Happy Thanksgiving 2014!

Happy Thanksgiving!   This year, our oldest son, Jack, is not traveling back from Notre Dame to come home for Thanksgiving.   I kind of understand.   He had classes until 5 on Tuesday, which means he would have traveled for 12 hours on Wednesday to get here, and then left again on either Saturday or Sunday for another 12 hour trip in bad weather.  I am even a little bit glad he isn't traveling on icy roads.    Besides, Notre Dame has a nice Thanksgiving meal that it serves today for the students who stay.   When I went to Bucknell, there was one kids from Rhode Island and two Korean students who stayed.  I guess that isn't the case at Notre Dame.


We celebrate Thanksgiving morning every year by doing the Abington YMCA Gobble Wobble 5K.   We have been doing it for about 7-8 years.   This is only the 12th year they have had it, so I remember when it was just a few hundred people.  Now it seems like there are 2000 people there...it is just mobbed.

The first problem is the bathrooms...Of course the girls' rooms are mobbed...these pictures were taken while we waited in line.

We ran into our friends, Missy,  and her son, Paul.   They are both really good runners.

  This is Matthew with Paul...they have been friends since they were babies...they are both 12.

Timmy and Anna were running together, so they moved up to the runners corral.

The fun part of this race is that people get dressed up in Thanksgiving themes...there are lots of Pilgrims, turkeys.   These guys wore kilts...the other guy was dressed up as a Thanksgiving oven.

             Waiting outside for the race to start....it snowed yesterday, and it is cold.

Matthew, Lily, and I walked.  They walked ahead..I think they were planning something.

This is the guy who came in first place.    He was finishing after we had walked for about 10 minutes...his time was around 13 minutes.

The favorite part is the amazing after race food--this is my friend, Leslie Portner, who had a bag of food...my kids wanted us to take lots of food, and make that our Thanksgiving dinner.

There were amazing desserts, bagels....food from Trader Joe's...so no one really cared about the bananas.  

Anna, Matthew, Timmy, and Lily in front--a great way to start the day!

We watched a series of parades the rest of the morning, into the afternoon.   I always say I want to get us up and moving, but Thanksgiving is the only day we really just relax all day.  

Lily helped me set the table....She did a great job (the pumpkins were from my garden!).

All of us sitting down to eat...and missing Jack.  

We did our usual sit around and tell each other what we are grateful for...Lily got a little long-winded, so Anna decided to make it even more dramatic by pretending she was Lily's arms....Lily thought it was hysterical!

Happy Thanksgiving 2014!!     

November 22nd

This is one of those posts I'm writing for my kids for when I am gone, so if you don't want to read it, this would be a good time to move on.

For lots of people, November 22nd will always be foremost the day John F. Kennedy was shot, or maybe just a reminder that Thanksgiving is only days away.   For me, it is my mother's birthday. Today, she would have been 83 years old.   She died in 1970, so there have been lots of November 22's that have come and gone, and each one I have thought about her.

I was 8 when my mother died.  I can remember that when my oldest,  Jack, reached the exact age I was when my mother died, I felt a sense of relief...I had made it for there for him.   Each child since then has been a small victory...I lasted longer for my child than my mother lasted for me.    Lily is already 8...I made it for all 5 of them (although technically, as Timmy would point out, Lily will be the age I was when my mother died in February...you get what I mean, though.)

A lot of what I do as a mother is because my mother died when I was young.  I always get their photos taken professionally because after my mother died, I had no pictures of me as a child.  I always said that if I died while my children were young, I wanted to make sure that my children had childhood pictures of them.    I take them to the dentist every 6 months...to the day.  After my mother died, I didn't go to the dentist for over 5 years...and I am still suffering from poor dental care when I was young.   I think this is what mothers do.   I never had that.

With my two daughters, I have that relationship I never had.    And I think I have it with my sons, also.  I can remember being in the childbirth class with my first pregnancy, and the nurse who was running it announced that all the moms should go on one side, and the dads should go on the other side.   I said to Chris "I can't believe people bring their moms to these things..."  because I was always the one without a mom, and I was always the one who would cringe inside when moms would do things with their daughters.   Chris looked at me and said "Leslie, you are the mom", and at that moment,  I realized that I would never have that feeling again.....I was now the mom, and not having one would be slightly more tolerable.

When I was a teenage, I can remember my friends complaining about their moms...I couldn't imagine having a mom, much less having one who was driving me crazy.   It didn't make me mad, it just made me wonder what could be so bad about HAVING a mom...even one that drove you crazy.

I think having my children would have been much easier if I had had a mom.   Not the obvious thing, like having a babysitter you trusted, because my Aunt Phyllis helped me out a lot, but also just to let me know I was doing it right.   Because I have always had to go on my own instinct.

 It seemed ludicrous when the pediatrician told me that my 12 month old baby needed to be taken off the bottle...that was absurd.  Seriously, insanely crazy.   I remember looking at the doctor, and saying "no."   That isn't going to happen.  My oldest, and all subsequent, loved their bottles.  I mean love.    Serious love.  I tried to imagine someone taking away something I loved, and I thought, that would really piss me off, and I didn't want to do that for my children.   As a result, all 5 of my children had their bottles for years....until the bottle fairy would come, or they would just decide or their own to stop.   It hasn't hurt them at all.     Between the 5 of them, I think there have been a total of 4 cavities, and two of them don't need braces (jury is still out on Lily), so all that baloney the doctor told us about cavities and braces was absurd.   My kids are unbelievably well-adjusted, and happy.  Maybe because they didn't have something they loved wrenched away from them when they were 12 months old!   None of my kids used pacifiers or blankies, but you can guess that I would have let mine carry them around for years, also.

I had a conversation a few years ago with a friend who lost her 85 year old mother when my friend was 50.  She was devastated.  She said she had not been particularly close to her mother until she reached her mid-40's, and she was devastated that her mother was gone.   She and I decided that neither of us had it better than the other...whenever you lose your mother, it is never a good time.  I have spent my whole life (or that which I remember), negotiating the world, without feeling like anyone cared or was on my side , and that I was on my own (that sounds worse than I feel...I think).    My friend said she felt suddenly as if she had no compass....maybe that is what moms do for you.

Anyway, I guess I made it out okay.  I got married, made it through college and law school all by myself,  had a great job, and now have 5 amazingly happy, smart, fantastic kids, largely because I have been the kind of mother to them that I wish I had had while I was young.     But things would have been different, and probably better, if I had had a mother.  I think that is what moms do...make your life better.

Target Black Friday Shopping Tips 2014 -Just one

To be honest, this is more about how not to shop at Target on Black Friday.  I'm not really much of a Black Friday shopper.  When the Black Friday thing began to take off, about 10 years ago, I tried to go out once.   I got up at 5, drove to the mall, and just walked around aimlessly.   I didn't really need anything, and I could always come back to get the few items I wanted (not that great of a deal).   Then I drove to Michael's.   Same thing.  Crazy long lines, and I was only saving about $5 dollars on the item I wanted, so I left.  Then I went to Target, and I did the same thing.   What was most shocking was seeing people there at this ungodly hour who seemed to be just doing their weekly food shopping--carts full of milk, eggs, bread, toilet paper.   I went home, got back into bed by 6:15, and that was it for me for Black Friday shopping.

Since then, my kids and I usually head over to Chick Fil A around 10 for our favorite breakfasts, then head over to the Target around the corner to see what is on sale.  Last year, we got there at 11 am, and I bought a super fuzzy blanket that my kids love, and a half-price fire pit.  That was it.

However, this year, there is a deal at Target that I will get there early for---only because this deal is only good between 6 am and noon on Friday, November 28, 2014.   During this time, you can buy $300 dollars worth of gift cards for a 10% discount (so you would pay $270).  I know this is a stretch for some people, but I always give Target gift cards for presents for everyone (and my husband, Chris, gives them to his co-workers for Christmas).    I intend to buy twelve $25 gift cards, which means each one will only cost me $22.50.   I won't give them all for Christmas, so I will put them on generic Target gift cards for all the events that come up over the course of the year--Teacher gifts, birthdays, showers, etc.  

I really think it is worth it to just go and get these gift cards.   Even if you don't use them to give as gifts, you can use them yourself, which amounts to a 10% discount on future purchases.  If you do intend to use them for yourself, I would put them in $20 denominations, so you don't get stuck with large amount gift cards.  

Lily's Birthday Party at Happy Tymes--November 16, 2014

Lily's 8th birthday party was on Sunday at Happy Tymes in Warrington.   She and I have been talking about this party for 6 months...where to have it, when should it be, who should she invite, etc, etc.   I was really thrilled the way it worked out.  It was way too cold to do any of the outside things (miniature golf, go karts), but these 8 year olds had the most amazing time.  The party was supposed to be Sunday from 1:30 to 3:30, but most of the kids were still there at 4:30 because they were having so much fun.   We lucked out--the place was pretty quiet, and so there were no lines, the kids could run around without losing them.   It was just great!  These are my favorite photos:

This is one of those boxes you stand in, and they blow up "dollars" that you catch....Lily was really good at it!

Even though Jack was not there, Lily wanted me to take this photo and send it to him...to show she misses him:

I have to be honest...I am glad it is over.  We've been talking about this party since May.   I have been sick for a few days with a bad cold, and I really shouldn't have even been out on Sunday, but what are you going to do...now I can start to think about next year's party (she is already asking where her next party should be...I think my back yard sounds great!).

Operation Christmas Child Drop off is tomorrow at Chick Fil A Restaurants--November 11, 2014

I spent a lot of today gathering all the stuff I have been saving/bought to put into the Operation Christmas Child boxes.  These were the boxes I ordered from the website over the summer, but you can also pick these up at Chick Fil A--they were available last week (next year, think Election Day).   If you didn't get one of these, you can still use a shoe box, or lots of people buy those one dollar plastic boxes to use... This is a little of what my living room looked like:

This is a little of what my living room looked like:

   You can see that I am putting in leftover Pez Halloween candy (I put in all my kids' non-chocolate candy!)  from this past week--it doesn't go bad until 2016, and they are pumpkin/cat heads, nothing too scary!

   These are some of the boy's/men's boxers I bought last year at the Target Halloween 90% clearance sale--they are black, with a web-like design, but they were only .59 cents each, so I bought some to put in the boys' boxes.  I try to do mostly boy boxes, because they get the least amount (according to the website), but you can do whatever works for you.

I found some shirts from Old Navy upstairs that still have the tags on them...these are going into boxes for younger boys. 

If you look closely, you can see some of the goody bag items my kids get at parties all year that are still in the bags.  When my kids get home from birthday parties, I usually just put them right into my Operation Christmas Child bags.   My kids don't need another eraser or sticker, but some child overseas might really be happy to receive it. 

So, my point is that you might not really have to look too hard or buy too much to be able to fill up some boxes tonight for these children.   The Samaritan's Purse website has a short video showing kids opening up boxes all over the world, and it literally made me cry.   They do ask for a $7 per box donation to cover the shipping costs, so if you can make up a box for very little money, then it is a great way to make a lot of little kids happy (there is even a way to track your box donations, and see where/who it goes to, but we've never done that).  

Lily's 8th Birthday--the Story of November 9, 2006

Today Lily turns 8.   She was born on November 9, 2006.   Lily's birth story is not as dramatic as some of her siblings, but in so many ways, it was the most special....because we had Lily.   After we had our first four children, I didn't feel done.     Everyone said you know when you are done.  I didn't feel done.  We had four great children, and we were amazingly busy with them, but I really wanted another.   Lily is that baby, and I said from the very beginning that while we were really happy before her, she brought something to our family that was amazing--she was the baby in a family of other children ranging from 4-11 at the time, but at that point, they all thought they were big kids, and having a baby to love was fantastic for all of them.  Jack was all over her, Anna had a sister to play with, and although Timmy and Matthew ignored her for the first year or so, once she became a playmate, she has always been everyone's favorite go-to playmate!!

Today was a busy day, but we managed to celebrate Lily's 8th birthday.    We got home late last night from Ezra's Bar Mitzvah--it was gorgeous, and I was so happy for our friends, Liz and Andrew, his parents.   Today, we got up early,  and Chris drove Anna up to Princeton for a Crew race (I did 4 round trips yesterday!), and he decided to take Lily with him.  They went to a nearby mall, played at the Regatta, and got what she really wanted...a Build A Bear.  I have outlawed those Build a Bear toys, because we have roughly 300 of them here, but Lily is persistent, and somehow Chris agreed to it.   It is her 8th birthday, after all.

We all met at the Drake Tavern for dinner--Lily's choice.  We decided to go to Sprinkles, our favorite ice cream parlor for ice cream cones to celebrate her birthday...and her party isn't until next week!!  

  Could she be any more adorable--I always say she is the fairest of them all--red hair, blue eyes!!

This is Sprinkles--an adorable little ice cream place in Elkins Park--within walking distance to our home, which makes it perfect (plus, they have great ice cream!).

90% off Target Halloween Clearance-My 2014 Purchases

Target went to 90% off today on all its Halloween decorations/costumes/and other things...all things that are not edible, which are 70% off.   Still, it was great!  I tried to control myself, but I bought about 6 sets of those lawn and leaf bags (.49, down from 4.99):

Some woman came up to me while I was waiting in the check out line, told me she needed some of these,  and asked me where I had gotten these lawn bags.  I politely explained where they were back in the seasonal section.  About 10 minutes later, as I was finishing checking out, she came up to me and told me there were none left where I told her they were, and then she stood there.      I didn't know what she wanted me to do--did she want some of mine?  I just turned and paid.  It was weird.  I left several there when I took mine (although I don't really have a problem with people who take a lot of an item....who said you have to leave some for others?  It is a commercial store--not a child's birthday party!).

I also found about 10 boxes of tissues (.13 each, down from 1.39):

4 of those utensil boxes (.29 each, down from 2.99, and then I remembered my Cartwheel...which gave me another .02 cents off...seriously?):
 

For the food, I bought 8 bags of Halloween Oreos.   These were .89 cents each, but I had coupons for $1/2, so each bag ended up being .39.

In addition, I bought LOTS of candy to use for our school's play in early February.   Candy was 70% off.    I spend about $60 on candy, and saved about $140, which is good, because we aren't a big operation, and this will be all the candy I need for our Kiss the Cast fundraiser.

I went to look for something unrelated to the Halloween clearance, and I came across some spooky looking boxers.   I got about 10 to put into my Operation Christmas Child boxes, which we are putting together this weekend.   They ran up .59 cents each,   and I always try to put in some kind of underwear.   These are a little Halloween-y, but I will throw them in anyway.


This is an example of why I love Target clearance--on the left are the Clif Z Bars my kids love, for 6.79 for 12.   The photo on the right shows the package I was able to get yesterday for 1.79 yesterday (it was 70% off of 5.99), for a savings of 5.00.   Honestly, that makes me happy, which is when this Target thing starts to make me look weird.

I eat Candy Corn year round, not just in the fall.   I have a few in my pocket at almost all times.  These bags were down to .71 cents each, and I had a coupon for .50 off, so I got these 24 ounce bag for .21 cents.  The expiration date is 10/15/15.   So I won't die eating them into next year.  

  This is something I didn't need, but some little girl is going to get this in her Operation Christmas Child box.  How adorable!

 I bought 3 boxes of these Pirates Booty, for I think 1.79 (down from 5.99?), for 20 bags.  I will put one in each of Lily's goody bags for her birthday party next weekend.

I think we are done with this 90% clearance thing now.   At some point, it is just enough.    I am now set for snacks for lunches,  tissues, lawn care, etc.   When my children were younger, I would get amazing costumes.  I learned not to buy in advance for Lily--you never know what she will want to be next year for Halloween.      For my boys,  I settle for these large fleece pajama-looking thing that  two younger boys can wear for a last minute costume:

My Target 70% Halloween Clearance Sale Purchases 2014

I went to Target after I dropped Lily off at the bus, so I got there around 9...not too crazy.   I picked up some of those chocolate covered pumpkins, because my boys like them, and I thought if they were 50% off, I would pick up a bag for around $2.50 (there are only 15 little bags in them).   When I scanned them, I assumed that they would be 50% off, but the food items were only 30% off (in this Philadelphia area store).   I was surprised, then, when the non-food items were scanning 70% off, but I only bought a few things, and no food.   There were a lot of things left, so I am going to take a chance that some of these things are still there when I go back.


One of the things I did buy was this 5-pack of lawn and leaf bags.

These were normally $4.99, so I paid $1.49, which is not a bad price, and nice to have as back up.

I also bought several of those utensil sets for .89 (I got 2 of them for 1.49 each on Saturday also), so now I have plenty of utensils.   The only other thing I got was the two packs of Puffs tissues, which were now down to .89 cents.  I had two $1/2 coupons, so I got 4 packs.   This made each double pack only .39 each.

I am really limiting what I buy to things I really need, and I won't get candy before it goes to at least 50% off for to use at our play concession stand.

Operation Christmas Child 2014--How to do it

Operation Christmas Child is something I discovered about 5 years ago.  I was at my favorite place, Chick Fil A, on Election day, which my kids always happen to have as a school holiday.  It also happens to be National Pick up a box day at Chick Fil A, which means that you can pick up a box (or more) to be used to fill up for Operation Christmas Child (OCC).

OCC is a national campaign to provide boxes of small gifts, toys, candy, and health items for children in third world countries.   It is run, I think, by Samaritan's Purse.  You could look into it by googling it.  All I know is that on that first day, they said if I filled up a shoe box with toys and treats for a boy or girl,  and included a check for $7 to cover costs, that I would get a coupon for a free Chick Fil-A sandwich when I dropped off the box.   It seemed like a good thing for my children to learn about philanthropy (is it really philanthropy if the original goal was to get a free chicken sandwich?), so I got 5 pre-made OCC boxes.  They look like this:  

I can't tell you how helpful it is to get these pre-made boxes (and they also have pre-made labels to show if it is for a boy or girl, and a rubber band to "seal" it--how helpful is that).    I can easily fill a few boxes, but getting a shoe box is really hard for me because they get used for dioramas and other school projects.  

Honestly, Chick Fil A makes this whole thing so easy, which is another reason to love Chick Fil A.   You can get free boxes there on Election day, and then you have a week to drop them off, at any Chick Fil A (call to confirm first), and you get a free coupon for a sandwich.     Last year, I actually bought 100 boxes from the website, and my family and I put together 30 boxes, and gave away another 40 boxes for other people to make up/use.      I have to be honest, when my husband dropped off the boxes, they were out of coupons for free sandwiches, which was great, because the last thing I need is another excuse to go to Chick Fil A, and I'm not REALLY doing this for the free sandwiches.
So, what do I put in my boxes.   First, you need to know that they really appreciate what you do, and they have this amazing video on their website that made me cry, showing all these kids in villages opening up their boxes.  It was so nice.

Second, I try to make up mostly boy boxes.  It is easy for me, because I have three boys, so I tend to pick up things during the year that I see that I think may be needed/wanted by a boy somewhere.  This is again, where getting items on super clearance at Target is great...one year I got 40 little packages of Legos for .29 each, and they all went into these boxes.    I keep a bag in my dining room in a corner at all time that I fill up with stuff from my kids to put into these boxes.  I do buy things, but often I put in things that my older boys have outgrown, never played with, or didn't want.   I also put in it all those little toys that you get at birthday parties, or the dentist, or in goodie bags.   And as I said in my post about Target, I put all my kids non-chocolate candy into these bags....which within days go into boxes.   Here is a sample of the now 5 bags of stuff I am waiting to assemble with my three youngest next week:

This bag is full of stickers and toys from when we go to the dentist, or birthday parties.  I have 5 kids, they each go to the dentist twice a year, and my younger ones go to lots of birthday parties.   That makes up lots of junk I don't want.

This is a bag of old clothes, all of which still have the tags on them, that I will put in bags for younger boys (I try to concentrate on older boys...they always seem to get the least).

These were some Old Navy boxers I saw for really cheap.  Everyone needs new underwear.  I also got a whole bunch of those toothbrushes for free one time they were 1.00 each and I had a whole bunch of 1.00 coupons...I got 5-7 of them, and some kid will be happy.

Just another box of miscellaneous toys...from birthday party gift bags.

These were things I accumulated just this week---some unused candy necklaces from a Halloween party, a popcorn treat, and some stickers.    I might not use the Halloween stickers, but most other things would work great! 

So, I encourage you to stop by a Chick Fil A this Tuesday,  November 4th,  pick up several boxes, and see how creative you can be about filling them.  There is a list of suggestions, such as toiletry items (I like to give antiperspirant, soap, sanitary items, dental floss, toothpaste, toothbrushes), non-chocolate food items (they might melt in some regions), toys (nothing war-themed), and books, andschool supplies (I always put a pen and pencil in each box, with a small notebook...you can literally buy these for pennies in September after school sales are over.)    There is even a way to track where your box is going, which would be really cool!!!  

My 2014 Target Halloween Clearance 50% off Purchases

So, I went out to get Anna from Crew, and I stopped on the way home at my favorite Target, just to check out what was there, and what was ringing up as part of the Halloween sale.  As I have said, there are years that things that were always part of the sale stop being on discounted.   For example, for years, the Softsoap brand liquid soap in the holiday-themed bottles were part of the after holiday sale, and two years ago, it just stopped being on sale.  I remember one year I bought 30 bottles for .29 each, along with some coupons for $1/2 bottles, and I paid less than $5 for all of them.   I donated about 15 to my daughter's pre-school, and to our CCD program (I try to encourage little ones to wash their hands!)

But I digress...When I first got to Target, it was pretty early, and I was surprised by how much had cleared out since Thursday (when I went to get grass seed).   The costume aisle was pretty empty:   

But the food items, which I don't normally even begin to look at until they reach 50% off (food items go slower than the other Halloween-themed items), was still pretty full--and I was really the only one shopping in the section (which is why this is my favorite Target...there is always a great selection). This is what it looked like:

When you see these many plates, and cups (at the bottom), there is no need to rush to get them (unless you are stocking up for a party next week...or these are the colors of your child's school, and are planning a graduation party...something I did when my son's colors were blue and gold).   

I did get a few items, breaking my own rules.  My three boys all love those Cliff Bars...I only saved 1.80 on the box (originally 5.99), but I have bought them at full price, so I got some.  

                  I don't think these look too Halloween-y, until you see the ghost on the box.

I also bought two boxes of these utensils.   This is a great example of "hidden clearance."  There is nothing that says that these utensils are part of the Halloween sale, and they absolutely can be used/donated at any time of the year.   

These Puffs are another good example of why you have to go and check out the place and scan some items.     

      

In years past, these were part of the sale.  Today, these were all in the housewares section, not in the Halloween area.  I decided to scan them, and they came up as 50% off, originally 2.99 a 2-pack, down to 1.49.  I also had 2 coupons, each for 1.50 off of three Puffs, so I bought 6 boxes, and got .50 off each box.    So, each double box cost .99 (after my Redcard, it was only .94 cents each for me), and was less than .47 cents a box.*

We use tissues like crazy around here (and we always have to donate them for things at school), and I don't think these packages scream Halloween--they just look autumnal.  I already opened up several packages, and placed them around my house where we need them.   This is also the kind of item you have to decide whether you are willing to buy them at 50% off, because most housewares don't make it much past 70% , and then you might be talking about saving only a dollar or so more than if you had simply purchased it at 50% off.   In this example, these (assuming they are still around), will go to .89 for each double pack.  That is a savings, but only .60 each double pack.  You might just decide to go ahead and buy them at 50% off, and be thrilled if there are still some there for you to buy at 70% off (but please...don't buy items at 50% off late at night when you think the next day items will go to 70% off, unless you can't make it to Target the next day). 

One interesting conversation I heard before I left was between a Target employee, and a husband who I heard say he "had been sent to buy Halloween decorations on sale," presumably by his wife.  The Target employee was scanning items, and explaining to this husband the different percentages off today (50 or 30%), and then he said "These things will be 70% off tomorrow."   I was eavesdropping from down the aisle, and I felt like I couldn't interrupt, but I think it is at least worth checking out the price tomorrow (normally, I wouldn't go again until Monday).  Last year, as I said in another post, they changed the day that things go from 50% off to 70% off.  It had always been on November 4th, but last year I went to get something on the 3rd, and bought something, and it came up 70% off.  It was mid-day, and I was shocked that they had gone 70% off so early, but I would be really shocked if it goes 70% off tomorrow....I think it was probably just two guys talking, and I doubt it is true.  

*This is also the type of item where when you are doing your pre-Clearance recognizance, you might want to consider whether you want to stock up on Puffs coupons.  I usually just go to Ebay if I see there is an abundance of an item that I will really want after a holiday that I know will have coupons for it...and I buy ten or so.   I try not to spend more than .10 a coupon (including shipping), or it doesn't become worth it to me.

Target After Halloween 50% off Clearance Sale-2014

Earlier, I had posted about getting ready for the Target Halloween Clearance sale.   Anyone who shops at Target knows that November 1st is the first day of the Halloween clearance sale.   So, every other day or so, for the next 7 days, or so, Target will keep on clearancing its Halloween-themed items and candy,  all the way down to 90% off for everything except for edibles (food and snacks--they only go to 70% off now).  

Many of my friends wonder how I get such "great deals"--the answer is simply that I pay attention to what the sale/clearance prices are, and I try to combine them with coupons.    Another key is to look for Halloween-themed items that can be used in a season other than Halloween.    Several years ago, Target's theme for Halloween was lots of black and white items.  I picked up several dish towels for .25 each, that became my dish towels.    I see other dish towels on sale, but for now (not much longer....look at how dingy this one is), these will suit me just fine:

For years, Target corporate followed the same "mark-down" schedule, so you knew when the items would go from 50% to 70% off.  Last year, however, they pushed up the schedule, so now you really have to be on your toes.    This is the mark-down schedule for last year for those of us in the Philadelphia area:   

              Halloween-themed items---50% off (edibles, 30%)--November 1st

              Halloween-themed items--70% off (edibles 50%)--November 3rd

              Halloween-themed items--90% off (edibles 70%)-November 5th

So, you should, if you are interested in checking out this sale, make a point of stopping by Target on one or more of these days over the next week.  I am always amazed by people who tell me they wish they could get the same great deals I get, but that they never shop at Target.   Seriously?  I can guarantee that you won't get good deals if you don't actually walk into the store! 

Another thing that people say is that they don't want to go because they don't need candy.  I buy very little candy (except for two exceptions).  The key, as I keep repeating,  is to buy items that you can use at a time other than Halloween.   For example, I will buy ziploc bags, disposable cups, bowls (usually, they are orange or striped), and utensils that are part of the Halloween clearance, because these will often not appear to be Halloween-y.   You can really luck out if you can find those items that you didn't even know were part of the Halloween sale items, but which come up on sale.   This is what the bloggers call part of "hidden clearance."  These are the items (e.g. special bake ware, certain food items, books, dolls, etc.), that you can use year round in your kitchen, or to give as gifts, but which don't look Halloween-y at all.

As I said, I will buy candy (usually only non-chocolate items), for two reasons.  First, my school puts on a play every year,  and I will buy candy to sell in a few months at the concession stand and to use as part of our Kiss the Cast fundraiser (email me if you want to know how to do this...it makes tons of money for the school).  Second, I will buy non-chocolate candy to put into Operation Christmas Child boxes (more on this later).   These boxes are sent to children in third world countries, and while I don't love giving too much candy to kids, I think these kids deserve a little sweetness in their lives once a year.  

So, I will be heading out to Target soon, and if you want to get in on these deals, you should, too.  I don't buy much at 50% off (I usually try to wait for 90% unless I really want an item), but if this is your first time, you might want to check it out.   And final word...it is important to swipe or scan all the items you think you want at the price-checker station.  Sometimes items you assume would be part of the sale are not, and sometimes things that only look slightly Halloween-themed are....you will be shocked at what comes up on that price checker....and don't trust the signs.  They are notoriously wrong.  Last year, my store never said it was above 50% off the whole week...even when it was 70% and 90% off.