I am one of those obnoxious people. Well to anyone who knows me, this is no surprise. But let me clarify a moment. I am one of those obnoxious people who when you tell you like something about their outfit immediately tells you where they got it and how much it is. And not in a “oh my goodness look at my designer shirt I paid $450 for”, but in a “oh my goodness look at my designer shirt I just got for TWENTY BUCKS.” That is about the moment my husband ducks his head in embarrassment.

I love a bargain. And I love to shop. Which is why me and TJMaxx/Marshalls go together like peas and carrots. I love a store where I can get high end clothes and home products at half the price of a regular department stores. Plus I don’t like the feeling I get in most department stores. That feeling that I don’t belong there or at least my wallet doesn’t belong there. I swear to you if I won the lottery tomorrow I just don’t understand paying those prices for clothes. Not when I can have twice as many from a discount store.

Part of the reason I like TJMaxx and Marshalls so much is that they have a good variety of merchandise. I love the clothes and shoes of course. Oh, and the purses. I LOVE getting purses there. But I also get a lot of toys there, especially for gifts. And you truly can find the greatest little gems in their home department. I got all the bedding for Lily’s room at TJMaxx and I love the Christmas decor I found at Marshalls this year.

And here is the best part. I love Target as much as the next guy. Seriously I love me some Target. But a lot of times you get what you pay for. At TJMaxx and Marshalls you can find designer merchandise so the quality is much better. Which totally gives you more street cred when you play the whole “guess how much I paid for this Ralph Lauren towel?” game. I must tell you I just wrote that and am totally giggling trying to think of a scenario where you would be discussing the price of your Ralph Lauren towels in everyday conversation. It’s not like you break out the bath towels at a dinner party. But maybe if it was that much of a steal, you just might.

If you are looking to make your holiday budget stretch a little bit further, I would seriously check these stores out. They are both constantly updating their merchandise and you can seriously get tons of shopping done in one store. And since the deals are so good, throw a little something in the cart to you from Santa. Preferably a purse.

  I remember the first time I passed a Build-a-Bear Workshop. I thought, “What a cute idea, but I am sure it is ridiculously overpriced and gimmicky.” Then someone gave Lily a gift certificate to get a bear for Christmas. So she went and I went along with my full on skeptic attitude. Lily loved it. Majorly loved it and her adorable giraffe she made still sits on her bed on the occasion that she actually makes it (note to self: Obama makes his girls make their beds, how is it you can’t find the time or energy?).

There is something about creating something that is unique and special to just your child that makes their eyes light up. Now I realize there are other stuffed giraffes floating around, but are they dressed up like a fairy princess and named after Lily’s earliest and most precious childhood friend? Doubtful.

What I didn’t know is the Build-A-Bear has some special things up its sleeves for the Christmas season. A few adorable limited edition animals including a cute pair of moose (really, really resisting the urge to say mooses or meece) who are accompanied by a Christmas storybook. “Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure”to be exact. And it is free when you buy the pair of meece (resist failed) which is a $40 value for only $24.

There are tons of non-hoilday animals you can make too and they start as low as $10. Of course things start adding up when your hubby starts eyeing the Red Wings hockey outfit that he can dress the bear in. But we just keep things affordable by setting a price limit or allowing Lily to dig into her allowance money. You can also record a sound message to play each time the animal is hugged.

Another thing new in the Build-A-Bear world is Build-A-Bearville where your child can play games, decorate a Cub Condo and buy all sorts of things in online currency. Smart thinking, jumping on the Webkinz band wagon. Lily loves playing Webkinz games so I am super excited to show her this site when she gets her moose at Christmas.

Need a last minute Christmas gift? Speaking from experience, get some Bear Bucks gift cards. The great thing is that you aren’t just getting a toy, you are getting a memorable experience. You can see if there is a workshop near you or you can order online. Just know that some of the prices may seem higher online because some of the animals are already dressed in outfits.

The best part of all? I have a $10 Bear Buck gift card to give away to a lucky reader. You can keep it to have some fun with your kids or give it away as a Christmas gift. Since we are inching ever so close to Christmas, I am going to keep the contest short. You have until midnight this Saturday, December 20th to enter. I will contact the winner on Sunday and get it mailed right out. To enter simply leave a comment telling me what your favorite Build-A-Bear animal is. I am telling you, this zebra had me at hello.

But wait, that’s not all. We’ll also throw in a set of steak knives. No, I am just kidding. Steak knives and stuffed animals seems as though it would be in poor taste. Not that poor taste is off limits around these parts. I digress. But you can get an extra entry by participating in Things I Love Thursday. Simply write a post on your blog about something you love and link back up over here. You can find more info about how to that here. All I ask is that in addition to signing the Mr. Linky with the link to your post, you leave an additional comment saying you do so. Redundant? Yes, but it makes it so much easier to draw a winner from the numbered comments. And easy is how I prefer it during the crazy holiday season.

*Comments have been closed. Random.org has spoken. Congrats to Mama Mia (The Diaper Diaries longest and most faithful reader) for her win.

Got it? Comment. Link up. Comment again. Win stuff. Enjoy.

  I am kind of recycling this post. But not really. I mean I posted on this idea before and used the same picture before, but everything else is new. So let’s just consider it new and fresh and ignore the fact that I have a pile of Christmas cards to address after taking 300 pictures in which my kids made weird faces and/or looked off into space. Joy to the World, fa la la la la.

I love getting Christmas cards every year. I rush to the mailbox everyday and open cards with wild abandon. Bonus if there is a Christmas letter. I know some people loathe them, but I actually love to hear what is going on with people as well as see their cutie kids. And I totally have a big old spreadsheet where I mark each person down and if it has been more than three years since I got a card- CUT from the list!! I am a scrooge like that. Cause, dude!! Our list is long and keeps getting longer and cards, postage, stationary, labels=taking out second mortgage on the house (except for you Court, you know you have a permanent place on the list even though you NEVER SEND A CARD).

I have tried many a card display method. But nothing has worked better than my current method and outside of an occasional card falling on your head, it works quite well.

I just tape them up around the door frame and then everyday we add to the mix. I love that they are out in the open adding to my Christmas decor and see the faces of so many cute kids smiling at me throughout the day. This is especially nice in those moments when I am banging my head against said door frame cause my own cute kids are being anything but cute.

For more ideas, head over to Rocks In My Dryer.