Black Friday and Small Business Saturday

Like many others, I'm unhappy with the fact that so many businesses have pushed Black Friday into Thanksgiving Day. I always enjoyed those two days fully, but, when forced to choose, Thanksgiving will always trump Black Friday for me.

We decided not to let it ruin our fun, so we went out as normal (for us) early on Black Friday. The first stop on our list was JC Penney for the free miniature snow globe. They opened sometime on Thanksgiving evening, but they advertised the snow globes would be given away at 4am on Black Friday. We got there at 3:45am, and the giveaway was in full swing! We got our snow globe and coupon and ran back to the car to Cabela's. Cabela's is new to Denver. This is their first Black Friday here! Their ad said they would be giving away free prizes to the first 600 people there before 5am. We pulled up at 3:55, and the line was long. Phuong and Aminta sprang from the car to the line while I went to park. The line was insane! It completely wrapped around the large store. Phuong held our place in line while Aminta and I went to count. Some parts were dark, but we estimated that we were about number #550 in line. We worried that wouldn't be good enough, as some people hold spots for family & friends to warm up in the car or to go use the restroom or get coffee or whatever. Still, at 4am, we had nothing better to do and decided to wait and see if we made it. At 5am, someone came around with a counter and told us we were about number #650. We wouldn't get a door prize. We decided the store would be way too packed to enjoy without the free gift incentive, so we left and went to Sports Authority.

Oops, I almost forgot. Here are Phuong & Aminta at Cabela's! They're going to kill me for this photo. I told them to look cold & miserable. Hehe.

Sports Authority did a double opening. They did a gift card giveaway on Thanksgiving evening, which I didn't go to, but they had another scheduled for 6am on Black Friday. We got there at about 5:20am, and there were just 2 people in line. The first 80 customers got a free gift card. When the doors opened, there were about 20 people in line. I won free $10--which I used to get some gifts for Oliver--and so did Phuong and Aminta's aunt. Aminta and her mom each won $25! We took our time shopping. It was about 6:30am when I went to check out. There was still an employee at the door, waiting to give out gift cards. I chatted with her for a minute, and she told me the other stores in Denver had given their gift cards away. She said the $500 gift card still hadn't been given out... implying it was one of the cards in her hand. Holy cow! I called Andrew and my parents and pleaded with them to go to Sports Authority. It's like a half mile from the house. I tried every trick in the book, including using birthday guilt (Black Friday landed on my birthday this year). They weren't having it. I couldn't believe they would pass up the opportunity. If they'd gone, I bet they had about a 1/20 chance of getting $500. Those party poopers.

From Sports Authority, we went to World Market. They had free samples of coffee and cookies, and they were also giving away free coffee mugs to the first 100 customers (we all got one!). After that, we went to Park Meadows Mall. We just missed their free pancake breakfast, but we entered their sweepstakes. Aminta ended up winning an American Girl pet set and book, and her aunt won a nice water bottle! We drove over to Furniture Row, as they were giving away free pillows to the first 50 customers there at 8am. The line was surprisingly long for it! I'd say there were about 20 people in line. Imagine our surprise when the doors opened, and there were no pillows or numbers or anything. An employee told us we'd have to go down to the Denver Mattress area, so about a dozen of us trotted off to make sure we got our free pillows.

Phuong is very excited about her free pillow.

We then went to Costco to get our free cookbook. They give out a cookbook to members every year on Black Friday. There was a Minnie Mouse book there that I knew Oliver would love. Phuong got it for me, and, in exchange, I gave her my free $10 coupon to Kohl's, which she used to get a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament. So, I indirectly got a free book from Costco for Oliver!

Stein Mart had a cool giveaway this year, too. I'd never been to a Stein Mart before. Their ad in the Thanksgiving paper was a scratch card. It said to bring in the unscratched card on Black Friday before noon, and an employee would scratch it off to reveal a free $10, $25, $50, or $100 gift. Mine was valued at $10. I picked out a wooden car toy for Jo that was originally $15 but 30% off, making it $10.50. So, i got a nice, wooden toy for under a dollar!

Here is my final loot from Black Friday, minus the free cookbook from Costco that I forgot to photograph. Everything below cost me about $2 total. Not bad!

Of course, we also can't forget about Small Business Saturday! I was a little disappointed that American Express changed the incentive from a $25 statement credit to $10, but I guess we can't complain about free money. Andrew went to a local toy shop and got a $10 board book about monsters that Jo will love. After the credit, it's practically free. I went to Ace Hardware and picked out little stocking stuffers for my siblings. After my credit, they're practically free, too!

Not a bad haul for the first round of Christmas shopping, ey?

Another Successful Black Friday Weekend

Black Friday is my big day weekend to go around and get as many freebies and almost-freebies as I can. It's so much fun to see how much I can get for almost nothing.

Sports Authority opened at midnight on Black Friday, and they gave away a gift card to the first 80 people in line. I received a $10 gift card. They had men's T-shirts with matching athletic shorts on sale, 2 for $5. Baseballs were half off, so I got 2 for $3. I had to spend a minimum of $10 to use my $10 gift card, so I bought a candy bar. Total after taxes? 49¢

I missed a few freebies. Toys R Us opened at 8pm on Thanksgiving (boo). They were giving away stockings stuffed with $30 worth of goodies to the first 200 people in line. By the time I got there after Thanksgiving dinner and pie, the line was 220 people long (yes, I counted...). After Sports Authority, I went to Shoe Carnival, hoping to score one of the 100 gift cards they were giving out at midnight. Alas, I was too late.

In the morning, we went to World Market. They gave us each a free ornament and a free movie ticket voucher. After World Market, we picked up our free Godiva chocolate bar. We enjoyed a free pancake breakfast at the local mall, and then we went to Costco to pick up our free cookbook (one cookbook per member). Here are my freebies:

We also went to JC Penney to get our free buttons. Free buttons you say? Yes, free buttons. This is actually way cool. You can go to JC Penney every day between Black Friday and Christmas Eve and get two free buttons, while supplies last. Each button has a code you can enter online (maximum of two per day). One out of every four codes is a winner!

I entered a JC Penney code on Black Friday and won a $5 off of $5 purchase. They emailed me the coupon the next morning. I ran out and bought a toy for my baby nephew. Check out that receipt. FREE!

I picked up two more buttons when I checked out with my free teether. One of those buttons was a winner! I won $10 off of a $10 purchase! They sent me the coupon the next morning, and, again, I went back out to JC Penney. They had a stamp set on sale for $8. Oliver loves stamps, so I thought it would make a good Christmas gift for him. I picked up a $2 pair of socks for Jo. Total? FREE.

I picked up more buttons! I'm seriously planning on going every day. In addition to possibly winning free coupons, you could win prizes like a Kitchenaid mixer or a vacation! They're giving out one trip every day. Seriously, guys, this is like the most exciting thing to me. I love contests and freebies. Is it sad that I think this is the best thing ever?

Anyway, my next big score was for Small Business Saturday. You might have seen my post explaining how to sign up. All I did was register my American Express card for Small Business Saturday. Then, I had to spend at least $25 at a qualifying small business to earn a $25 American Express credit. I went to a neat little toy store called Timbuk Toys. Andrew and the kids played with all the demo toys they had set out while I shopped. I ended up spending $27.28 on a game for Oliver and some jingle bells for Jo. American Express is giving me a $25 statement credit, so my total for the two toys comes to $2.28! 

Everything you see on this blog post, I got for a total of $2.77. The T-shirt, the athletic shorts, two baseballs, two candy bars, two movie tickets, an ornament, a cookbook. a teething toy, a stamp toy, socks, a board game, and jingle bells--under $3. Score! Have I mentioned I love Black Friday weekend?

"Black Saturday"

This year, more retailers seemed to have deals for today (Saturday) than in years past. For example, World Market's deal to get an ornament and a scratch card to win a prize/coupon is going on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, instead of just Friday. The Great Indoors had a big sale yesterday, but they chose today to be the only day they gave out $20 gift cards to their first one hundred customers.

Both stores opened at 8am, so I thought they'd be packed. I was wrong! My mom; my friend, Aminta; her mom; her aunt and I all arrived at The Great Indoors at 7:15am. There were about two dozen people there. We sipped on coffee as we waited in line for the doors to open. At 8am, we grabbed our gift cards, and then we left to go to World Market. There were still about 30 ornaments and scratch cards left when we arrived about 5 minutes after the hour. I got my free ornament and I won a free miniature bag of truffles. My mom used her $5 off of $20 coupon, and then we went back to The Great Indoors to use our gift certificates. Aminta snatched up a great deal. After two sale discounts and her gift card were taken off the price, she got a new toaster oven for $7. My mom bought four beautiful bowls (originally $15 each) for a total of $4. I decided to keep my trip free, so I bought a new potato masher (my plastic one was falling apart and not working well) and an organizer for my spice cabinet.

In all, I left this "Black Saturday" with an ornament, truffles, potato masher and spice organizer for FREE! This brings my total freebies this holiday weekend to: one miniature snow globe, two ornaments, one miniature bag of truffles, a bat & ball set, a potato masher, and a cabinet organizer. Woohoo!

Black Friday!

Black Friday is one of my absolute favorite days of the year. It's always my goal to spend as close to nothing as I can while still returning with a small load of goodies. Thus, I scope out the freebies and giveaways.

This year, I managed to spend absolutely nothing. With Andrew staying behind to watch Oliver, my friend Aminta and I met at 4am and drove to JC Penney. We collect the miniature snow globes they give out every Black Friday. Some years (if they give out good coupons), we return to make purchases, but this year, we grabbed our free snow globe, send thanks, and left without returning.

From there, we drove to Sports Authority. I have fun there on Black Friday. For my budget, they're a little pricey, but they give out free gift cards to their first few customers, and that makes some of their stuff more affordable. Last year, I got a running shirt that cost me about $5 after my free gift card. This year, we pulled up at 4:30am. There were other cars in the parking lot, but no one was out in line yet. I decided to be the first sucker and got out and stood at the door. First in line! Aminta and our friend, Phuong, joined us shortly after. With the $10 gift card I received, I found a bat and ball set for $9.99. It looked perfect for Oliver! I decided to get that with my gift card. Amazingly, the discount was taken off before the tax was added, so I didn't have to pay a penny! Additionally, after checking out, they gave me an additional $10 gift card that's valid for a few weeks starting Monday. Hurray!

After Sports Authority, we went to World Market. I love all the treats at World Market, but I try hard not to buy anything on Black Friday (remember--FREE is the key!). It was a very pleasant wait in line! The employees came buy with samples of coffee (so good!) and pastries (I liked the fig bar). Then, they came around with individual shopping baskets for our convienence, and in each basket was our free ornament and scratch card (for a chance to win a discount, freebie, or big prize). The highlight was when one of the employees checked to see if Phuong was 18. She's 27. Hahahaha. I won $5 off of $20, which I didn't use, and so did Aminta, which she did use. Phuong won a free bag of truffles! Score.

So, at 7:30am, I was up a bat & ball set, a snow globe, an ornament AND a gift card--not to mention my belly full of coffee and treats!

Tomorrow, our adventures continue. World Market is giving away another ornament with a chance to win a prize, and The Great Indoors is giving away gift cards to the first 100 customers. I can't wait!