Halloween “peeps”: Image via Wikipedia

Of course, in the dollar stores, Halloween and Thanksgiving started in August. In the middle of summer the walls were covered with wreaths of fabric leaves in red, orange, yellow and brown. Napkins and tableware with Thanksgiving motifs and jack o’lantern “peeps” (marshmallow in sugar for the uninitiated) fill the baskets. Glow in the dark skeletons and ghosts hang from the walls accompanied by witch’s hats, skeletons in coffins, scarecrows and even skeleton hand tongs for the candy bowl. Just had to get a purple metallic spider.

Late September saw the arrival of “across the miles” Christmas cards and gift wrap. It is now mid-October and the candy canes and chocolate advent calendars have arrived. Christmas music on CD are there ready to be unpacked. Festive table mats, napkins and table runners have taken their place alongside the everyday ones. Before long cheap and cheerful tinsel, garlands and glass tree decorations will come. There will be holiday baby bibs, scented candles, toy Santas, angles and reindeer, colouring books, stickers, Christmas crackers and all manner of glassware and plates.

Candy canes: Image via Wikipedia

Valentine’s Day, Easter and Spring all come at once in January. Heart-shaped everything. Pink and red as far as the eye can see. Heart printed stationery and teddies holding hearts are in the baskets. Take away the red and add yellow, pale blue and lavender for Easter. There are more “peeps” – both the yellow chicks and my personal favourite, the pink rabbits! Garlands of pink bunnies, yellow chicks, white lambs and blue eggs can be had. The baby bibs change motifs and there are more toys than ever. Easter trees with mini eggs for decorations are an occasional addition to the mix. Plastic and straw Easter baskets rest near all manner of candy and egg dyeing kits, as though one could forget what they are meant to contains.

Summer goes on forever at my dollar store, once it arrives post-Easter. Summer hats and summer flip-flops hang on the walls next to pails and spades for days in the sand or at the shore. There is all manner of gardening stuff and garden or lawn decoration. Plastic daisies wearing sunglasses to stick in the lawn sit side by side with watering cans emblazoned with happy suns. Laughing ceramic pigs to wallow in the dirt of your flower beds draw your attention to solar path lights and ceramic tea light holders for your patio. Inexpensive wind chimes compete for attention with rainbow hued nylon hangings to blow in the wind. To bring the season indoors, plastic and fabric flowers abound.

Life is, well it should be, full of colour and fun. Holidays, seasons and dollar stores provide us with some of that colour.

Variety store: Image by avlxyz via Flickr

See also: http://bizcovering.com/business/thoughts-in-the-self-service-checkout-line/

1. Pot Luck Thanksgiving. Instead of cooking for your guests, have your guests cook for you. Have everyone bring over one component of the Thanksgiving meal. The turkey and gravy can be the host’s contribution because it’s easier to cook the bird inhouse as opposed to moving it to someone else‘s. Ditto for the gravy too,. However the sides and dessert can easily be made somewhere else and transported over. Discuss with guests what they’d like to make . This idea can also apply to Christmas and New Year’s Eve and Day dinners too. Just remember not to have duplicates.
2. Coupon crazy. Take advantage of both on line and printed coupons. Buy everything you need for these upcoming holidays now. Also a lot of supermarkets are offering double discount s if you use their club cards during November and December . Some are even offering discount in multiples such as five of the same items for a dollar or ten for five dollars. Stock up on the essentials you need, like canned vegetables, flour and sugar. These will come in handy when you have to make sides as well as ingredients for baked goods. Also use the multiple discounts to stock up on party essentials like soda , crackers dips , and olives.
3. Dollar store delights. The dollar store is a great place for finding everything. You can buy Thanksgiving table cloths to Christmas wrapping paper. This is the go to place for most of your gift giving and holiday decorating. .You can buy cute picture frames for your office mates, stocking stuffers for your kids and holiday plates for your table. There are also tree and house ornaments along with outdoor lights and wreathes/. Dollar stores also have th e most extensive range of wrapping paper and boxes so buy all your wrapping needs there.
4. High glamour, low budget. This is the season for dressing up and party going. However it’s no fun if you have no party togs to wear. What to do? Well if you ‘re a guy you can wear regular suit or rent a tux. If you’re a gal, well you can go to Rent The Runway a brand new site where you can rent glamorous designer dresses and gowns for as low as fifty bucks. They will be mailed to you ,wrapped , cleaned and all set to go. If you prefer on buying your own look to Target and Penney’s for some pretty and budget friendly holiday dresses. Also online stores such as Chadwick’s and Newport along with Metro Style has some good bargains and low shipping costs right now on dresses and suits. Looking for party shoes? Payless has some awesome styles for low prices. Check out designer Christian Siriano‘s gold pumps or Abeate’s wear with anything flats.
5. An old fashioned kind of holiday .Do what your great grandparents did – celebrate the holidays with economy. Don’t invite everyone over for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Limit it to your immediate family. Nix the friends , the roomies the third and fourth cousins. You’ll save on food . Also think a bout giving one gift only per person or one big gift the entire family can enjoy. Another money saver is having a small holiday display. Don’t turn your house into an homage to Vegas or an airport runway. A few lights on just one tree or candles in the downstairs windows look as festive as any splashy show.
6. Be thrifty. Thrift stores are a great way to pick up gifts especially old DVDs and albums. Also you may be able to find some designer jeans, bags and coats for just a couple of bucks. Remember to thoroughly examine the seams and hems to make sure that they’re not frayed. You can also find some toys at your thrift store as well. Check and double check to see that they’re not missing parts or broken in any way.
7.  Handmade is the best made. This is the season for you if you can knit, crochet, bake or woodwork. Impress friends and family with homemade scarves and hats sets or hand carved spice racks. Also think about sewing designer originals for the fashionistas in your life or making homemade doll clothes for the Barbie set. Wood workers can also try making wooden toys and wagons. Bakers could whip up homemade gingerbread houses or cookie platters for loved ones. Be creative with your talents. It won’t cost you that much and you can have some fun doing so. .

Don‘t be worried about the cost of the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah , Kwanzaa and New Year’s can be low cost this year if you know how to save. In fact this may be the holiday season that will leave you in the black for once !

Do you clip your nails at work?

Living in the cube environment, not only is the sound disgusting, but also those nails can fly over a cube wall like a guided missile. Realizing that I was under attack by the new guy in the cube next door, I quickly had to cover my coffee and Danish to prevent contamination, while trying not to get my eye put out!

Do you have a desire to bond with your coworkers?

Take a good look around the office. What percent of these people come in with a hang over? Now take a good look at the working moms who either have their home nanny cam on their screen all day, or are on the phone screaming at the babysitter. Then there is a percentage of office workers either looking for a relationship either to replace the one they have, or for one to have on the sly. Do not be naïve; there are always some in every office. Then there is the group who live to stampede the hallways to the vending machines every morning and load up on 4000 calories to make it through to lunch. Do not forget the brown-nosers, or the ones who are just miserable human beings. These people do not want to bond with you. Nor do they want to come in ½ hour early every day to meet with you on a spiritual level. There will not be group hugs, or “sharing”.

Are you a “Holiday” person?

Are you on Hallmarks’ mailing list for every conceivable holiday on this planet? Do you use your attic to store all your “office” decorations? Have you been banned from any dollar store for scaring small children while grabbing every hokey decoration in the place? Do you buy Santa hats for all your coworkers and beg them to wear these fuzzy, fun filled hats every day from Thanksgiving until Christmas? Do you have 30 Christmas sweaters with matching earrings? Do you insist Christmas carols be played for 8 hours a day, every day? Perhaps living in Cubeville is not for you. Have you considered a job at Macy’s?

Is your voice mail greeting longer than the Gettysburg Address?

When another resident in Cubeville has the misfortune of having to call you, do they have to suffer through the following:

“Hello. You have reached Ms. Kimberly Suzanne Washington-Castrogiovanni, Senior Executive Administrative Assistant to Ms. Evelyn Grace Worthington-Warrington, Vice President of Research and Development in the Department of Complete Insanity, because by now you have left your phone and run off screaming due to the length of this voice mail greeting, but if by some chance you are still there, you may leave a message at the tone and I will gladly return your call just as soon as I finish my other call or return to my desk. Just leave your name, number, the time and a brief message, oh and have a great and blessed day! We have all heard them and have wanted to climb right through the phone and rip their lips off! Why do they do it? Is it a plot by our enemies to drive us insane? It is no longer a drive; it’s more of a short putt…

Does your entire family call your cellphone nonstop all day?

Do you have the most annoying ring tone you could possibly find? Despite answering it 50 times a day, you still forget where you left the phone and have to fumble finding it, while the rest of Cubeville is subjected to the ring tone of the Dukes’ of Hazard? Must your relatives call you at work and ask, “What ya are you doin?” to which you must reply, “nuthin”? Yes, we all know that you are not working, how could you be when you are on your cellphone all day.

Are you coffee making challenged?

The drink of choice in Cubeville is coffee. A rule of the community is, if you take the last cup, make another pot of coffee. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It has taken the Cubeville community years of training to make sure all of the citizens are completely trained in the art of pouring a pot of water into the coffee maker and putting fresh grounds in the basket. No excuses, no lapses in memory, no burning pots left on, no office fires!

Do you bring your daily spending money with you every day?

Do not expect to be getting loans from the citizens of Cubeville. We no longer fall for that one. If you cannot remember to bring your own lunch or your lunch money, have the adult in charge of your supervision put it in your pocket before you leave home.

Are all of your relatives involved in any of the “work part time from home and make millions” selling schemes?

Cubeville has a no littering policy pertaining to those brochures advertising worthless junk that we already have filling the rooms of our homes. We have all been exposed to those folks that have either a mother, daughter, husband, 3rd cousin, or neighbor who wants you to hustle more Avon, Mary Kay, Amway, gift wrap, cookie dough or other stuff on your unsuspecting coworkers. Do not do it, you will quickly be shunned in Cubeville.