DC Locals, quick shout out to Unique Thrift, where deal kid just got a Nerf Blaster for $64 off!
Just a quick note to share my Unique Thrift haul from yesterday. We had 1/2 hour to kill so I took Deal Kid to look for Nerf guns for his birthday. Lo and behold, we found this beauty for $3.93. A quick Amazon search told us that the Nerf Hornet AS-6 Blaster is a collectible and would have cost $67 new!
Would I have spent $67 on a Nerf gun? No way! For his bday I would have spent $20, tops. This way the Nerf Gun teaches Deal Kid the value of $4 and has him feeling like a million bucks! Deal Kid wants me to let you know the bullets easily have a 25 foot range. He’s running through the house shooting six bullets at a time and terrorizing Deal Dog as I write.
To recap, here are my two favorite thrift stores in the area. Please share your finds!:
BThrifty (http://www.b-thrifty.com/) If you haven’t been to BThrifty yet, it’s a thrift store the size of a small Wal-Mart and worth a visit if you are in the area: it’s at the intersection of 123 and Rt. 1 in Woodbridge, across the street from the Aldi (which is also worth a visit). It’s not quite as well stocked as Unique Thrift in Merrifield http://imunique.com/pages/FallsChurchVirginia/ (the thrift store to beat all thrift stores), but it’s getting there.
Original publish date: August 23, 2012.
Yup, this was ten bucks well spent!
$10 Wolf Trap lawn tix and a 5 year olds dream come true
I just wanted to share our evening using the $10 lawn tix to Wolf Trap for South Pacific. Deal Girl and I made a date of it with another Mom and her girl (and Chelsea, the American Girl doll, who got in free and sat in her own lawn chair). I was concerned about taking a 5 year old to the theatre and considered this $10 lawn seat deal a great entry into what I am hoping will be a lifetime love.
At intermission, Deal Girl turned to me and said “I have been dreaming my whole life to stay up till 10 o clock, listen to music, and watch the stars and moon”. Then she promptly fell asleep and snored through Act 2.
Mission Accomplished.
Original publish date June 1, 2012.
Nerf+Cheetos+40 kids= the easiest party ever
The Deal Family is in recovery mode today from a MONSTER of a party we hosted yesterday! And yes, we do depart for Europe in six days, and no, I haven’t even begun to pack, but putting this party together was WAY easier than I expected thanks to the help of House Party, who provided us with a case of Natural Cheetos and 20 Nerf Super Soakers.
As life has been too crazy lately for me to really stress over this shindig (not to mention I’m about as ANTI Martha Stewart a gal as you’re gonna meet), we decided to keep it pretty simple. We gave each kid a super soaker when they walked in, gave each adult a beverage and some Cheetos, and let the fun begin!
The party started at 4PM with us thinking it would wrap up around 7. Well, at 9 when the sun went down the kids FINALLY got cold enough to put the super soakers away and snuggled up around the Muppet Movie while the Moms hung around and chatted until almost 11.
As kids cycled in and out playing chase, tag, and whatever games they came up with, I just hung back and listened as I heard various versions of “best party ever!” and knew I had done my job.
Besides thanking Nerf and Cheetos I wanted to close this post with a lesson learned: Sometimes it’s best to just hang back and let kids be kids. I could have pre-planned every minute on a spreadsheet, organized some sort of tournament, held a contest, etc. etc. etc. but all I really had to do was hand them the tools: Nerf guns, buckets of water, and a nice patch grass on a beautiful day.
(Note to House Party planners, who instead of actual soakers sent me $5 coupons to hand out at the party: have you ever actually met a 9 year old boy? Imagine how differently the party would have gone had I said “Welcome, kids! Here’s a COUPON!”. Fortunately Target and Walgreens came to the rescue with sales that made the guns pretty much free so I picked them up prior to the party.)
Original publish date: June 16, 2013
Chuck E Cheese Tips to Keep Your Savings and Sanity
I was a reluctant convert (read: snob) before finding the formula that makes the Chuckster now my go-to for birthday parties with the kids. I’m at my 8th CEC party as this posts so have learned a few Chuck E Cheese Tips to make it go smoothly.
Chuck E Cheese Tips
- Timing is crucial, and you want the first slot on Sunday morning. It’s the sweet spot between when people will attend (you lose a few to church but they can hit the last hour) and no one else there. They usually offer online booking bonuses for Sundays, too. We’ve had the entire place to ourselves for the 1st half hour many times. Which leads me to my 2nd tip:
- Start the party when the place opens, not when the party officially “starts”. For instance, our party this time officially starts at 11AM on Sunday. CEC opens at 10. The day before I send an email letting our closest friends know we’ll be there at 10 and they’re welcome to come and play. The kids go nuts in their own private arcade and you get a few minutes to relax and chat with the parents before the malay begins.
- When booking, use the rule of 5(+1). CEC charges per kid for their parties, but uses a formula you can leverage to your advantage: 5 kids=1 pizza. SO, you book a party for 10, you get 2 pizzas. Book a party for 11, you get 3 as they can’t send out just 2 slices for that last kid. So even if I have 9 kids, I’ll book for 11 because for the 2 kid’s fees I’ll get 2 drink cups adults can use, 2 kid’s worth of tokens, and an entire extra pizza.
- Let the hosts know Chuck E Time is not your priority. They will still go through the video, but can speed things along, especially since at that time of day you’re usually the only party.
- Bring coupons for extra tokens and food for the grownups. They won’t help with the party cost, but are definitely useful around the edges. If you forget, just pull up your smartphone and their website.
- Keep an eye out for discount gift cards. Last year I found one at Raise that saved me 10% right off the top.
- Lean in. Not every minute of parenthood needs to be stressful or hyper-organized. Race your kid at Mario Kart. Shoot the 50 in Skeeball. Eat the cotton candy. It’s a party!
- When all else fails, Chuck E Cheese sells beer.
Are You Paying a Girl Tax?, 2015
I saw an interesting article in the New York Daily News that affirmed what I already believed: There’s a Girl Tax on items marketed in pink versus blue. The post highlights both adult items like razors and kids stuff pretty much across the board.
I’ve ranted previously about Nerf Rebelle, Lego Friends, and the many other “boys toys” that brands have decided needed to be girlied up. I found it odd that girls somehow couldn’t play with primary colored Legos and needed to coaxed into them with marketing. Add to that that the “girls’ toys” often cost more and you’ve taken it from odd to full blown offensive.
I saw the Girl Tax in effect just yesterday. Both Deal Kids love Nerf and Deal Kid wanted to give his sister a Nerf blaster for Christmas. The $15 Rebelle would have fit into a pocket.
Just out of curiosity I wondered what the “regular” $15 Nerf looks like and I found a blaster that was over two feet long.
Which toy would YOU rather get for Christmas?
Fortunately Deal Girl is not a fan of pink so our choice was a no-brainer. But why can’t the “girl” Nerf kick as much booty as the “boy” one?
Have you noticed any egregious examples of the Girl Tax lately? Let’s shine some light on this issue- sunshine is the best disinfectant.
