The holidays are upon us! Have you done all of your shopping? Did you include your child’s teacher? How about those people at work that always help you finish those TPS reports? Something always comes up doesn’t it?!? Well, our friends at TJ Maxx and Marshalls are here to the rescue! They have agreed to send a gift card out to one fortunate reader to help get some last minute gifts for the holidays (or as a great budget helper).
Last year TJ Maxx and Marshall’s sent me a couple of gift cards and it really came to the rescue! We were invited to a holiday party and had to get gifts for the hosts and their mom. By shopping at TJ Maxx/Marshalls we were able to get a good amount of quality gifts at most reasonable prices.
Gift Card Giveaway Rules:
One $25 gift card will be shipped out to the winner. In order to enter, leave a comment on this article telling me how you have stretched out your gift budget this year. I really want to hear all of your ideas from re-gifting to shopping at stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls. One comment entry per person. I’ll use Random.org to pick the winner. The cutoff for comment entry is Monday, December 21st at 11:59pm EST.
Editor’s Note: This contest is now closed.
Other Good Stuff From TJ Maxx and Marshalls
Marshalls/TJ Maxx is also holding a Join The Carolers contest on YouTube where they are giving away prizes to 16 contestants. 15 people will win $100 gifts cards while the grand prize winner will receive a $5000 gift card! To enter, contestant need to upload their own rendition of one of four carols (only the original carols are eligible for the $5000 gift card prize). Check out the official Marshalls/TJ Maxx YouTube page for specifics and rules.
Take a look at their YouTube introduction:
Here’s another incentive to enter the caroling contest - For every video uploaded, Marshalls/TJ Maxx will donate $1 to Toys For Tots up to $50,000. Even if you don’t win you’ll be helping out kids this holiday season!
So what are you waiting for?!? Let me know in the comments how how you are stretching your gift budget this year for a chance to win a $25 gift card. Also check out the YouTube contest from Marshalls/TJ Maxx.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I have gotten gifts for the younger kids at goodwill. They are hard on toys and don’t care if its been played with before.
I used the rewards points from my Citi credit card to buy four semi-expensive gifts for my Dad and sister…I even used the points to pay for shipping, so they were essentially free!
I got crafty and made a lot of my gifts! Christmas ornaments, a pair of mittens, and some photo frames. Sometimes it’s a lot cheaper to buy the materials and make your own stuff.
I made dozens of jars of homemade jam to give as gifts
this Christmas with a homemade loaf of bread! Something
nice for holiday breakfasts.
I shop early. I take advantages of sales earlier in the year & save up stuff to give as presents.
I hope to stretch my Christmas budget this year by winning a marshalls gift card! But seriously, we’re making our money go further this year by planning ahead, by saving up cash for the presents we’ll buy, and then finding the best deals before we buy. Sure beats putting it all on credit and paying it til next year!
.-= Peter´s last blog ..Sad News Of The Passing Of A Friend: A Tribute To Jason Mitchener =-.
Hmmm there are a few different ways, really. I guess I’m a frugal-gift ninja!
Okay, well one gift I’ve had since this past spring, when I found a Star Wars Trivial Pursuit game in practically mint condition for $10 at a yard sale. (Last year, I found a Marvel Scene It, unopened for $10. It’s becoming a tradition, almost.)
About two months ago, I was skimming Craigslist ads for some used goods and found an ad for some Star Wars collectibles. (It accidentally became a theme, I’m afraid.) So I was able to get him a Darth Maul figurine, bank and one or two other items. For $35.
This past spring, I signed up at Swagbucks and enlisted my mom, my husband a whole bunch of my readers to sign up as well. With their help and some diligence on my part, I got enough Swagbucks to get $170 of GCs from Amazon.com. That got my husband his main present, a PSP. It was a combination birthday/Christmas gift, so he already has it. And love love loves it!
Then yesterday, we were out and about for a mystery shop. We ended up in Macy’s, where he saw a hoodie he’d been drooling over for about a year. (Darth Maul. See a theme here?) It was normally $99.99, but was half off. With some gift cards and, magically, a coupon that the woman in front of us couldn’t use, we paid exactly $4.53 for the thing. He’s barely taken it off.
For our parents, we had a $10 gift limit. He found a gorgeous glass necklace for his mom for $5 in a kiosk in the mall. We hit Stein Mart for a few other goodies: a watch for his dad, a necklace for an aunt, some tool gadgets for an uncle. And for my mom, I used a credit from The Body Shop rewards program to get a $33 spa kit for $6.30 (plus 63 cents cash back).
Altogether, we spent just under $50 for 5 people, and Tim got $150 to spend on me — plus a $25 Visa gift card I got from MyPoints. Which made the actual Christmas shopping outlay $200 this year.
(The next big goal is an iPod Touch in lieu of a PDA — so we’re back on the Amazon gift card trail once again. Luckily, we’re almost at $75 of GCs at MyPoints.)
.-= Abigail´s last blog ..So much for that… =-.
We are buying and shopping less, but when we do we try to scan the sales ads thoroughly and look for additional shopping coupons. We always use a rebate-type shopping portal when shopping online. *Thanks* for the giveaway!
I know exactly how to stretch my gift budget. I’m going to buy 25, $1 lottery tickets for friends and co-workers, with the hopes of getting reimbursed with the gift card!
Gifts are all about fun and leverage. They don’t have to be expensive at all. In fact, I feel bad if anybody spends more than $20 bucks on me.
Best, Sam
.-= Financial Samurai´s last blog ..The Katana: Randy Pausch and Basketballs 12/20 =-.
I shopped on Black Friday to get the best deals for the things I need. When you can find a great deal and use coupons (Target/Walmart) it really helps stretch your budget! I also shopped at TJ Maxx and got some great PJs for the girls for wicked cheap!
I cashed in some of my credit card reward points for gift cards that gave me more value than the point value of what I redeemed them for (i.e $25 gift card for only $20 worth of points) then I used the gift cards during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales to buy some gifts.
First, I started shopping earlier, so my bf’s Christmas gift (tickets to the Philharmonic) actually came out of September’s budget. Next, I made jewelry for gifts, used credit card points to “buy” gift cards at no cost, and gifted my old iPod speakers to my brother. The only people who are receiving purchased gifts (outside of the bf, of course) this December are my nephews because I couldn’t figure out how to make the train sets they’d asked for. But even that was on the cheap: I researched the lowest prices and bought battery-operated trains because I think they’re too young to take care of a real train set.
We cut out most of the people we give gifts to. For the rest, we started early and have been using massive sales. If you know what you want and where to look AND have no time pressure, you can almost always score screaming deals.
.-= Jason@LiveRealNow´s last blog ..The Secret to Fearless Change =-.
We have a very minimal number of gifts to purchase. Since the kids have a ton of toys already, we’ve decided to take a much deserved trip and some outings during the holiday break. The gifts we are buying we are purchasing using store credit and free shipping as much as possible.
.-= FrugalNYC´s last blog ..4 Reasons To Eat Grapefruit =-.
Most of the people on my list wanted books for me for Christmas. I did buy new books for everyone, but I also made their gifts a little nicer by purchasing some “like new” books at some different library book sales.
.-= Alissa´s last blog ..’Tis the season for giving =-.
I was laid off in May 2009, from a job where I was making $40K. I had to take a job in which I took more than half of a pay cut in Aug. 2009. Therefore, I had to cut my buying in half. Many of my gifts sincerely came from TJ Maxx. Others were purchased from the Dollar Store, Big Lots, and other discount stores. I’ve discovered that I don’t have to to big or go home. I just have to share my love and do what I can.
Thanks for playing everyone! I love all the great gift budget responses.
Instead of buying holiday/birthday cards at Hallmark or any other retailer I’ve been getting creative and making them personalized on my own. That’s helped cut down a few hundred dollars or so over the past year.
Thanks for all the information on your site and for the giveaway!
My family and I are doing most of our shopping at TJ Maxx. We are on a budget and have saved so much by shopping there. I bought my mother a name brand purse on clearance. She will never know! Christmas is a time about family not about breaking the bank. We will be enjoing the memories with our wallets a little fuller than last year!
So far this year it has been nothing but a struggle. I was laid off esrly in the year i have not been able to find another job. I live in a small town there is no work at all. On top of that i do not have a vehicle which makes everything more an more difficult. I would greatly appreciate the help.