Making the Most of After Christmas Sales

If you've been out and about today, you've most likely seen the throngs of shoppers gathered round marked down Christmas items. For some of you this may seem like a ridiculous waste of time, however, I'd like to give you a few ideas that will help you make the most of these sales.

• Christmas Candy - Now is the time to snag candy for a fraction of the price. Inexpensive bags of chocolate, chocolate bars, and chocolate Santas can be used in place of chocolate chips for baking. Also, I try to stock up on Hershey's Kisses to be used for Valentines and St. Patricks day. I use red and gold kisses for Valentines day and I use green kisses for St. Patricks day. It sure beats paying full price in February!
• Wrapping Paper - Christmas wrapping paper isn't just for Christmas! You can find solid and foiled red, gold, silver, green, and white paper that can be used throughout the year. Also, look for pastel colored paper with snowflakes to be used on gifts given during the wintry months.
• Gift Sets - I love holiday gift sets. Many of these get marked down to a fraction of the price because the packaging is Chistmas-y. I've often purchased giftsets made up of lotions and body washes at 50-80% off just because of the wrapping. What's even better is that these gift sets can be dismantled and the individual bottles of lotions can be put in other gifts throughout the year. I often turn these gift sets into birthday gifts or thinking of you gifts!
• Baking supplies and cookware - After Christmas is a great time to purchase cookware and baking supplies. I found multiple sets of pots and pans marked at 50% off at Wal-Mart this morning and I also found nice cookie sheets. I'm not sure why they choose to mark so many of these items down in their "holiday" section, but I definitely won't complain. If you need pots and pans, waffle irons, tea kettles, etc., make sure to take a look at the holiday markdowns.
• Christmas decorations and lights - Most of my Christmas decorations and lights have been purchased after Christmas. Each year, I try to add a few piece ornaments to my collection. I love that I can buy 3 or 4 ornaments for the price I would usually pay for 1. This is also a great time to buy an artificial tree to use next year. Also, if you are planning a wedding or party in which you may want to use white lights, stock up now. You'll be able to find them and the price on them will be unbeatable!
• Candles - I love candles! I love the way they make my house smell and the ambiance they create. Candles are often included in the post Christmas sales...and not just the red and green ones. I was amazed to find so many white candles in a variety of scents marked down to a fraction of their costs!

I hope this will give you a few ideas to help make the most of after Christmas sales. Please remember that it's never a good deal if you don't have the money to pay for it. It's easy to get caught up in the thrill of a bargain, but it's not worth the stress that it brings when you realize you have no money and no place to store all your "bargains". With that disclaimer out of the way, I'm heading to the mall! Have a great day!