What to Buy on Sale Around the Holidays
I love the holiday and post-holiday sales. They pull me in like a magnet. Who can really resist a killer deal when you think about it. We live on a tight budget. With 5 kids and the zoo in tow we need to pay attention to sales to get the most for our money. I love to hit the holiday food sales and the after Christmas sales to stock up on things my family needs for less. Sometimes these deals allow me to get a better deal than making items that are usually cheaper not to not buy and make yourself.
What should you buy on sale during the holidays?
Kids clothes and shoes. This time of year major retailers want your money and to get your attention they put things your kids need on sale. Stores like The Children’s Place hold huge sales making everyday items from t-shirts to sneakers brand new for thrift store prices. Look for items you can use later in the year and stock up. Last year I got the big kids warm flannel Pajamas for $1 a set. In-store clearance sales are one of my favorite tricks to save money on kids clothes.
The holidays are a great time to stock up on food deals to help feed your family all year. Canned cooking milks, vegetables, and baking staples are at an all-time low for the year. Allocate a bit of your grocery budget to do a big stock up while the prices are so low. If you have the freezer room grab turkeys and hams on sale. Cook and carve to take up less space in the freezer and give you easy to grab and go food for the next few months.
Snag new cookware, baking pans, and china sets with the holiday sales worth get the best deals of the year besides random clearance finds through the year. Kitchen supplies from solid color dish clothes to mixing bowls, spoons, and pans you can find nearly all of your kitchen gear on sale during the holidays. These sales are meant for families looking for new or better for serving large holiday meals. Perhaps they destroyed that roasting pan when they burnt the turkey last year?
Makeup, nail polish, and other beauty supplies go on sale in gift sets the day after Christmas. This is a great way to stock up on very cheap body wash and even deodorant for the year. Take advantage and grab bath sets for a huge discount of body washes, luffas, fragrances, and other commonly needed items. The fun baskets and containers are great for storage as well.
Candles go on sale for the holidays but many are more year-round fragrances so now is the time to stock up for your home and gifts throughout the year. The holidays are the perfect time to snag large jar candles for your emergency kit.
Wrapping supplies. Solid colors work all year round and you can grab them on clearance right after Christmas. If you have room to store it stock up on next years wrapping paper so you don’t have to pay full price next year on wrapping paper.
Think out of the box when shopping holiday sales.
Do you like to go camping or have guests over often throughout the year? Air mattresses around the holidays and with the exception of the camping clearance deals this is the best time to snag them. Grab them now so you can have them without paying the higher prices that come around when the weather warms up.
Socks and undergarments are a great item to grab during the Black Friday sales. We like to stock up on these for the kids that always seem to be losing these everyday basics when the sales hit their lowest.
Board games are at the best prices of the year. If you do a family game night or need to buy gifts for birthdays and such throughout the year stock up on family favorite boards games for next to nothing during the holidays.
Are you traveling or does your family eat out often? You can save money on eating out at your favorite restaurants by taking advantage of gift card sales around the holidays. Some of your favorite restaurants will have buy a card on X amount and get a card of a smaller amount for free. Use the cards together to save money on your meals out. Pair these with gift cards you earn on InstaGC and Swagbucks for even better deals.