Holiday Christmas Shopping Target

I am one of those people who like to have all the Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving so that I never have to deal with huge mall crowds or long lines wasting my weekends in December. Plus aren’t there a million holiday parties to go to in December? They start early in the month with the work related ones and then continue to friends, family and your own household. So do yourself a favor and start your shopping now.

The first step is writing a list of people that you have to buy gifts for. If you are unsure if a neighbor or coworker would be getting you a gift or not, err on the side of caution and get them something small even if they don’t end up getting you something. It’s always better to be generous than not.

Then there are a million sites online that can help you shop and some even have online coupons for extra discounts. Most guys on your list will be interested in electronics and gadgets. The best place for those is Amazon and there are Amazon coupon codes here. Target is also a great place for shopping for kids gifts. I have to send some cute gifts to both my honorary nieces this year and plan to look for educational toys at Target. They also have cute clothes and books for kids that are great too. There are some Target Coupons here.

It’s never too early to start planning because when December comes you will have enough to deal with for the parties you have to attend and the food and decoration preparation you do in your own home. Why not get all the shopping done now, and check that off the list first?

What groceries people buy…

Last weekend I was at the Jewel food store and I was waiting in a long line with all the other working people who had the 2 day weekend to get all their shopping and household chores finished and I couldn’t help but notice what other people were buying. I get picked on a fair amount among friends and relatives for not knowing how to cook. I can boil and egg, make fried eggs, scrambled eggs, an omlette, pancakes, french toast and bake cookies but that’s about it. If it’s not for breakfast or with an egg I probably can’t cook it. Especially if it involves meat and no grill. I am the kind of person who thinks that putting a frozen lasagna in the oven for a hour is both cooking and stressful because I am not really sure how to operate my oven. (although I bought this place 6 years ago)

What I was suprised to find was that it looks like I am not the only one who occupies this category of shopper. And I wonder if I am this way because I want to be, and I find things that are no-cook to support my needs? Or if I was driven this direction by the prepared foods movement that all the food manufacturing companies have invented and deposited in my grocery store? The age old chicken or egg question?

As I looked around at the people’s carts in line around me I saw a lot of similar things to what I had in my cart. Bread and sandwich makings, salad vegetables, frozen vegetables, frozen lean cuisine, yogurt, fruit like apples, grapes and peaches. Sports drinks, mostly by people who look like they haven’t played a sport in at least 10 years, packaged snacks, granola bars, chips, dips, soda, milk and cereal. None of which require any cooking at all.

Where was the Martha Stewart clone with the flour, eggs, paprika, spices, sugar, rare vegetables, fresh meat and freshly grown herbs? Isn’t that what they put in the grocery store commericals and print ads??

So, we still have that image of a grocery store as a place to buy raw ingredients but we don’t actually buy them. Why don’t they advertise grocery stores as no-cook grocery stores? That would be a niche for people like me. Nothing for me that isn’t coming out of a cardboard box please. Oh right, those stores are called convienient stores.

I wonder if it is our societal laziness and procrastination that leads us to this place where we consume foods manufactured with ingredients from China (which has no FDA regulations) and consume additives that we can’t pronounce while trusting the agribusiness and food manufacturing companies the whole time. We really have no idea what the effect will be on the lifespan of our generation who was raised on Chef Boyardee rather than Chef Mom the cook. Will average expected lifespans shorten? Will we all shrivel into a lump of red number 5?

I am not sure, but if I can be a Martha Stewart fan and not know how to cook a chicken to save my life it is possible that at some point the grocery stores won’t carry the ingredients anymore and only pre-prepared foods. I think sometimes that living more organic and less processed would be good for me and for our country as a whole, but alas, I have no idea how to do that and working 50 hrs a week doesn’t really allow for a cooking class. So I guess I am not going to find out…

Value for your dollar

I do post about a lot of consumerist topics here even though I am a marketer and this is supposed to be a marketing and advertising blog most of the time. I think my background in work helps me see through the sales ploys and marketing tactics and see what the real value is. I’m not stupid, and I won’t be taken advantage of by big fat corporations.

Today for example, I was at the mall because my brother had to buy some new clothes for work, and he needs a lot of help putting things together. (yes really) so I go and look around at the women’s section of the Gap where he is buying shirts and sweaters and see a cute Green T-Shirt with a square neck and this gathered look across the front that seems all the rage now. The Gap wanted 25 bucks for a short sleeved T-Shirt. I knew that was a bit much, so I put it back and low and behold I ran across the same T-Shirt in Grey at Ann Taylor Loft on the sale rack for $6.99. So I am glad I put the first one back and bought the second one, because it was 18 dollars less for the same thing.

It’s not consistent between stores though, I saw courderoys at the ann taylor loft for $59.00 (yikes, they’re just pants!) and I bought almost the same kind at old navy at 50% off last week and they were $14.00. So, you have to make those decisions on a piece by piece basis and not fall in love with any one store.

When you are shopping here are some tips to use to save money:

1. Don’t shop for something you have to have because of some event or something coming up. It fixes your timeframe and if there isn;t a deal you will have to pay double or tripple what it is really worth because of the deadline. Always plan ahead a month or two so you can walk away if the price isn’t right.

2. Go shop on weeknights so it’s not crowded and you can look through sale racks. They are always in the back of the store hidden (despite the sale signs on the windows) so you fall in love with the more expensive stuff up front that you have to walk past on your way in.

3. If something is dirt cheap and available in more than one color, or a basic thing you will wear until it falls appart, buy 2. It’s cheaper than trying to find it again later and paying more.

4. Buy stuff at the end of the seasons so you can put it away for next year.

5. Knock off stores are your friend. H&M, Target and Old Navy are a big part of my wardrobe now a days because I have decided I can’t afford 100 dollar pants and 100 dollar sweaters anymore. I would rather put that money towards paying off my morgage faster or invest it and make some more money there. It’s just smart living.