Is your stable "kid-friendly"?

I am on a quest for a "kid-friendly" Nativity set. The Little People one is top on my list.....I just can't bring myself to pay full price for it. ;-) So I have been waiting.....

What Nativity sets do you have? Do your kids like them?

I need Nativity help!

Sometimes Santa needs some help.....

It's that time of year again.......

Christmas shopping!!!

I love Christmas. I love giving. But I am really developing a hate for Christmas shopping. Wanna know why?

Because of all the crowds....At the mall. And Target. And Kohl's. And Toys R Us.

(You get my point.....)

So, being the helpful sort that I am, I thought I would offer you an alternative--a way to avoid the madness and frustration and overspending that accompanies traditional Christmas shopping.

I sell children's books.

ONLINE.

So you can shop in your pjs after the kids are in bed. You can even buy books and send them to all the children in your life, without having to go to the post office. :-) Don't thank me now though....wait until you find all of the fabulous unique gifts and wrap them up. Then you can express your appreciation for my help.

Check out our Christmas sets, as well as all of the other great books and products we sell on a regular basis! And each week until Christmas, I will feature one or two of my favorite items on ToddlerWorld and give a short review.

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Enjoy Christmas shopping, whether it is on my site or not!
But I still think my way is much less stressful....... :-)

Shop til you drop! (in your pajamas.....ahhh.)

Starting tomorrow, Toddler World will be hosting a Holiday Shop-o-Thon.

If you need last-minute Christmas gifts for your family or friends,
look no further!

I am running a sale over at my Usborne site, Sarah's Bookshelf.....when you order, click on "Sarah's show" so it credits to the holiday sale. If you order $40 or more, leave a comment on here with your email and I will send you a free Christmas story book!

And......my friend, Chastity, will also be holding a sale over on her blog. She just started a business~~Sweet Bella~~and makes adorable flower hairbows for little girls. If you need a little extra something for the sweet girls on your list, these would be perfect! Stop by and check them out! Just leave her a message if you would like to order some.....she will do them in custom colors for you! :-)

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Because it is Friday, I am going to list my five favorite Usborne books. This was a hard task, since I love most of them!--but these are the 5 that I always buy for gifts or for my own kids.

Top Five Usborne Favorites at ToddlerWorld:

1) That's Not My.....series (I love em all! They are so fun and my kids love to read them and touch them.)

2) Big Book of Fairy Things to Make and Do

3) The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales (It has the most charming pictures.....)

4) See Inside Castles (I love flap books.....probably as much as my kids do! :-)

5) A Squirrel's Tale ("There's A Mouse About the House" is actually my favorite, but due to its immense popularity, it is out of stock right now. :-( This one is 2nd best though....)

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If you need gift ideas for specific people, leave me a comment here or email me. There are topics for every reading level and every interest. Even cool craft books for teacher gifts!

And what an easy way to shop......in your pajamas. :-)

Let's make a deal!

I bought a big boneless chuck roast at the grocery store last week. It was on sale for $1.99/lb. Pretty good deal....I was excited because I was going to use it for a new slow cooker recipe that I had found.

After I checked out, I felt like my bill was slightly higher than I had anticipated. (Yes, I am one of those shoppers who watches the clerk scan all of my items with an eagle eye.) But I happened to miss it when he rang up the roast. As I investigated my receipt, I realized that he had charged me full-price for the roast ($10.69) rather than the sale price of $5 or $6.

I was slightly irritated at that point, because I had already made too many trips to the store that week, and did not enjoy the thought of making another with three children in tow. But I was not going to lose all of that money. :-)

So--I made it back to the store several days later, with my receipt and the tag from the roast. When I explained the situation to the customer service clerk, she seemed slightly confused and flustered. ("She didn't have last week's ad, so she really didn't know about the sale."
I thought--Great, I am going to lose my money....) She called a man from the meat dept. to help me out. The man cheerfully explained that the same roast was on sale this week for only $1.69/lb. Figures...... I informed him that my roast was at home, waiting for me in the fridge. I just wanted my money back.

After he confirmed that I was telling the truth about the price (isn't the customer always right??!), the lady began to try to fix the mix-up. After several tries--I honestly do not think she knew what she was doing--she finally just opened the till and handed me back $10.69. Now, I am not one who believes in luck, but if I did--I would know that I do not have any. So I was slightly taken aback. "Do you want me to just pay the difference then, out of this money?" I asked her, still not believing my good fortune.

"No, enjoy your roast!", she said.

This story just shows that it is always good to call stores on their mistakes. Every time I have done it, I have come out with something in the end. This happened to be one of my best outcomes. (And yes--we did enjoy our roast.) :-)

~MOMMY MONDAYS~

A nursery rhyme for my mommy friends

(and those other readers who enjoy a good deal)

There was a young woman

Who needed some shoes.

She had so many children

She didn't know what to do. (OK, not really--but it felt like it!)

She had a tight budget

With not much to spare.

But the children's feet kept growing--

They didn't seem to care!

She searched and searched for deals

Without any luck.

She knew they were out there--

she just had to look.

But "patience is a virtue", you know;

So she waited a bit.

And what do you suppose.....

On her recent trip to Target

She found just what she needed!

And she couldn't contain her surprise....

She got not 3, not 4, but 5 pairs of shoes

For $17.85!!!!

(See, mommas--it pays to search the clearance racks! Target shoe clearance has never failed me!! I got one toddler's snowboots for next year, a pair of cowboy boots for an upcoming birthday, and 3 pairs of shoes for now! PTL!)

Shopping these days......!

I think this would be the coolest way to grocery shop---I may actually try it sometime. Does anyone do this?

The wool has been pulled again....

OK, I used to work at Kohl's back in the day. I was always amazed at the amount of sales pitches they came up with to get people in to shop their store. "Grand Opening Celebration", "One Day Sale", "The Big One", "Early Bird/Night Owl Specials".....all we did was change around the sale prices every few weeks. Sometimes the "big sale" price was actually more than last week's ad. I always felt a little sorry for the customers who would come rushing in for the big event.

Usually I try to remind myself of this ploy when I shop out there. I try to refrain from snatching up a "good deal" unless I really need it--it will usually be on sale again, often for cheaper. But unfortunately last week, I was sucked into their sale vortex.:-)

My friend works out there, and I was returning some items during the night owl sale when she came by. She informed me that it was "friends and family weekend" and I could have one of her 15% off coupons. I was planning on shopping anyways, so I took it happily and set off to shop. I bought more than I should have, but got some good deals. (And of course--I got 15% off!!!) I returned home, relatively happy with my purchases and glad that I had saved a little.

Then, about 3 days later, what do I receive in the mail??? A 30% off coupon from Kohl's!!! Once again, I have been tricked.....maybe someday I will learn. *Sigh*