Seasonal Surprises

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Each year, just after Christmas, a friend and I hit the local stores (Garden Ridge, Target, Walmart, etc) to pick up extra seasonal items on the cheap. The upside to this habit are the great deals we get – regularly priced items are marked down 50-80% off just before New Years, saving each of us a pantload on the next year’s decor. The downside is that all my pretty new purchases have to immediately go into storage. Boo.

Since I don’t actually use the item the year I bought it, I often forget what I wound up purchasing – and what I originally intended to use it as. So each year, as Thanksgiving draws to a close, I open up my giant tub of Christmas decor to find new surprises. It’s almost like a present to myself:  I get new gear I don’t remember having before, the satisfaction that I know I didn’t pay full price, and a wave of creativity for what to do with them.

This year, the items I don’t remember buying last year are:

In addition to these candle holders, it seems I have picked up a ton of gift bags, wrapping paper, bows, and tissue paper – enough to meet my gifting needs for about ten years. Which, as you know, is a good thing since those things are so scarce this year. Glad I filled an entire box with it. (It’s at this point I wonder why I thought this was such a good idea).

And, the things I do remember buying include:

That’s right, I got my tree discounted about two years ago just after Christmas. The price for my pre-lit, 7 foot tree? $35 smackers.

So, while there isn’t much decor-wise that I purchased last year, I consider it a good thing:  when moving from an apartment to a three bedroom, two story house, how was I to know what I’d need? Now, the tree trimming fun begins.

Storage image from here.