With the economy in shambles (even the wealthy are losing big money) I wanted to do my part to tell people how to save a little cash this holiday season. So here is Please Buy Stuff Part 1 – Cheap Toys.
* * *
Has anyone else noticed how cheap toys are right now?
I get at least one email per day from Toys R Us practically begging me to buy something… anything… just buy a toy! Please! 50% off is not uncommon. It seems like the closer it gets to Christmas, the cheaper everything becomes.
Now Target is joining the party with a 50% off sale. The cheapest item is the game Monopoly Town, now priced at $7.99 (down from $15.99). On the high end, you can now get a Kota My Triceratops for $99.99 (was $199.99). Click the image below to see all 50% off items in all their glory, and also visit Target.com.
What's interesting, to me at least, is the fact that I don't seem to care much. Let me explain. I'm a cheapskate and I like bargains. Sometime in the past few years, however, I became less and less interested in shopping. It's not that I don't buy things when we need them. But it's less fun than it used to be. I would attribute this feeling to the economy, but it started before our financial system did its imitation of David Caruso's pre-CSI career. Part of it could be perspective – with two kids, stuff seems less important than it once did. But I'm not buying that (no pun intended). I think it has more to do with being tired (see: two kids), and also slightly overwhelmed by the array of choices out there. As an example, our toaster oven has been broken for several weeks. This thing owes us nothing – I believe we've had it for well over ten years. But it SORT OF works. And when I go online looking for new ones, I quickly get bored and decide to just deal with the old one for a little bit longer.
Some of my merchant-based malaise does have to do with the economy, of course. It seems…unseemly to lust after hi-tech stuff when people are being laid off all over the country.
That said, the kids don't need to suffer for my mishegos. (Except for the toaster oven. That they'll just have to deal with.) And if the toys they want are this cheap, go for it. Besides, isn't it our patriotic duty to go shopping?
Next: how to get free shipping and still get your stuff in time for Christmas (or Chanukah, or Kwanzaa).
Read more:
What NOT to Tell Your Child After You've Been Laid Off
It's Hip Hop . . . for Babies
Parents Make Son Hold 'I Will Never Shoplift Again' Signs
Toy Libraries: An Idea in Need of a Comeback?
Girly Gift Guide
