Birthday Blessings is now Bright Blessings

To reflect the fact that they support homeless children and mothers in many ways, the awesome charity Birthday Blessings has changed its name to Bright Blessings. To see their current wish lists, go here.

Cheap finds at Target's Baby Sale

Target is continuing their big Baby Sale this week. Here are some coupon matchups for you. Don't forget to donate your extras to Loaves & Fishes, Salvation Army Center of Hope, or Birthday Blessings' Bless-A-Baby program.

Desitin, 2 for $6

- $1 off Desitin (excludes trial size), 1/9 SS

= $2 per tube

Johnson's baby wash, 15 oz, 2 for $6

- $1 off Johnson's Baby item (excludes trial size), 1/9 SS

- $1 off Johnson's Baby toiletry item, Target baby mailer

= $1 per bottle if you have both coupons, or $2 if you have just the MQ

Kerry at Totally Target is also reporting that you can find bottles of Johnson's Baby Wash bundled with a small bottle of Johnson's Bubble Bath for $1.99 at some stores. If you use the MQ, you can get this deal for .99, and if you have the TQ from the baby mailer, they're FREE!

Target clearance toys possibly 75% off starting 1/13

I posted before about the Target toy clearance, but just to catch you up: Target puts many of its toys on clearance each January and July to make room for new stuff. But the stuff they're getting rid of is still likely to be popular with your kids, as well as children in need in Charlotte. I've seen Little People, Disney Princess, Toy Story 3, Thomas & Friends, Lego, Imaginext, Mega Blocks, and Leapfrog toys all marked down over the past few weeks to 50% off. Target usually marks down the toys on Thursdays, and since they've been sitting at 30-50% off for about 3 weeks now, tomorrow may be the day we see some really awesome prices for toys!

A handful of items were already marked to 75% off. Some of the steals I found last week were:
- Thomas & Friends Early Engineers Rock & Roll Quarry, was $39.99, paid $9.99
- Fisher Price Little People Stand & Play Rampway, was $39.99, paid $9.99

I also bought a few big-ticket items at 50% off:
- Step2 New Traditions Kitchen, was $79.99, paid $39.99
- Lego table, was $79.99, paid $39.99

Many, many toys that are normally very pricey will be available for less than $10 when clearance gets to 75% off. If you're going by Target tomorrow, check out the toys and stock up for upcoming birthdays. You can also find some very affordable toys to donate to Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, or Birthday Blessings.

Target toy clearance has started!

I am so very excited to see that Target's toy clearance is officially underway. I scored a TON of great deals last July, when they were clearing out old inventory to make way for holiday toys. Now, they've got way too many toys, and it's time for another clearance. You can really save a lot of money by picking up birthday presents for your kids, nieces & nephews, grandchildren, and other children in your life and putting them away for later. Right now, I'm seeing a lot of items marked 30%-50% off:
 
- Circo baby toys, 30% off
- Thomas & Friends Early Engineers playsets and trains, 30-50% off
- Toy Story toys, 30-50% off
- Little Tikes sports toys, 30-50% off

There's a lot more, and inventory will depend on your local store. For example, the regular Target closest to my house had a lot of infant toys on clearance in July, but the Super Target I frequent did not. Start keeping an eye on things that Santa might have forgotten, and if you feel the price is right, go ahead and buy them. However, if there's a lot left in stock, they will eventually get marked down to 75% off. Last July, I purchased lots of Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn toys for my son's first birthday at 75% off, making each one between $5 and $8. I also grabbed My Little Pony sets, Hello Kitty toys, Sesame Street toys, Super Soakers and Transformers toys for my nieces and nephews, all 75% off. While you're at it, pick up a few things to donate to Birthday Blessings and help local homeless children get some really awesome birthday gifts. Happy bargain hunting!

Charity Profile: Birthday Blessings

I have to feature Birthday Blessings in this week's Charity Profile, because I think it's such a neat idea. In 2005, Amy & John Cervantes of Charlotte started Birthday Blessings as a way to encourage their kids to give back to others in need. It's grown a lot since then, and now they serve the greater Charlotte area and are trying to take their giving to a national level.

Birthday Blessings has 3 programs: Shelter Parties, which enables children in local homeless shelters to have a birthday party with cake, snacks, party games, presents and goody bags; Student Birthdays, which gives elementary- and middle school-aged kids in unstable housing situations (kids living in motels, campgrounds, etc.) birthday parties at school, complete with cake, presents and goody bags for their classmates; and Blessing Baskets, which provides homeless mothers of newborns with laundry baskets full of baby clothes, diapers, and other necessary supplies. Now, how can you not love this charity?

Please visit Birthday Blessings' Support page to view all the things they need, as there's just too much to list in one post. They need gift cards to Target, Walmart, Dollar Tree and other area stores, gift wrap, laundry baskets (pick some up for $1 each at Dollar Tree!), size N diapers, and much more. If you're like me, you want to give all year long, not just during the holidays. Birthday Blessings is definitely worthy of your help.

Uno 40th Anniversary Edition for $1 at Target!

There are 8 more days until Christmas, and if you'd like to give to charity but can't find room in your budget, don't worry! There's still time to make a difference, and you don't need a lot of cash to do it!

Today (December 17th) is the last day for the Salvation Army's "Magical Toy Drive". Go to any Salsarita's in the Charlotte area, any Camden or Bexley apartment community office, or to the Cornelius, Morrison Regional, Myers Park, Plaza Midwood, North County Regional, University City Regional, Steele Creek or Mint Hill libraries and drop off your new, unwrapped toys.

Don't have anything to give? Pop in to Target and see if you can find the Uno 40th Anniversary Edition with the card games in the toy department. They are ringing up for only $1. The other versions are $4.99, so this is a great deal. If you can't get them before the end of the day today, consider donating them to Birthday Blessings. This local charity helps children living without a permanent home (such as motels, shelters, campgrounds, etc.) by sponsoring birthday parties for them. How great is that? These card games will make great favors for the goody bags the organization puts together for party guests.