Illuminating the Holidays

Everywhere you go, you feel the spirit of Christmas. Houses are decorated with outdoor lights, and stores are decorated with Christmas ornaments, with Christmas products displayed on the entrance. One of the main decoration that illuminates the Christmas spirit is lights you use.

It’s all about the Lights!

Christmas lights isn’t so easy to shop for. There’s so much you need to consider:

• Outdoor vs. Indoor
• Number of Bulbs
• Price
• LED vs. regular
• Color
• Bulb size
• Wattage

These are just some of the criterias you need to look for. On top of this, you also need to compare the prices. One you’ve found the perfect light, putting them up makes a big difference on setting up the Christmas mood.

Shopping for Lights

Christmas lights are sold in every stores- the Bay, Superstore, London Drugs, or Canadian Tire. The question is, which store offers the best price?

I have only been to 2 stores, namely – Superstore and London Drugs. One would think that Superstore would sell at a lower price. But check out what I found for indoor Christmas lights:

• 70 LED bulbs
• Multicolored
• Small indoor lights

London Drugs
Price: $9.99

Superstore
Price: $14.99

I’ve tried both sets of lights and found that London Drugs are way brighter than that from Superstore.

It’s not easy to scope out where the right sales are right away. But given the above information, your sure to have a bright Christmas tree!

I haven’t had the chance to check other stores such as Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire. Perhaps you can Share Your Smart Find on Christmas lights by posting them on our page!

It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Christmas is that time of the year where people shop shop & shop for the perfect present for the people they care about. People spend money, and shops are busy registering transactions But remember, gift giving doesn’t have to be pricey. After all, it’s the thought that counts.

Here’s a gift idea that’s fun – a gift bag filled with surprises for each person on your list. Dollar stores are the best place to go and do this. You can fill up a bag with as many goodies as you’d like. Just to name a few: stationeries, chocolates, even kitchenware. And the cost? No more than $3.00 each. Just make sure this is something the person will like. This way, each person on your list will receive a gift bag with more than 1 item in them.

Another recommendation is to buy an gift that people can share. For example, instead of buying a present for each member of the family, buy them a box of chocolate that they can share, or a gameboard that they can all enjoy!

Magazine Tote – You can fit more in your dollar!

Just because it’s called a dollar store doesn’t always mean that their stuff affordable. Andjust because Chapters bookstore is a major/leading bookstore- doesnt always mean their stuff is expensive or that they only sell books.

When you ask someone where you can find a good and cheap magazine tote to organize a magazine or bookshelf, people would often refer you to Zellers, Wal-Mart, Winners or the Dollar stores. Of course, these are the places I went to and compared items. And here’s what I found:

DESIGN

Some totes in the Dollar Store were also found at Winners. Their price was not much different from each other. The ones that caught my attention were the solid colors with a leather-like finish. They came in brown and black and were priced at $24.99 +. There were also those that had a basket weave finish, but that did not get my attention in terms of design. In fact, I was suprised that they were priced at $10+. Okay, so atleast I had an idea on what style I wanted to buy.

My next stop was at Chapters on Robson (and Granville), I was only there to browse at books. Then to my surprise, they were having a sale on their magazine totes and more! The ones I found were similar to the style I found at other stores – only not in leathery finish. It was a solid-black with silver metal trimmings. And the price – only $9.99. So far, this was the best one in my charts! Black, simple, durable, and cheap!

SIZE

It was hard to find the right size – how much magazines can I fit in it? Will my magazines like “Us” or “People” fit inside? The $24.99+ that I found at the previous stores were kinda skinny in width, and can probably fit only up to 10 magazines in vertical position. Of course, I tested this by going to their magazine section to fill up the tote . However, the totes in Chapters came in a wider size. When I filled it up with magazines, I can fit them in both vertical and horizontal position!

THE PERFECT MAGAZINE TOTE: You get more volume for a much lower price!

Of course, I bought the tote from Chapters! It’s funny how no one referred me, or that I never thought of going to Chapters for a cheap magazine tote. I took a photo below of the magazine tote I’m using at home – please pardon te mess of magazines