Sweet Deals

I've gotten some great deals lately and I had to tell you about them!!  There are 8 different things I have to tell you about today.  I'm talking about teacher gift ideas, family fun and game day gear.  So many good deals to be had if you do a little looking around.

1. Wal-Mart:
$9.87 for a beautiful Fall bouquet!  I just love the mix of colors and the variety of flowers.

Kitchen Towels: So many cute patterns and sayings for $1.88.  I picked up a couple of these for teacher gifts for Thanksgiving.  They sell out fast so grab them when you see them!

Pioneer Women: These items clearance out regularly since Ree is always coming out with new stuff!  I picked up this set of mason jar cups with straws and lids for $7.  They're regularly around $12.  They are perfect for smoothies.

2. Under 2 is Free!
There are tons of free activities for kids under 2.  We went to our local bounce house last week and Fletcher got to play for free.  The museum is free, the fairs are often free so pay attention to all of your free little kid options.

3. Book Swaps or Library Sales
My mom's group had a book swap the other night and it was great!  We all brought a stack of books to share and everyone went home with new books.  It was free and the kids loved having new to them books.  My library is also having a big sale this week.

We recently added I'm Not a Scaredy Cat by Max Lucado to our home library.  We are big fans and his books If Only I Had a Green Nose and You Are Special are among our very favorite children's books.  We had high hopes for I'm Not a Scaredy Cat, but it was very disappointing.  The idea of having a book to teach your kids prayers to pray to help them feel brave sounds wonderful.  However, the execution was poor.  The book is very challenging to read aloud due to the choppy, tongue tying text.  The illustrations are cute and make the book interesting.  The prayer that is mentioned throughout the book does not rhyme and is difficult for children to say.  As an adult, I stumbled through reading the entire book.  The story was disjointed and each page felt disconnected from the rest.  My kids had a really difficult time following the story and were confused about the message of the book.  I cannot recommend this book and would instead direct them to Lucado's other great books for kids.  *I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review of it.

 4. Old Navy
These 4 long sleeved boy shirts were just $4.  They were on sale/clearance, I had a coupon from doing a receipt survey and some Old Navy rewards money from shopping with my Old Navy card.  I put a couple purchases on it each month, pay it off and get rewards money mailed to me for free.

5. Aldi
My husband loved this 12 Grain bread.  It's close to $4 at Meijer.  I found a dupe for his Brownberry bread at Aldi for $1.79!!!  He said it was delicious and he didn't notice any difference.  So thank you Aldi for saving me $100 bucks a year just on bread alone.

6. Game Day Apparel
There's nothing I love more than decking our kids out to support our favorite teams.  However, shopping from the Notre Dame bookstore catalog is PRICEY.  So I'm always on the hunt at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Kohls, Goodwilll and Garage sales for game day gear.  My mom picked up this cheerleader uniform for Olive for under $10 and a cute tshirt for Fletcher for around $5.  Both items would have been triple that price from the bookstore.

 7. Free Fun for the Family
Our library hosted a Family Learning Day and it was free!  It was so much fun and the kids came home with a stack of free books and prizes.  The clown nose was the biggest hit.

 8. Free Days
We go to a free science class twice a month for museum members and it's always so much fun!  The kids learn a lot and have a great time.  Watch for free days at your local museums!

 What's the best deal you've gotten lately??