Monthly Archives: December 2011

We all have our soft spots, don’t we? No matter how much we bargain shop or how tight our budgets are, there are things we buy just because they remind us of our children.  Those of you with young kids take heed. It does not change just because they grow up and you grow old.

Once in a while something, like this deck of old cards, catches my eye and tugs at my heart-strings. They are worn and a little dirty. I didn’t even know if they were all in the box when I bought them. My son is in the Air Force so here I sit with a $6 box of playing cards. They will go nicely with my other vintage toys, many of which are police or Air Force themed because of my sons.

I know I am not the only one that shops this way. What have you collected with your kids in mind?

It didn’t seem to make sense to run auctions this past week. People shopping for gifts needed the buy it now option. I didn’t want auctions ending too close to Christmas either.

Well, it’s time to get the auctions going again. I have some unique puzzles to list between now and the end of the year, but I started off with an item that I have offered before. (I am a bit tired from all the holiday shipping and cookie baking, so it will take a few days for me to write the new listings.)

The penny starting bid for this Josephine Wall Borders puzzle may be your chance to get this puzzle at a great price!

Speaking of good deals on office supplies…my fellow work from home folks may want to print the packing tape coupon found on the Duck Brand site. I also found coupons on bubble wrap and mailers as well as other products.

Tis the season to save when we can!

I stumbled across a good deal on Brother Ink that may be of interest to those of you printing packing slips, shipping labels, and internet coupons. Office Depot has shelf signs up but I didn’t see this sale advertised anywhere else. At my Office Depot in Lafayette Indiana: Buy 2 single Brother ink packs and get a free book of forever stamps – a value of $8.80.

My home office is a flurry of activity during the holiday season. I am shipping more packages because people are Christmas shopping for the puzzlers on their list. I am also stocking my local resale booth several times a week and tagging items for the monthly flea market. Needless to say, I get behind on my sleep and my desk gets messy during the month of December. (My husband will laugh at the implication that my desk is neat the rest of the time.)

I was reaching my limit last night, but once my shipping was done I decided to tag a few more sewing items for the flea market before going to bed. I made my own hang tags, cutting the string as needed. I worked my way through a basket of thread, pin cushions, and miscellaneous sewing notions…finding a few interesting buttons to keep for card making, too.

I was wrapping it up for the night with only a pair of scissors left to tag. I decided they weren’t anything special, but because they were functional I should be able to get a dollar or two. I didn’t think a sticky tag would stay put, so I made a hang tag. I pulled out the string and reached for my office scissors to make the cut, but I couldn’t find them.

Yes, you guessed it…I was in the process of tagging my own scissors. I promise to get more sleep this week!

I have been easing into the Christmas shopping season.

I skipped Black Friday. Yes, I missed it entirely. I realize that I missed some great deals, but I zoned out when my newspaper weighed as much as a sack of potatoes. Is it possible to have advertisement overload? I didn’t even read the store ads…though I did read the Saturday newspaper articles about other shoppers.

My husband and I are attempting to make our holiday shopping stress-free. So far it is working just fine to prioritize and shop with a plan. There are sales every week, both online and in stores, so if we miss one special sale there will be another.

I hope everyone gets what they want for Christmas…but I am taking hot chocolate breaks while I shop for it!