Saturday, November 15, 2008

The Question That Haunts Me

We went out Christmas shopping last night, finding some great deals in unconventional ways. Although Halloween shopping was not on my list, when I hit the almost empty seasonal aisle at Walmart, there were signs printed that said all Halloween items were 10 cents. WOW!!! I am always thinking ahead, buying items for the next season, especially when it comes to school party favors. I know that there are always about 25 kids to a class at Bre's elementary school, so I bought 25 packs of stickers, that were normally $1.99 for a dime a piece. Halloween for next year, done. (And she will be the absolute coolest kid, because each and every one of them will receive an entire pack of 4 sheets of stickers and not just one sheet. When you think ahead your kiddos can be the coolest, and you can be the cheapest.)

Then I found gift bags that were supposed to be ghosts. I took a second look at them. They didn't have to be ghosts. I quickly realized that if they were nestled amongst wrapping paper that was all covered in snowflakes that they could easily pass for snowmen. The giftbags were originally $2.49 each, yep, you guessed it, for a dime. I quickly found 15 of them. I hauled my finds over to find DH over in the movies, and he agreed that they looked enough like snowmen to pass off as a great replacement.

While I was there, I picked up three bags of Hannah Montana candy braclets that were Halloween packs, but said nothing of Halloween on them, to go in Bre's gift bags for her friends for school. These also had stickers included. Lala and Bre are allowed to choose up to 15 girl friends to share special gifts with. These will help to fill up her 15 pencil bags that I got on clearance earlier this year at Clare's for a quarter each. Free lip gloss and a few other trinkets will fill each of the girls bags for around $1 each. This is a fun way to let them get into the spirit of giving without breaking my bank. When you factor in that I do not spend $30 at once, but $3 here and 50 cents there, it seems like I am spending next to nothing, and they are getting a lot of bang for my bucks. Lala's friends get excited each year to see what they will have hidden in their bags. This is Bre's first year on this plan, so we will see how it goes.

OK, back to the bags! So, what do you think? Do they pass off as snowmen, or is it too obviously a ghost? Would you use them for Christmas???

8 comments:

Frugally Yours said...

I think they're cute! Could you put a little felt winter cap on them somehow? That would really finish off the snowman look. Great shopping!

Mrs Swan said...

Awesome!!

I think the snowmen could pass. I would suggest drawing a black curve on the lower half of the bag though. Think the snowball head- just to give some definition.

anita said...

I think they're cute, too. Could you maybe get some snowflake stickers or make some small ones cut out of paper and glue them to the bags? That would reinforce the idea that they are snowmen faces.

Anonymous said...

i think they pass as snowmen too :) i didn't find all the deals you di but i did buy the rest of the hannah montana candy for my hannah loving dds!

Unknown said...

Yep! I thought a hat, or scarf, or some snowflake stickers might help "Christmas" them up. Even with buying stickers, they will be cheaper than the dollar store bags. The tissue paper in them also means I won't have to buy it for them, either!

Angela said...

Where do you live? I am going to make a point of going to Wal-mart tomorrow just to check and see if ours has any bargains that good.
Blessings,
Angela

Anonymous said...

They could definately be snowmen. Cute idea!! =)

Nessa said...

Very cute! I think they will absolutely work as snowmen!