Christmas Shopping

Are you crazy like me? Did you brave the crowds on Black Friday?

I'm a sucker for good deals. I love reading all the ads that come out each week in the Sunday paper (or online these days!) to find out what good deals I can cash in on each week. So, for me, Black Friday is always a fun and exciting time, even though it was really cold outside AND I had to get up really early (but, honestly, with a two month old in the house, I'm usually awake at 4:00 am anyway). We were able to get some pretty good deals on presents (I'm not revealing those now though because they could be for someone who reads my blog!), so I'm glad that we ventured out on the cold Friday morning after Thanksgiving.

My husband found a really cool app for my iPhone that allowed me to do a price comparison with Amazon before I purchased anything in store. It was great to be able to compare the in-store prices with Amazon's prices. Some items I checked were the same price as Amazon, while others, even though they were marked down considerably in store were still more expensive than the Amazon prices. For instance, I was checking out several Melissa and Doug items for Ella at a store where they were on sale - but even the sale prices couldn't compete with Amazon's prices.

Now that Black Friday has passed, I've focused my Christmas shopping more toward online shopping. I like that I can browse tons of different places at once, plus it means I don't have to drag two kids around with me.
If you are doing any online shopping this holiday season (or anytime for that matter), check out Ebates before you purchase. Ebates gives you a small percentage of cash back on your purchases from a wide variety of online stores. It is great to get cash back!

Before becoming a parent, I often wondered how parents could go SO overboard with gifts for their kids. And, really, even last year when Ella wasn't yet a year old, I didn't get it. I get it now! I'm having a hard time holding back from buying her every single fun thing I think she'll enjoy. So far we've only bought her a couple of things (Melissa and Doug latches board and a Buckleyboo (stuffed animal with buckles)), and even though I want to get her more, we probably won't buy much else because she doesn't really need anything else, plus she'll get lots of fun stuff from grandparents and aunts and uncles. I'm still trying to figure out something to get for Troy - I'm stuck (and I'd love suggestions if you've got them!).

And for fun, here's a photo of Ella last year playing after she unwrapped her presents . . . she's grown so much in a year!

Happy Christmas Shopping to All! If you've found any great deals, I'd love to hear about them!

Ebates

I love shopping online. I also love saving money. What could be better than shopping online and saving money? Here's where Ebates comes in. My mom and sister had been telling me about Ebates for a while, but I kept forgetting to check it out. I finally made my way over to the site before I purchased Ella's convertible car seat, and I'm glad I did.

Ebates is associated with tons of online stores. Before purchasing an item, you sign into your Ebates account, and shop in the store through Ebates. When you purchase an item, you'll get a certain percentage cash back (percentages vary by store). Ebates sometimes also has special coupons for stores. You get paid by check or Paypal 4 times a year. You can also choose to donate your cash back to a charity.

I got $8.00 cash back when I purchased Ella's convertible car seat . . . not bad if you ask me!