After Christmas Shopping

I'm often asked about after Christmas shopping plans. December 26th is sorta like my version of black friday. I guess the best way to explain it, is to tell you a few of what I buy and why. Of course each store decides what items go on markdown based on their idea of "seasonal", so make sure you use a scanner to price check the items before you head to the register.

• Ritz snowflake crackers - they are the same cracker as any other Ritz only with the winter design. I use them to serve with cheese etc or even to make into bread crumbs.
• Gingerbread Pop tarts - my kids love the gingerbread flavored pop tarts and don't care much that they have holiday designs on them. These are a special "treat" for them, at half price I am willing to buy an extra box for them to enjoy.
• Holiday color/designed ziploc bags - although the boxes of design bags tend to hold less baggies, when they are marked down they work out to be cheaper than the regular ones. If your kids don't like to use them after the holidays, they will store till next fall.
• Cake mixes/cookie mixes/canned frosting/sprinkles - check the expiration dates and you will find that most are good past NEXT christmas. Buy ahead and save or simply use in anothr holiday that uses the same color (ie red for valentines day, green for St Patricks day etc)

So now that you see part of my list you understand that I am stocking up on stuff I use everyday. Keep in mind that I can still use coupons on these items too, making them even cheaper. A few items you don't see on my list are wrapping and ornaments...that because you can typically find them for 40% off durring the regular season, so 50% doesn't sound like a good enough discount to justify storing them for a whole year. Now if you can wait and find them at 70% off, then yes, I buy them.