This time of year, shelves & shelves of Christmas fun are marked down 50-75% off. Put on your creative thinking cap and you can stock up for several holidays to come.
Christmas food can be stored for future holidays:
- Holiday M&Ms can be sorted and bagged to be used for Valentine’s Day & St. Patrick’s Day
- Divide up things like sprinkles & icing from baking kits
- Candy canes make adorable Valentine treats when put in the oven
- Chocolate candy and stocking stuffers are good for Easter baskets – many items have Christmas packaging, but just take them out of the package
Christmas decorations can be used for all sorts of things:
- New Year’s Eve- shiny tinsel to drape everywhere, silver or gold tablecloths
- January- we leave our non-Christmasy snowmen and snowflakes out for the whole month
- Valentine’s Day – heart decorations, red ribbon, red tablecloth, napkins, plates, cups
- St. Patrick’s Day – green tablecloths, napkins, plates, cups
- Easter – crosses, anything pastel, cellophane for baskets
- Fourth of July – anything red, white, blue or silver – tablecloths, plates, napkins, cups, strings of lights, garland, anything with stars on it
- Birthday parties – candy & toys for goody bags, non-Christmasy gift bags & wrapping paper. Target will have a major toy clearance in January so you can stock up on gifts too.
Snag a few gift sets for:
- upcoming birthday gifts
- Easter baskets
- Mother’s Day & Father’s Day
- party favors – lip gloss, character figurines
- craft projects (bead kits, etc.)
- everyday use – razors, shower gel, lotion, Burt’s Bees sets, sauces & seasonings
- homeschool activities – model kits, experiments
A few more everyday items to grab:
- candles
- tissue paper
- blank cards & envelopes
- baskets
- napkins & plates
- flannel sheets
- ribbon
- dishes – a couple years a go I bought a set of plain ivory dishes for 12, gravy boats, and platters at Walmart for around $30
Get a head start on next year with:
- wrapping paper and bows
- containers for homemade goodies
- Christmas cards – get them filled out over the summer
- Christmas pajamas, shirts, and socks
I also like to venture out when the clearance gets down to 80-90% off. The selection is smaller, but I always find some fun goodies at Michaels to kick off the next Christmas season. I love being able to hand my kids a basket full of craft supplies & kits and truly not care what they do with it because it cost me less than $5!
What ideas do you have? Share them in the comments!
