Last Minute Gifting Tips and Tricks

With only 4 days to go till Christmas… here are a couple of my gift ideas for those last minute shoppers out there that might want to snazzy-up their holiday gifting while helping the environment and making your purchases go further.

As a mommy that values finding ways to help our earth with every little bit I can (which Goodwill is also aligned with saving millions of tons of items from the garbage dumps every year in this country!) I like to be creative with my gift giving, including the wrapping it’s in.  So here are some of those items you can buy at your local Goodwill to use as the boxes and/or wrapping that will add something special to your gifting this holiday season while helping out our environment…

For those guys in your life… grab a car washing-mitt (like this one I picked up at the Seattle Dearborn Goodwill for $4.99) and put a tool in it (like this Craftsman level I picked up at the Seattle Dearborn Goodwill for only $19.99) add a bow (or not) and your set!

For girls on your list grab a holiday kitchen towel (like this brand new one picked up at the Bellevue Goodwill for $1.29) and wrap it up into a roll and put a bracelet or belt around it and then finish it off with a scarf! (also from the Bellevue Goodwill for $4.99)

And the finished look with a bow and a gift tag (made from repurposed wrapping paper)…

Or you can give an entire “Accessorize package” and wrap a handbag (like this beautiful brand new Tignello handbag I picked up at the Seattle Glitter Sale for only $39.99) in a scarf (also from the Seattle Goodwill for $3.99) with some bracelets (all from the Seattle Glitter Sale for various prices ranging from $9.99 to $12.99)!

And wrapped in the scarf as wrapping paper…

For those kids on your list… purchase a nice, cozy winter hat (like this GAP kids hat purchased from the Seattle Dearborn Goodwill for  just $1.99) and put some presents in it (wrapped or not)…

And here are a couple of more ideas for items to use as boxes or wrapping paper instead of using more materials that cut down trees…

How about a planter for a gardener’s gift to store items in

Or a Coffee Canister (or kitchen canister of some kind) to put trinkets for that food-lover on your list

Or a storage container for that kid or parent on your list to store all those toys they often get during the holidays!

Or how about using a men’s tie as a bow on a gift (even better if it’s a “bow tie”!)

There are many different ways that you can package your Goodwill items in repurposed goodies that will not only cut down on your environmental footprint, but give your gift a little added PIZZAZ when viewed against the typical wrapped gifts under the tree.

But no matter how you wrap your gifts… I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and I will see you soon to wrap up this year of Living the Goodwill Life for 2011!

Post Glitter

Okay, I’m finally sitting down on a Sunday evening to show you all what I got at the Glitter Sale this Saturday.  Let me first say that I’ve been waiting for this week all year.  When I first started this challenge this year I knew that the Glitter Gala/Sale week was going to have to be one of the bigger events that I participated in for the year and I was right!  I BROUGHT IT all week, modeling in the Gala on Wednesday and camping out Friday night BEFORE the store even closed to make sure I was FIRST in line at the big sale!  I really never waited in line for concert tickets, or black Friday sales so I knew this was going to have the be my chance to experience the excitement of line-waiters.  Apparently in China they actually have such horribly long lines that they actually have an entire industry of “line-waiters” that you pay to wait in line for you for everything from pharmaceuticals to being able to see a doctor?!  Knowing that I’ll say that I’m certainly glad I only had to do it once in my lifetime!

But, I met a bunch of people, had a great time and bought lots of fabulous items for holiday gifts!  I did initially walk in and immediately grab like 20 handbags and then browse the store for those Christian Louboutin heels but I couldn’t find them so I went over to the jewelry immediately.  When I finally got my jewelry purchase down to the keepers I went through the handbags that I had grabbed and I have to say that I was a bit disapointed with what I found… all of them except one (the orange Tignanel0 bag that was on the Glitter Sale blog a couple of weeks ago) were fake!  I even grabbed the Gucci handbag on the blog too and once I looked through at the hardware I knew it was a knock-off (a really good knock-off but still).  But, with everything there are positives… so here are some of the benefits of my Glitter week.

1.  I met the my stylist Michael Weigand and the staff of Salon Circa and let me tell you I’m making it my new salon (even though I’m a die-hard Aveda girl) because their level of experience, their dedication and amazing artistry on the models for the Glitter Gala was just too much NOT to want to make them your home salon!  All the other models that didn’t go to Salon Circa kept telling us that they wished they had been able to go to Salon Circa!  I had so many compliments, heard so many praises and have so much respect for stylists that touch up your lipstick right before you go onstage that it’s not even a question where I’ll be going from now on!  I just hope the “powers that be” at the Goodwill corporate hear my message and make sure Salon Circa comes back again and again for the Glitter Gala!

2.  I always love meeting new people!  And both the Glitter Gala and the Sale had plenty of opportunities for me to meet so many people that love the Goodwill as much (or more) than I do!  I have new staff members (from stores and the back office), new customers, new volunteers, new Art Institute students… so many new people and TONS of great Goodwill stories to share that it would take months to get all the blog posts done!  From the Dearborn staff member Sammy (who I just seen working the register at the Glitter Sale today) to Arthur and Brice from Camino island that kept me laughing and company all cold pavement night long!  Or Hallynd and her step-mom Amanda (who comes up from Portland every year for the Glitter Sale) telling me stories of all their fabulous past Glitter sale finds!  Yes, this year has been an adventure but this week in particular I’ve been able to meet so many more people because of the Goodwill, which is really what doing a challenge/blog is all about… connecting with people.

3.  Third is the fact that with this week I’ve seen a side of Goodwill that not many people get to experience.  From the top-notch Glitter Gala fundraiser that was a black-tie, dinner and champagne event  at the Sheraton to walking down the line as the first person at the sale and having all the staffers giving me high-fives… this whole year I’ve grown to understand so much more about the organization that I’ve chosen to support with my year of buying but this week really knocked it out of the park.  I mean I seen models that looked like they walked right off the fashion pages of Neiman Marcus!  Models wearing fashions that two days later were hanging right in front of me on the sale racks!  I experienced how dedicated this organization is to helping train and serve others with the countless stories they had in the back model-prep rooms of all the people Goodwill has helped change their life, with purchasing the fashions we were wearing!  Talk about making a girl feel like a million dollars by not only outfitting her in designer creations but letting her know that these efforts make a difference in another human beings life!

4.  And fourth, but not least are the goodies themselves… isn’t this why we wait in line to see the models?  Get into the doors first thing in the morning?  The Glitter Gala and Sale are all about what people love about Goodwill… the goodies they can find for such amazing prices and for such a great cause!  So without further adieu… here are a couple of samples of my Goodwill Goodies I snagged as first-in-line Saturday morning.

I hope those I’m buying holiday gifts for don’t see all their future goodies here!!!  🙂

Just look at all that jewelry!  I could have purchased much, much more… but I did get some of the best of the best here.  I picked up a real Tiffany & Co. silver bracelet for less than $30!  I also picked up what could be my buy of the week, but since it’s a holiday gift (and I know somebody is reading this) I won’t confirm that until December.  Let’s just say it costs hundreds of dollars and I snagged it for less than $80!

I did sneak a couple of images of some of the items at the sale.  They had beautifully color-coordinated the racks of each department making it so wonderful to see first hand!

and even more dresses!

and because I was totally exhausted on Saturday after the sale I didn’t have time to shop for anything else so we went back today to donate a couple of things…

yes, that’s a blu-ray DVD player (that doesn’t work) along with clothes and a couple of other household items.

We ended up getting a new baby gate and some more pants for the little guy, but because I’ve worn down my immune system this week I now have a full-blown cold and need to go to sleep pretty soon, so I didn’t take any picture of the new stuff.

This week has been fun and it’s hard to imagine that I’m almost done with my year-long Goodwill challenge.  Only the holidays left to go and then I’m onto next years media challenge!

T-minus 3 hours and counting

So I’ve been standing here speaking to a number of Glitter Sale shoppers, people up from Portland, business owners looking for great deals to resell, shoppers that have been in the Top-Ten line for years. The’ve been telling stories from years past, their best buys and what they did with the items.

The whole shebang will be showing up soon, Goodwill staff, corporate, media. So I’m going to repost the next update with my goodies in hand from the sale!

Just watch that line grow & grow!
@ 4am….and again @ 5am….and again @ 6am!

Keep following my twitter feed (evolveexistence) for more photo updates!

More shoppers arrive!

Well, more shoppers have slowly started to arrive. Car doors slamming woke us already in line up and of course I had to see what new groups we had on board for the big day!

Let me also start this next post with some tips on how to attend the Glitter Sale…

First, be prepared! I came with tents, flashlights, emergency materials, sleeping bags, hand warmers, money to spend, itemized wish list & a back up plan including speaking to staff, and contacts to call! Serious Glitter Shoppers come prepared but are always rewarded!

Second, bring a friend! Or two, three… A group! Half of the fun is sharing it with friends, and when needed asking for friends to help you on such an adventure! I couldn’t of done my First-In-Line adventure this year without the help of Dante, Jill & Pauline, you guys ROCK!!!

This morning we had Amanda & Hallynd came together to shop the Glitter Sale, Amanda comes up from Portland. She states that Portland stores have different, more eclectic items and Seattle has higher-end designer pieces. True Glitter Sale items for sure! Amanda says the $1.29 Mondays up here ROCK! and Portland should look into getting a similar day! They were here last year at 4am, this year 2am… they still look great this early!

Third, have a shopping game plan. No, standing in line all night/morning isn’t enough… You need to know that there are 200 people right behind you looking to grab that one pair of Prada pumps too so unless you wear easy slip-off shoes, clingy clothing for easy-over try ons and of course hand-warmers to keep your chill out in line, your gonna miss out on something.

I’ll share more tips from the Glitter sale front-lines as the reports from shoppers come in!