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The BIG Target 75% off toy clearance is coming soon, and I mentioned that it is a great way to stock up on gifts for any future birthdays that coming up, and also to buy presents for Christmas.
I had the following question from a reader:
As a mother of 5 teenagers, I am looking for deals to help with Christmas…any ideas? Most sites focus on stuff for the little ones, and mine have outgrown that! Thank you ! – Christine
I would love to hear what everyone does to save money when purchasing gifts for those hard to buy teenagers. We need to help Christine, SHE HAS 5 TEENAGERS!!! As a mom of 5 kids, 3 of which are teenagers, I have some experience in this department, so I will share what I do, and hope that anyone else that has some ideas will leave a comment to help Christine (and others) out.
TARGET TOY CLEARANCE
Lots of the toys at the Target toy clearance are aimed toward little ones, and elementary school children, but it is still possible to find items for teens mixed in with all of those baby toys. Some of the items I look for are games, my teens love to play games. One year I was able to pick up the Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot Blue Starter Set and Killer Bunnies Booster Packs. My teenagers LOVE this game, we got it 2 years ago and it is still one of the most played games we own. I picked up one for us and several for gifts (because we all know how hard they are to buy for). So, I would check out the toy clearance to see if you can find any games teenagers would like.
TARGET SPORTING GOODS CLEARANCE
Almost all of the departments get reset in the summer for the new fall merchandise that is coming in. The clearance items in the sporting goods department get marked down to 75% off a week or two after the toys. Some of my teens love sports, so I have been able to pick up footballs, soccer balls, tennis rackets and golf equipment all at 75% off. I will be sure you to give you a heads up when that happens.
TARGET CLEARANCE IN GENERAL
Are you starting to see a theme here? Can you tell I do lots of my Christmas shopping at Target? If you know the Target Markdown Schedule, then it makes it easy to know what day the clearance items in each department will go lower. The electronics department is popular with teens, so I would check it out on Mondays to see what new items have been discounted. Over the past year I have been able to pick up a ZEN music player, a camera and TONS of video games all at 75% off. The electronic departments is a great place to shop for teens!
USE SWAGBUCKS TO EARN AMAZON GIFT CARDS
Amazon has anything a teen could every want. Plus, they offer free shipping when you spend $25 or more on most items. So, I use Swagbucks and redeem them for Amazon gift cards. I was able to purchase quite a few items for my teens at Amazon for FREE with all of the gift cards I was able to earn. Swagbucks is my favorite online rewards program online. If you haven’t signed up with Swagbucks yet, I would recommend doing so today. It’s simple to use, just search for items on the internet from Swagbucks instead of google, and occasionally you will be rewarded with points. Share with your family and friends and you will get the same points they earn (up to 1000). Download their toolbar and get even more point opportunities.
GET GIFT CARDS FROM MYPOINTS
Another reward program I use to help me with my Christmas shopping for teens is Mypoints. With Mypoints, you get 5 points for reading emails and clicking through to the advertisers site. You can also get points for shopping online. You can redeem your points for gift cards at lots of different places. You could get a Target gift card to buy items for your teens. You can also get gift cards to just give to your teens – they have iTunes and movie gift cards that teens love. I have been with Mypoints for over 9 years, and I highly recommend this program.
WATCH FOR OFFERS
Right now Albertson’s has an offer if you buy $30 of select products you can earn a $15 iTunes gift card. If I was doing this offer, I would save the gift card that I earned to give as a gift to one of my teen boys. There are so many FREE offers out there for gift cards and movie tickets, you just need to keep your eyes open.
So, those are a few ideas of things that I do to save money and buy gifts ahead of time for my teenagers. I think it’s also important to remember that it’s not always about what you buy that matters, but what it is you do.
Please share some ideas of things that you do, so we all can get a jump start on our Christmas shopping for those hard to buy for teenagers.
Christine says
Christy,
Thank you for answering my question. I love the ideas. My hubby had been laid off for the last year, money has been tight, and I was getting frantic!
Christine
Jacy says
Hey Christy, Loving all your Target shopping tips! And the schedule of markdowns! I have a question…. You mentioned that electronics markdowns are on Mondays. Do you know if there is a specific time of year they do a big clearance, like the one for toys in January and July/August?
Stefanie says
In addition to your recommendations (esp. swagbucks to earn gift certificates, etc.), I would recommend that Christine sign up for Groupon in the area in which she lives – if it’s available. A little like Restaurant.com (which might also be a good way to find a well-priced gift certificate for her teenagers for food – what teenager would turn down food?!?), Groupon offers daily deals for local businesses – anything from restaurants, to sporting events/ equipment rental, to spas, etc. You get an email in your inbox everyday alerting you to the new deal, so its easy and convenient. Living Social does something very similar, though I think its available in fewer cities.
I don’t have any kids, let alone teenagers, but I am in my early 30s and have found, as an unemployed grad student partners with another unemployed grad student, that Groupon and Living Social help me to do fun stuff around town without spending too much money.
maygan says
For teenage girls, don’t forget Victoria’s Secret! They often have great deals/sales (on pj’s/beauty products) and free panty/lipgloss coupons. Paying attention to online deals would help as well- Hot Topic just did an additional 50% off clearance so I was able to buy some nice gifts for younger siblings (all in their early 20’s, but it would work also for teens) for cheap.
Don’t rule out sweeps and instant win games either. I’ve had great luck winning things I can tuck away and use later as gifts (including giftcards for Starbucks, free movie tickets, and the like).
Abby says
I have to agree with your previous reader on the Groupon idea. I have an almost 18 year old son and so far in the last couple months I have been able to purchase for him deals from Fat Burger, Family Fun Center (video arcade complete with go karts and boat bumper carts), and a tour of the Underground in Seattle for HUGE discounted prices one of them literally 90% off!
Also I too have found some items for my teenage son at the Target toy sale. He loves the Simpson’s cartoon. Last year I found him Simpson’s 20 questions and Simpsons Scene it game both 75% off!
I also just recently bought him a Regal cinema gift card through Mobba for only $4.
Christy says
Thanks for sharing your ideas everyone. I love them all! I agree with the Groupon idea too, I have been able to get some great deals through them.
Maygan – Thanks so much for the ideas of the teen girls (I don’t have any of those – yet). Those are some great suggestions!
Karen says
Don’t forget the gift of time. Although they are teenagers they really do like to have some one on one with a parent. How about a movie or a bite to eat?