I Hope You're Not Too Tired of Christmas

The day after Christmas used to be a big shopping day for my family. We would head to the Mall to take advantage of the deep discounts on clothing, gift wrap and Christmas decorations. My parents used to give me cash for Christmas instead of buying clothing at pre-sale prices. But this year was different. Because of the economy, retailers started discounting things early. There was no need to wait for sales. And because of all the thrifting I've been doing, I didn't really need any clothes. The only place I needed to go to was Wal-Mart for a year's supply of scotch tape at 3 rolls/$1.

So Mom and I decided to check out the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores for 50% off Christmas items. Here's what we found:

Okay, so Pyrex isn't a Christmas item, and the big ornaments were found a while ago, but I needed another color to break up all the red, and besides, everything goes better with Pyrex, doesn't it?

I was hoping to find Mary Engelbreit Christmas items in particular and I wasn't disappointed.

A cheerful mug and a small tin pail were 50c each.

Here's a close-up of the pail lid. Aren't those expressions wonderful?


And this little elf was $1. His "hair" is a piece of rabbit fur.



Mom found a large poinsettia tablecloth for $3.50. It looks like it's hardly been used.

And this happy spaghetti Santa was $1.50. He's a bank. We had never seen a Santa like this, so we checked our favorite online source for all things vintage - ebay. We found several similar Santas, some banks, some not. Apparently this design was very popular. According to one seller, this particular Santa is a "Santa Saver" made in 1960 by Napco, intended to be sold as a souvenir at the Santa Claus Museum or one of the other attractions in Santa Claus, Indiana.

I love his fat little mustache and his spaghetti trim. The green paint on the holly leaf has flaked off some, but I kind of like him that way, as if he's been well-loved for 50 years.


I'm thrilled to finally find a glass tree topper. Original store price - $12.95.
Salvation Army price - $1.

But the best bargains were found a week later at the Goodwill Outlet. Glass items are sold for 39c/lb, so I got 4 dozen small red glass ball ornaments for 36c.

And the 7 tiny glittery pastel ornaments were...



wait for it...



one penny!

There was also a lot of tinsel and garland and many boxes of brand new glass ball ornaments I left behind. If I were a crafty person, and wanted to make ornament wreaths

like this one by Laurie from Magpie Ethel, or

this one from Sonya at Dime Store Thrift,

I would be checking the Goodwill Outlet regularly from Dec 15th - Jan 15th. I could probably find enough supplies for several wreaths for only a few dollars.

Also found at the Outlet that same day was the yellow Pyrex mixing bowl. Mom saw it from across the room, and time seemed to stop for a moment. She couldn't believe it was there, or that one of the dozens of bears people tearing through the bins hadn't grabbed it.

As you can see, it's VERY scratched up. It's also one of the older, thicker bowls, probably close to 60 years old, and still fully functional. Everyone should have a big yellow Pyrex mixing bowl. Outlet price - $1.35.

I'm linking up to the following parties:

Mary Engelbreit Monday
Thrift Share Monday

It's Mary Engelbreit Monday!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

Just before Christmas I found a very pretty Mary Engelbreit square covered butter dish (7 inches square) at Goodwill. It even matches a couple of M.E. teacups that I already own. Isn't it just the cutest butter dish ever? I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for yet, but in this house with all the people in and out I couldn't use it for butter without it getting broken. I'm thinking I'll use it to hide hair clips or something in my room. (If you look carefully, there's a little chip right on top of where a black square should be. I'm not sure how to "fix" it, but any suggestions? My mother suggested china paint might seal it.)


I got something Mary Engelbreit for Christmas, too. My sister knows that I've loved M.E. since I was a child and she found this at Macy's while she was wrapping presents with her Relay For Life team.

It's a tin of Candy Cane Cocoa with a Mary Engelbreit design on the outside. It features three Santas on twistable rings of metal such that you can mix and match hats, jackets, and boots to make several different outfits for Santa to wear. It's only 4.5 inches tall but it's just the cutest tin I think I've ever seen.

Did anyone else get a Mary Engelbreit goody or something almost as cute for Christmas?

M.E. Monday