but I'm not really sure how much I'll find. My goal is to stock up on at least some wrapping paper, bows, tape, etc. for next year!

Tell me about your trip!

Our Super Cheap Christmas

Ok, so this year, we got frugal for Christmas!

Here's a rundown of what the kids are getting:

Boy #1 - 8 years old... LOVES Rocks and Crystals, has been begging since his birthday for a Crystal growing kit. I looked and looked but didn't see anything that looked worth buying.

What he's getting:

• Crystal Mining Kit ($9.99) Purchased on Amazon.com using Gift cards from Swagbucks.com
• The book:Looking at Rocks (My First Field Guides) ($6.99) also using Gift cards from Swagbucks.com
• Taboo Game - $1.99 at Goodwill - New in package!
  
• Transformers PJ's - An even trade with another work at home mom for $15 Avon products
  

Boy #2 is our Artist, so at Ocean State Job Lot in Belfast, I found him these:

• Blue Three Ring Binder with Zipper Pocket on front
• Sketch Pad
• Set of Colored Pencils (short and pre-sharpened)
• Smelly Erasers (YUMMY blueberry scented and an Apple scented one as well!)
• Two Disney / Pixar CARS Movie Die Cast Cars I got him ($6.48 and $9.99) using Amazon.com gift cards from Swagbucks.com

All together was $10.59!


Girl #1 I started months ago when I found some things at Ocean State Job Lot that I knew she would love. She's the family Princess, and is all about princesses and Tinkerbell, so here is her list:

• Tinkerbell room freshener (you put fragrance cartridges in it and it's like those Glade ones and sends out a puff of fragrance every now and then) for $1.99!
  
• Large Magnetic "Paper doll" - Cinderella - $10 at Family Dollar
• Disney Princess plastic cookware - Walmart.com on Cyber Monday for $14 (Down from $18.99 I believe)
• Elefun game - $1.99 from Goodwill, brand new, in the package.
• Disney Princess Lip Balms - $0.49 each from Avon
• Disney Precious Princess Collectible - Belle - For $15.99 using Amazon.com gift cards from Swagbucks.com
  
  

Girl #2 is still little so she was easy!

• Munchkin Fun Ice Chewy Teethers from Amazon.com for $1.99 using gift cards from Swagbucks.com
• Sassy - Baby Toy Value Bundle, 6-Piece (Pictured Above) from Walmart.com on Cyber Monday. $20.00 HUGE deal since the Mirror alone costs $15, and the other pieces are similarly priced!
  
  

All of the kids are getting a package of Socks because they all seem to have worn holes into the ones they have or have outgrown or lost them at the same time over the past few weeks! They are also getting these Virtual Pet Keychain's They are like a generic "Giga Pet" that came out years ago. I remember having a few and LOVED them, and I thought these would be a good alternative for Boy #2 because he desperately wants a pet, but we just aren't ready for that yet as a family.

The BIG gift for the year...!

A Swinxs Game Console... This thing is AWESOME... Sells for nearly $200 - We paid: NOTHING! I won it on a blog giveaway, and the kids are going to be THRILLED when they open that on Christmas morning!

Conclusion:
Christmas this year has a value of over $400

And we have paid out of pocket: $79.44 before tax.

Swynxs Game System

Lots of great things to go over today... starting with this post and then I'll post two others!

I found a link the other night to a blog listing a TON of links to contests and drawings for free stuff... I took some time, and I entered a bunch that sounded interesting.
There was one drawing for a Swinxs Gaming Console, which I had NEVER heard of, but at first sight it kind of reminded me of the Nintendo Wii, and I almost clicked away because I am NOT a Video Game advocate of any kind. My kids have a Vsmile, and that doesn't even get used often because I prefer my kids get outside, be active, have creative play, etc. We are ALL about the arts and crafts here in our house!

So anyway, I decided to read more about it, and it looked kinda interesting. This game console does NOT use a television! TV FREE GAME... what could be better than that? How about a game that can be played by up to TEN people... that's our ENTIRE family, PLUS 4 guests! Ideas are rolling now... Birthday parties? Holiday get togethers? SNOW DAYS! It sounded good, can be played indoors and out, plugs in to charge so it doesn't have to be plugged in to be used, even better... Comes pre loaded with 10 games and you can download others for FREE....! Seriously? How much better could this thing get! Then I looked at the price tag.. nearly $200... YIKES! No way I'm spending that much on a game no matter HOW cool it is...

Unfortunately I had already told hubby about it and the kids swarmed around the computer to check it out and both the boys were singing in chorus "MOMMY, CAN WE GET ONE?!?! MOMMY, CAN WE GET ONE?!?!?!" Over and over and over again, hehe... I told them it was really expensive and that I would enter the drawing, but if I didn't win it, I couldn't afford to buy one, so not to get their hopes up.

I logged in to my email this morning and found a CONGRATULATIONS email from Amy at MomAdvice.com saying "Congrats: Winner Of The Swinxs Game Console!"

I had to read it 3 times to make sure she was really saying that YES, I had WON the game console!

My kids are gonna be THRILLED when they open this on Christmas morning... and Hubby will probably kick himself for getting frustrated about the half our of family time I "wasted" on the computer entering drawings, hehe...

Ok, no, really, there's no excuse for being on the computer during family time, but it worked out ok in the end!

Target Christmas Gift Deals!

There are 15 pages of Target Store Coupons available for printing right now! Some for as little as $3 off up to $10 off and some for 20% off certain items too!

These coupons are Store coupons so you SHOULD be able to combine them with a manufacturer coupon for even more savings.

Each coupon also features a Coupon Code so you can use them on Target.com!

By shopping through BigCrumbs or Mr. Rebates you can also receive other special deals, like Free shipping on certain sized orders, as well as cash back on your purchase!

I recommend signing up for both sites and whenever you shop online, check them both to see which provides the bigger deal!

The coupons DO expire the day before Thanksgiving, so no Black Friday savings unfortunately, But hey, hold onto them just in case you see a good deal between now and then! I've never shopped on Black Friday, though I just might start...