Elf on the Shelf (Light Skinned Girl Elf) $17 Shipped!

I have never seen Elf on the Shelf at this low of a price before!  Right now, Barnes and Noble is offering the light skinned girl elf for just $13.69.  Shipping will be about $3.99 (or free with an order over $25).  Prior to this, the lowest I've ever seen it was $24.95.

So if you haven't already purchased an Elf on the Shelf, this is a great opportunity!  I don't know how long this price break will last. 

Thanks, My Frugal Adventures!

Recipe: Peanut Butter Squares

Here's a fan favorite to add to your holiday baking list:

Peanut Butter Squares
1 cup butter or margarine
1 box confectioners sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
12oz chocolate chips

In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter (approximately 1 minute) in the microwave.  When completely melted, add the confectioners sugar, peanut butter and graham crackers.  Mix completely.  Spread the peanut butter mixture in a 9x13 pan.

Now melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.  Start by putting them in for 1 minute.  Take out and stir.  Then put them in for 30 second increments from there, stirring in between each one, until completely melted.  (I find it typically takes just one 30 second zap after the initial 1 minute to completely melt the chocolate.) 

Spread the chocolate on top of the peanut butter mixture.  Place in the fridge to harden.  Once hard, cut in to squares and serve.

You can also roll the peanut butter mixture in to balls and dip them in to the chocolate.  It makes for much nicer presentation, but it is definitely more time consuming. 

Approximate cost of the squares:  $4.47

• Margarine cost $1 for 2 cups, so only $0.50 in this recipe
• Confectioners sugar cost $1 per box
• Peanut butter cost $2.15 per 16 oz, there's approx. 2 cups in a 16 oz jar, so 1/2 cup is approx. $0.54
• Graham Crackers I bought as whole crackers and made them crumbs myself - the box was $1.88 and I used 1 of the 3 sleeves, so $0.63
• Chocolate chips cost $1.80 per 12oz bag

*Costs may vary slightly be region or the sale you hit!  These are the actual prices I paid for the ingredients (and why I always stock up when I find these rock-bottom prices!)

 

Cardstore: $0.39 Holiday Cards - Today Only!

After all of their great deals so far this season, it is no surprise to me that Cardstore came through again today with a great deal for Cyber Monday!

Today only, you can get your holiday cards for only $0.39 each!  Plus, if you have them send your cards for you, they pay your postage!

So let's think about this... stamps are $0.45, so even if you got your holiday cards for free, but still had to send them yourself, you'd pay $0.45 per card.  Cardstore however, is offering an awesome card, mailed for you for only $0.39!  It's almost like you're making $0.06 on every card!

If you haven't made your holiday cards yet, this is definitely the deal to jump on!  I'm sure you have some great photos to use from the long holiday weekend!

Just click the picture above to get started making your cards!

Groupon: $20 Toys R Us Voucher for Only $10

Through tomorrow you can buy a $20 voucher to Toys R Us for only $10 from Groupon!  If you'll be shopping at Toys R Us this holiday season, this is a great deal! 

The fine print:
Limit 1 per person. In-store only. Not valid outside USA. Not valid until 11/23/12 at 5PM. Not valid toward Buyer Protection Plan, gift cards including those for digital content, photo studios, phone orders, special orders, assembly fee, breast-pump rental fee, delivery fee, or shipping & handling. Valid only on a purchase of $20 or more. Not withstanding anything above or below, vouchers not valid with Toys"R"Us after 12/24/12. Thereafter, Groupon will refund amount paid in Groupon credit for unredeemed vouchers.

Holiday Baking Tip

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  And if you braved the stores or shopped from home today, I hope you found some great deals! 

Now that we are officially in the Holiday Season, that means it's time for holiday baking!  My favorite! 

My tip for tonight is to bake when you can and freeze your baked goods!  This tip will save you some time and some sanity if you are planning on entertaining or even just bringing baked goods to a holiday get together this year.

Everyone is very busy, so when you have the time to bake, even if it's 3 weeks before the event, do your baking then.  When the event rolls around, take out your baked goods and enjoy! 

My mom has been freezing her baked goods for years and years now and they are always just as delicious after they've thawed as they were when they were fresh out of the oven.  The only item I've never tried freezing is pies.  But cupcakes, cake pops, cookies of all kinds, brownies, fudge.  I've frozen them all and they all taste great thawed!  (This may be obvious to some, but don't frost your cupcakes before you freeze them.)

Happy Baking!

Cardstore: 75% Off Holiday Cards!

If you haven't ordered your holiday cards yet, you have yet another chance with Cardstore!  Through Sunday, 11/25, they are offering 75% off their holiday cards.  If you haven't seen my other posts on Cardstore, it really is an amazing deal, and here's the biggest reason why:

If you put in your addresses and have Cardstore send your cards for you, they will stamp your cards for you... for free!  Free postage!

The majority of their cards start at $2.29, however, go down in price with the more you order.  But we'll use $2.29 as an example.  Your $2.29 is now only $0.57 per card!  AND... if you have Cardstore send your cards out for you, that $0.57 is your card AND postage!  Amazing!

Just click on the picture above to get started!  Use CCN2175 at check out.

I ordered my cards through Cardstore last year and I loved them.  I loved the card and I thought they were nice quality.  This year I've also ordered my cards through them and I'm even having them send them out for me - I mean, it's free postage!  It was really easy to do and didn't take long to enter all my addresses.  As long as Cardstore continues to offer these deals, I can't see myself getting cards from anywhere else!

Great Deals at Gap

Gap is having a wonderful sale right now.  The entire store (as well as online) is up to 60% off and you can get an additional 20% off your order when you enter GAPGIFT at check out. 

The up to 60% off sale is through Saturday, 11/24, but the additional 20% off is only through tonight.  They are also promising great deals on Black Friday like $19 sweaters and and kid graphic tees for $5. 

If you don't know what you're wearing for the holidays (like me), this might be a good chance to find an outfit!  Shipping is free on orders over $50.  In my experience, as long as you hit the $50 before coupons, you will still get free shipping!

Snapfish: Buy 1, Get 2 Free Photobooks and Calendars

Snapfish is offering 2 free photobooks when you buy 1 through 11/20/12.  The same is being offered for their photo calendars! 

For the photo book offer, use the code TREATUBOOK at check out.  For the photo calendar offer, use the code TREATUCAL at check out. 

The 8x8 photo book (my personal favorite size) starts at $19.99 for 20 pages.  Shipping will probably run around $10.  So for $30, you have 3 photo books - only $10 each!  That's a wonderful price for photo books!

The photo calendars look to be priced the same and shipping should be about the same, so it would be about $10 per photo calendar.  I would say it's a better deal for the photo books.  But not a terrible price for the calendars.

Cardstore.com - $0.29 Cards Today Only!

Cardstore is at it again!  Today only they are offering all of their holiday cards for $0.29, PLUS they will mail them for you - for free!  That's right, you won't even have to pay for the stamps! 

So many of my readers have already taken advantage of some of the great deals at Cardstore this season and have literally saved hundreds of dollars on their cards! 

This is probably their best promotion yet, so if you haven't bought your cards yet, today is the day to do it! 

Just click the picture above to get started!  Then at check out, enter code CCN1629.

140 Return Address Labels for Under $4 Shipped!

On top of the 6 free items from VistaPrint that I told you about last night, they are also offering free return address labels - just pay shipping!

If you aren't ordering your holiday cards through Cardstore and having them send your cards for you, these would be great labels for your holiday cards.  I made some with little Santa's on them a few years ago and they are adorable!

Other ideas for the labels:
- A house-warming gift
- Labels on school supplies
- Labels on toys
- Gift tags (make them to say "Merry Christmas!  Love, Katie")

You don't just have to put your address on them, so get creative!

If you haven't yet ordered your Christmas cards through Cardstore, I really would encourage you to think about it.  They will send them out for you (and pay your postage!), so you don't need to worry about address labels! 

Thank you, My Litter!

Oriental Trading: Free Shipping - No Minimum Purchase!

Oriental Trading is offering FREE shipping through November 16 on every order, no minimum purchase!  Just enter WCE3688 at check out.

Take a good look around their site, you'll find crafts, scrapbooking supplies, holiday costumes (elf, santa, snowman), and much, much more!

Check out their sale section as well.  You may be able to find some nice scrapbooking supplies for a scrapbook-er on your holiday list.  Or some craft supplies for your children.

Take a look around!

20 Personalized Gift Tags - Only $2.25 Shipped

Just a reminder about this deal.  I just received mine today and they are adorable!

Ink Garden is offering 20 FREE personalized gift tags to their new customers. You will just pay $2.25 in shipping. That works out to about $0.11 per gift tag!

I think these are adorable! I just ordered a set and I chose the above pattern.

What I love about these is that they have options that include a picture and others where you just customize your name. Also, you can customize what the tag says, so if you want to change "Warm Holiday Wishes" on this one to something else, you can do that!

What a nice, personal, touch these would be to your packages this holiday! And $2.25 for 20 is cheaper than what you can buy at the store for generic ones!

This offer runs through December 17th. You just need to enter FREETAGS at check out. Just a note - when I ordered mine, on the first page of check out, it looked like the promo was automatically applied. But then as I got further in to the check out, it no longer looked like the promo was applied. I was able to apply it on that page no problem. But my advice to you is to put the promo in on the first page, even though it may look like it was applied automatically.

Thanks, Hip 2 Save!

Vistaprint: 6 Free Items - Just Pay Shipping

Vistaprint is offering 6 FREE products right now, you just pay shipping.  I just ordered all 6 of the FREE items and my shipping was $11.83.  So for $11.83, I got:

- 250 Business Cards (pictured above)

- 10 Holiday Cards

- Personalized Photo Calendar

- Personalized Mug

- Personalized Tote Bag

- Personalized T-Shirt

You can pick one or all of the free items, that's up to you.  Here are a few tips for you:

- For some reason whenever I picked a photo card, it charged me $2.75 for photo upload.  So I ended up just picking a card without a photo.

- The mug and tote bag have "vistaprint" printed on them in small printing, so that would be up to you if you want to use it as a gift.  I opted not to use the mug as a gift, but I am using the tote bag as a gift bag.

- I've seen on other blogs that their shipping was less.  Maybe it was the part of the country I'm in, I have no idea.  But I would venture to guess that your shipping wouldn't be any higher than mine.

- Always pick the slowest method of delivery, in my experience the products always come faster than advertised.

- I found the best way to order all 6 items was to click here, order your first item, put it in your cart, then come back to the blog and click here again to go back in, order the next item and so forth. 

If you don't have a need for business cards, one cute idea I've seen is to make "mommy cards" with your contact information to give to other moms to set up for play dates, etc. 

Don't forget to order through Ebates (I totally forgot!  Bummer!) to get 5% back.

GIVE-A-WAY - Celebrating & Savoring: a simple Christmas ebook

Can you tell that Crystal from Money Saving Mom is one of my favorite bloggers?  Crystal is an expert a frugal and simple living - her stories are absolutely inspiring.

Crystal has written a new ebook called Celebraing & Savoring:  a simple Christmas.  It's being released today and she's selling it for only $0.99 through Thursday!  I purchased my copy this morning - I can't wait to read it!

From Crystal:

In this book you'll learn to:

- Organize your  Christmas list

- Make and stick with a Christmas budget

- Freezer cook for the holidays

- Make memorable family activities

- Simple and inexpensive homemade gifts

- Get your home in order

- Savor the meaning of the season

... and much more

Even more exciting is that Crystal has given me a copy of her ebook to give away to one of my readers!

To enter the give-a-way, please email me at holidaysforless@yahoo.com and let me know which of the following actions below you've taken.  You will be entered in the give-a-way 1 time for each action you take (so up to 3 times):

1. Follow Holidays for Less (the blue button on the right hand side that says "Join this Site").

2. Like Holidays for Less on Facebook (if you already like Holidays for Less, that counts too!) - click the "F" at the top right of the blog to connect to our Facebook page.

3. Follow Holidays for Less on Twitter (if you already follow Holidays for Less, that counts too!). Just click the birdie in the circle at the top right of the blog (next to the F and P in circles) to follow on Twitter.

The give-a-way will close at 5pm Wednesday and the winner will be chosen at random and announced Wednesday night! 

Who Do You Send Holiday Cards To?

Holiday cards are expensive for three reasons:

1. The cards themselves are expensive
2. The postage is expensive
3. The sheer number of cards you send out makes this ritual really expensive!

Here's how you can cut down on those costs:

1. Take advantage of the deals I post here on the blog (maybe check out this Cardstore post)
2. Take advantage of the Cardstore deal and have them send your cards out for you - they pay your postage!
3. Now what to do about how many cards to send out... personally, I send to certain family and then to friends that sent to us last year.  Either keep your cards from last year and use that as your list as you're doing this year's cards.  Or as you're packing up your holiday decorations at the end of the year, make a quick list of everyone you received a card from this year.  This will be your holiday card list for the following year.  My mom taught me this trick years ago and it really does help to cut down on the number of cards you need to send.

Thank you, Staci, for reminding me of this great tip!

That's So Pinteresting...

Photo Credit

 

You've probably heard of Pinterest already.  If you haven't yet joined, you really need to!  If you need an invitation to join (not sure if they're still doing that), let me know and I'll send you an invite.  Pinterest is wonderful for so many reasons, but it really can help you save money on any entertaining that you do!

 

I could probably devote a whole blog (not just blog post) about how wonderful Pinterest is and how it can help you save money, so I'll try and keep this as concise as possible!

 

The ideas that are posted to Pinterest are truly inspiring.  The amount of creativity (both manifested in to a physical representation as well as the mental creativity) that is out there is absolutely amazing!  Here is my top five ways to use these inspirational "pins" to your favor when entertaining/planning for your holiday:

 

1.  Holiday decorations:  The picture above is just one example of a thrifty, yet beautiful idea you can find on Pinterest.  I've actually done this in years past (I wish I had a picture of it!) - just gather some sticks/twigs from your back yard, spray paint them and arrange them in a vase.  If you already had spray paint on hand, that's a decoration for $0!  Even if you had to purchase the spray paint, it's a cheap decoration!  There are tons of other decoration inspiration you can find on Pinterest as well.

 

2.  Homemade gift ideas:  I've pinned quite a few lists of different homemade gift ideas.  Some of these ideas are really genius!  I'm always afraid that a home made gift will come out cheesy looking - but some of these ideas (like cookie mix in a jar, etc) are great small ideas that will definitely look great!

 

3.  Stocking stuffer ideas:  Again, I've pinned quite a few lists of different stocking stuffer ideas for all different people!  The list that I value the most is stocking stuffers for men.  Seriously, they are so hard to find good stocking stuffers for!

 

4.  Inexpensive gift ideas:  A list of gifts under $5?  Yes, please!  I don't love all of the $5 gift ideas, but I've seen some really creative and cute ones!  Ideas that I wouldn't mind receiving as a gift!

 

5.  Party foods and drinks:  I've seen some of the coolest food and drink ideas on Pinterest.  Crudites in the shape of a Christmas tree - adorable! 

 

Seriously, I could go on and on.  If you haven't used Pinterest before, definitely check it out.  If you use it religously (me!), try to find ideas that will save you on holiday gifts or entertaining and don't just pin the idea - actually try it!

 

If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, you can click the little "P" in the upper right hand corner of the blog, or click here.

 

Five FREE 4x8 Photo Cards from Rite Aid!

From now until 11/17, Rite Aid is offering 5 FREE photo cards with the code 5FREECARDS at check out! 

I'll be honest, I think Rite Aid is terrible to deal with - poor customer service & too many hoops to jump through for their deals.  However... when they are offering up free photos or free photo cards, I will take advantage of the offer!

I've ordered my cards already, so here are my tips to make your experience a little easier:

1. Head to the rite aid photo center online and either log in or register
2. Before you even start to look at cards, I would recommend uploading the pictures that you want to use.  I didn't do this and it was a pain for me to upload my photos after I picked out my card.
3. Then go to Cards at the top and pick 4x8 cards.  You don't just have to do a holiday card, you can do any kind of 4x8 card that you'd like.
4. After you make your card and get to the check out process, enter the cod 5FREECARDS in the promo code box.  For me, it didn't change the price, it looked like I was still being charged $3.75.  I put the code in probably 50 times and nothing changed.  On a whim, I continued with the check out process and once I was in the next screen, it showed my total as $0.
5. You will not need to put in any credit card information.
6. Choose ship to store and pick your store.

I'll take 5 free photo cards any day!  I'll be using these and the 10 free from cardstore the other day (no longer available) to pass out at work.

Thanks, Hip 2 Save!

Entertaining for Less: Shop at Big Box Stores (BJ's, Costco, etc) for Your Baking Supplies

 

Have you ever bought your baking supplies at BJ's, Costco or Sams Club?  Honestly, I had never thought about it until a few months ago, and boy was I happy with what I found!  Most baking supplies were cheaper at BJ's than they were at the grocery store! 

 

Here's a list of the cost of baking supplies at my BJ's (prices may vary by region, but these should be pretty close to what you'll find):

 

1. Peanut butter:  $10.49 for (2) 40oz jars = $2.10 per 16oz jar (this is a fabulous price!)
2. Pam spray:  $6.99 for (2) 12oz cans = $3.50/12oz can
3. Gold Medal Flour:  $4.99 for 10lbs = $0.50/lb
4. Yeast:  $4.49 for 2lbs = $2.25/lb or $0.14/oz
5. Domino Sugar:  $5.49 for 10lbs = $0.55/lb
6. Confectioners Sugar:  $3.19 for 4lbs = $0.80/lb
7. Brown Sugar:  $3.19 for 4lbs = $0.80/lb

 

These are all very good prices for these baking supplies.  If nothing else, use these prices as a comparison when you're shopping.  There is absolutely a chance that during this big baking season you'll find a better price at your local grocery store.  At least by using this list as a comparison, you'll know that you're getting a good deal! 

 

A note on the peanut butter:  peanut butter keeps going up in price and now my "great" price at the grocery store is $2.50 or under for a 16oz jar.  So to be able to buy it for the equivalent of $2.10 per 16oz jar is wonderful!  Outside of a fantastic sale elsewhere, I will never buy peanut butter anywhere else!

Play N Fold Art Studio by Crayola - $19 Shipped to Store!

Walmart.com has this Crayola Play N Fold Art Studio on sale for only $19 right now.  That's over 50% off!  My daughter has a very similar one and loves it!  The top part flips down to make a desk - and the great part is that it is very easy for children to do.  My daughter was 3 when she got this, and she was able to do it from the get-go!

If you have the item shipped to the store, it will be free shipping. 

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Using your Local Library to Save on the Holidays

I love my local library.  I bring the kids their frequently after school to play a little, pick out a book and pick out a movie.  It's new toys for my daughter to play with - free entertainment - and she gets to pick out a new book and movie to enjoy! 

Have you ever thought about using your local library as a resource to help you save money during the holidays?  Here's 5 ways you can use the resources at your library to save you money on your holiday fun:

1. Holiday books - my library has a display in the children's area that rotates with the seasons.  Right now there are Thanksgiving, Hanukka and Christmas books out.  Bring your children to pick out new holiday books to read.
2. Holiday movies - our library has a movie section in the children's department and they rotate in seasonal movies (Halloween, Christmas, etc).  Let your children pick out a holiday movie to enjoy!
3. Cake pans - I'm not sure this will be found at every library, but my library lends out cake pans.  I think this is the coolest thing. They have a whole catalogue of their pans online (or at the library), so you can see if they have the pan you want before you go there.  I would just recommend washing yourself first before you use it, otherwise, I love this service!  If you want to make a fancy cake, there is no need to shell out the money to buy the pan yourself.  Check your library's website to see if they offer this.
4. Cookie cutters - just like the cake pans above, I'm not sure if every library offers this.  My library does lend out cookie cutters as well.  They are all categorized by occasion and they have multiples of what I would guess were the more popular ones (Christmas, Easter, etc).  Just like with the cake pans, I would recommend washing these yourself first.  Definitely ask your library if they offer this.
5. Children's events - my library puts out a calendar of events for children for each season.  Our calendar currently goes through the end of December and has fun holiday events around Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas.  All the events are free to attend, you just need to register ahead of time!

I would encourage you to check out the resources your library offers.  If they can save you from purchasing a cake pan, cookie cutters or new holiday books or movies, they could save you quite a bit of money!  I hope you find fun resources like mine provides!