Christmas

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3 Tips for Saving on Christmas Clearance

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This post is almost reaching the point of becoming outdated, but I promised I would publish it this week and I didn’t share these tips last year, so I’m going to keep my word 🙂 . Even still, there are a good number of stores that still have clearance items out for sale, so this may help a some of you!

Earlier this month, I went out and picked up a few clearance items of my own.  I’m shopping small this year. VERY SMALL.  I purchased 16 items for a total of  $14.12 (before tax) and a savings of $55.26.  I believe I have a photo of my receipt from 2014 floating around here somewhere.  I’ll do a longer strategy post next year and recap that haul.  (Stay tuned).

My local Wal-Mart had their items marked down to 75 percent off on the day I visited so they may be at 80 or even 90 percent off to get that final push before clearing the holiday inventory. Here’s a copy of my receipt!

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There are three simple rules I follow when it comes to holiday clearance shopping. No matter what the holiday is, the rules remain consistent.

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Christmas Time is Here…

I’m happy to be back home after spending most of the past week out of town.

One of the big things on my to-do list was to finish decorating our main Christmas tree.

We started a tradition of having a “Purple and Gold” themed tree a few years ago and I enjoy finding unique ways to add a few new ornaments to the tree each year.

This post features a few of the ornaments I added to our collection this year and some of my Christmas clearance & decorating tips.

Of all the ornaments I’ve purchased over the years, I was most impressed by these two from Matashi crystals.

In fact, the packaging was so nice, I included photos in this post. You can check them out below.  They would be perfect for gift giving and would equally impress any avid collector or general individual celebrating a special occasion around the Christmas holiday (Wedding, anniversary, baby’s 1st Christmas, etc.).
I purchased their hanging icicle ornament and a butterfly ornament. Both are 24k gold plated and adorned with precision cut Matashi® crystals.

Crystal Studded Icicle Hanging Ornament by Matashi

Butterfly in a Hoop Ornament by Matashi

3 Christmas Clearance & Decorating Tips

1. Plan ahead: As I already mentioned, I  know we’re going to do a purple and gold tree each year. At the end of the Christmas holiday, I go to the stores and look for purple and gold ornaments that have been marked down to my liking– The lower the better!

2. Don’t be afraid to mix it up: I mix up old and new ornaments as well as high and low end.  I like the look of a full tree, so I’ll use some bold, “statement piece” type ornaments alongside cheaper, dollar store, ornaments.

3. Check thrift stores! When we started with our Purple and Gold theme, I struggled to find purple ornaments that I  liked. One day, I went by a Goodwill store in another part of town and LITERALLY found a gold basket filled with purple and gold ornaments. It was JUST what I needed and they were gorgeous! Always be mindful of the item quality and sanitation, but don’t overlook thrift stores!

The dark purple and gold and the gold star ornaments are from my Goodwill find!

Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments.  I didn’t include product links in this initial post, but I’ll be adding them soon! (Post has been updated. Contains affiliated links.)

I have a few other ornaments that I’ll share later (to keep this post from getting any longer) and I’ll post a photo of the tree once it’s done!

If you’re up for more reading, here’s a link to one of my older posts with some step-by-step directions for making your own personalized ornaments!

Until next time, Happy Fixing! 😄