Hutterite Garage Sales

Hello!  Usually at this time of year, garage sales have kind of wound down.  And for the most part they have. With the exception of the Hutterite garage sales, at least in our area.  Today I attended garage sales at 2 different colonies (Fairholme and Good Hope, both South West of Portage la Prairie).  And I managed to snag quite a few deals.

My favorite find of the day was the mens hats.  There was a huge box of them, brand new with tags.  They were asking 3/$1, but throughout my years of garage saleing, I've gotten the nerve to barter now and again. I asked the lady if she would give me a better price if I took 50 hats and she sold them to me for $12.  So that's .24 cents a hat.
There was also lots of bars of soap around, so I bartered at both colonies and got almost 30 bars of soap for about .25 cents a piece.
Socks and toques were a quarter a piece and I found a few miscellaneous things as well: a beanie baby (.25), a collapsible cup (.10), a bag of wooden beads (.25), a small toy drum (.25), and some wash cloths that worked about to .30 a piece.
I also always checked the free boxes and got free felt (see top left hand corner), that I can use for a craft I have in mind for shoe boxes and a new mens hat.
I have never really shopped garage sales with shoe boxes in mind, until this spring.  I have found the odd thing here and there, but overall, not that much.  You want something that's a great price, but also something that is or looks brand new.  You also want quality items, not just trinkets from a dollar store.
So if you have a chance to hit up a hutterite garage sale, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the things you can find.
Do any other areas have sales such as these?  Just curious!

Canadian Flag Lapel Pins

I always like to include something with the Canadian flag on it, in each shoe box I pack.  An easy way to let the recipient know which country the box came from.  The souvenir section of any store often has little items that can be bought, such as tags, stuffed animals, key chains, etc. 

I got these Canadian flag lapel pins in the mail today.  A great addition for a shoe box.  And best part is - they're free!  Just contact a member of parliament and they will send them out to you.

I think these would get lost easily in a shoe box, so I'm thinking it would be wise to maybe print out some card stock with a little message or Scripture on it and pin one of these on.
What other items have you come across with the Canadian Flag on it?

Trade Show Freebies

My husband attends various trade shows across Canada, as an exhibitor for our family business and I often tag along. Many exhibitors give away freebies, as promotional items.  With Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes in mind, I snag as many items as I can, that are suitable for packing in shoe boxes.

This last week, we attended the Regina Farm Progress Show.  While the show is three days long, I attended for a couple of hours and was able to snag these goodies:

Some items may be hard to see.  There's a hat, beach ball, regular and mini sized footballs, coloring books, stickers/tattoos, pens, pencils, a flat water bottle, notepads, microfiber clothes, reusable shopping bag and of course, I snagged the soap and personal hygiene items from the hotel room.
I plan to deflate the beachball, to pack as efficiently as possible.  I would also deflate the football and include a pump (which I would have to purchase).  The great thing about including`a larger sized ball (soccer balls are great too) is that a whole group of kids can play with it.  I think most, if not all, of these items would lend themselves well to a shoe box for an older boy.

Earth Day freebies.

Superstore is handing out free grocery bags today with purchase.
Free coffee on April 22 at Starbucks with a reusable mug.
30% off your entire purchase at Old Navy with a reusable bag.



Free Reebok Play-Dry Shirt.

Free Reebok shirt with 2 pins from specially marked boxes of Post cereal. (One pin per box)

Free T-shirt

Offers like this do not come around very often here in Canada.

Buy specially marked Post Cereal-  Honeycombs, Shreddies, Alpha-bits and Sugar Crips.

Enter your code and they'll send you a free t-shirt!

We just finished a box of Honeycombs and I just ordered my t-shirt.

It says allow 8-10 weeks for delivery.

Now we just started Alph-bits.

So another t-shirt will be coming our way!

Free

Last week we went away for a few days.

And I came back with a few extra fillers for my box.

Pens and pads of paper. Great for boxes. 

I was hoping to score a sewing kit.  But there was none in the room.

 I'll probably put both bars of soap in 1 box as they're small.

When we went for supper my boys each received a box of crayons.

I made them share and put the other one in my purse to add to a box;)

Free stuff is all around us.  Take it and use it to bless a child.