It’s that time of year! Disney is hosting its Twice Upon a Year Sale with some items up to 70% off. Hurry though…this is a limited time offer only while supplies last. And for orders over $89, shipping is just $5.

Great opportunity to stockpile gifts for just about any occasion…birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, etc.

To find local businesses offering birthday discounts & freebies for adults, kids and pets, visit: Free Birthday Treats.

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Is this an awesome deal or what? Visit The Oprah Show’s, Payless ShoeSource In-Store Coupon Offer, for more details including a link to download the pdf file or send a text to receive a digital coupon code that can be shown in-store.

Great time to stock up on some stocking stuffers or perhaps some birthday gifts!

To find local businesses offering birthday discounts & freebies for adults, kids and pets, visit: Free Birthday Treats.

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Here’s a great way to save your money when it comes to gift shopping this holiday season…layaways! That’s right! This almost extinct service is making a comeback. Of course, the gift buying isn’t limited to just the holidays, it’s a money-saving service to use when shopping for anniversaries, birthdays, graduations and baby showers too.

Granted layaway plans may not be as convenient, having to pay bit by bit until you can take the item home, but they are well worth the savings. Retailers big and small offer a variety of plans, some with service fees and some without.

As always it’s important to read the fine print when signing any contracts and layaways are no exception. Know what to expect before using a retailer’s layaway service. Check out TheDollarStretcher.com’s 10 Questions to Ask About Layaway Plans.

On October 19, 2009, Toys”R”Us announced the roll-out of their ‘Big Gift’ layaway program:

Placing a product on layaway at any Toys”R”Us or Babies”R”Us store requires a deposit of 20% of the total purchase, including all applicable taxes, and a $10 service charge. Payments may be made at the store at any time in the form of cash, check, credit card, debit card or gift card. Merchandise will be made available within 7-10 days of final payment, so items must be paid for in full by December 6 to ensure that the gift is available for pickup before Christmas. A fee will apply to canceled layaway orders**.

Burlington Coat, Sears and Kmart also offer layaway plans, but only Sears and Kmart offer them in stores and online.

Several sites list Marshall’s and TJ Maxx, but neither website provided any information or store policies about layaways.

Not all stores market their layaway plan so if it’s something your interested in, ask. They most they can do is say no.

Happy Shopping!

To find local businesses offering birthday discounts & freebies for adults, kids and pets, visit: Free Birthday Treats.

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Guest post provided by Katherine Klinger, creator and founder of (oopdoo)TM hug

One way to make your dollar stretch farther is to organize a group of friends to go in on a group gift. For the same cost as sending a card or a small trinket, you can pool your money together to send a more substantial gift.

One site that makes organizing a group gift easy is fromgroup.com.

The process is simple:

• Choose a gift from over 700 gifts ranging from gift baskets, to jewelry, to baked goods.
• Set up a group purchasing page and invite your group to make a commitment to the gift at their own budget level in amounts as low as $5.
• The cost of the gift gets split between participants with respect to each person’s budgeted amount and shipped!

FREE Group e-card

Why send a free birthday e-card to a friend, when you can go one step further and organize a group of friends, coworkers, classmates to send a free group e-card! At groupcard.com you can do just that!

The organizer starts the card and then invites others to come add their own personal touch. To personalize it, you can upload pictures, choose different fonts, etc.

Organizing a group takes a small amount more effort, made easier by modern technologies, but the impact it makes on the recipient makes it worth it!

Today, more and more parents are opting to request No Gifts on their kids’ party invitations.  It often doesn’t work out very well, as some people adhere to the guideline while others ignore it altogether and bring a gift.  The fact is people want to bring something to a child’s party, as a result, to get around embracing the concept of traditional gifts or no gifts at all; there are creative ideas that offer an in-between the two options:

1. Host a book exchange and organize it in a few different ways:
   1. Guests bring a wrapped gift and everyone takes one home.
   2. Some open the books on the spot; others wait until the kids have gone home.
2. Give your child an experience rather than a party. If you allow friends to be invited, let the experience be the celebration, not the stuff.
3. Hold an inexpensive gift exchange (under $10) so that every child receives a gift.
4. Request art supplies and donate them to a shelter.
5. Hobbit Practice – Better to Give than to Receive! Each child receives a gift, although they do not bring one.
6. Request a donation to a great organization like http://www.heifer.org/.
7. Contact a charity that is a favorite and ask for a Wish List, i.e. a list of stuff the organization really needs. As an example, the humane society may need leashes, collars, toys, etc. Request guests bring these items in lieu of birthday gifts to donate and make the wishes come true!
8. Whatever donations are brought to the party for a favorite charity, have the birthday child deliver the donations to his chosen charity.

This is a great round-up of ideas that are alternatives to traditional party gifts.  Also, keep in mind if you are concerned about the amount people will spend on a party gift for your child, it is appropriate to write in your invitation, Gifts under $__ would be appreciated.  Putting a price limit guideline on the invitation can help to keep gift-giving budget friendly.

Happy Gifting ─ or not!

By Lisa Kothari, Peppers and Pollywogs

To find local businesses offering birthday discounts & freebies for adults, kids and pets, visit my website, Free Birthday Treats.

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I belong to an awesome group of mom entrepreneurs who are creating the most amazing products to hit the marketplace. One of these mom-invented products is Kubit2Me the Ultimate “Toss It To Me” Game.

Mary Kay Russell created the first prototype in 2001 to be used as a reading comprehension game for her son’s 4th-grade after-school book club. From there spawned the three existing Kubit2me games. One of each have been graciously offered for this giveaway which would be perfect for either a birthday or Christmas gift.

Special thanks to Kubit2me for providing the following descriptions.

Kubit2me Lil’ Scholars edition

A fun and inventive way for the younger generation to learn letters, sounds and build vocabulary. Cards are drawn from Kubit2me’s pockets, and play begins. Comes with lots of fun & engaging game ideas and colorful reward stickers.

• Teaches social skills
• Encourages self expression
• Terrific teacher gift
• Great for homeschoolers
• Used by therapists in special needs programs, especially autism therapy

Kubit2me Truth or Dare edition

Hilarious, honest & revolutionary twist on a party favorite! Players toss Kubit2me from player to player for a new & funky spin on the hottest game around! Will it be truth OR dare? You decide! Created BY girls and FOR girls, Kubit2me Truth or Dare provides girls with a fun and exciting, silly and outrageous game that allows them to communicate openly and honestly, deal with peer pressure, and make responsible choices.

• The perfect sleepover game at birthday parties!
• Available in pink, purple, green or blue
• Cards & scoring bracelets fit inside Kubit2me for easy storage

Kubit2me Now You’re Talkin’ edition

The fun, socially interactive game that gets kids and adults to open up like never before! This non-competitive game contains question cards that focus on beliefs, opinions, relationships, memories, and almost any topic that affects our everyday lives. As players take turns tossing Kubit2me to one another and drawing cards from Kubit2me’s pockets, parents reconnect with their kids, and kids connect with each other with a game that opens up lines of communication while breaking down walls and barriers.

• Great at family parties, reunions, camps
• Awesome icebreaker game for scout troups
• Terrific in the classroom
• Perfect for social workers and speech therapists

Players can turn one game into lots more at Kubit2me – check out the FREE (yes, we like free here at FreeBirthdayTreats) Kubit2me Print & Play games – printable game cards and instructions that can be played with any Kubit2me cube!

Enter to Win a Kubit2me Game:

1. Visit Kubit2me, choose which game you’d like if you won and find out what the listed age group is for that game.
2. Then come back here, leave that information plus why you’d like to win in a comment.
3. Must have a valid email address within the United States (no International entries please)

Comments need to contain (1) which game, (2) listed age group and (3) why you’d like to win. If you’re comment doesn’t contain all three, it will not be included in the random drawing.

Earn extra entries by:

• Subscribing to my RSS Feed via email or reader
• Blog about this giveaway
• Add the Free Birthday Treats button to your site (grab it from upper left sidebar)

Leave an additional comment for each extra entry.

Deadline: Midnight, September 27, 2008

I will randomly choose one winner for each game from participants who have entered correctly and post it on September 28, 2008. I verify subscribers and button placement on blogs.

Winner has 4 days to claim prize otherwise I will choose another.

Good luck to everyone!

To find local businesses offering birthday discounts & freebies for adults, kids and pets, visit my website, Free Birthday Treats.

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