Last minute shopping at Marshalls!

Usually I totally ban going to department stores this time of year, between the lines and utter chaos in the parking lots I've found I just can't handle the mess. So when I was given a mission to buy a secret Santa gift at Marshalls I had mixed feelings about it. For one I've really enjoyed all my other Marshall and T.J. Maxx assignments in the past and I've gotten some really great deals but I had this image of the store totally trashed and filled with people that filled me with a bit of dread.

So last night I braved freezing rain, cold weather, and the possibility of finding the entire store in chaos at 5pm on a Friday night to buy my Secret Santa gift. Do you know what I found? A totally clean store, fully stocked shelves of name brand toys, and possibly one of the best organized stores I've seen thus far this holiday season. All at Marshalls! Then the problem came... picking out the gift. I've been charged with buying a really awesome gift for a fellow blogger for the sum of $25. If this had not been Marshalls I would have laughed at the thought of actually getting something decent for $25 but the problem really became trying to decide what cool stuff to get for my $25!!

In the end I decided to buy two identical gifts... one for me and one for the fellow blogger. Inspired by the fact that I was about to go home and do some holiday baking I decided to buy a few cool items that would make that easier and make the presentation prettier. I started with a great ceramic cooking dish, a pourable mixing bowl, and a set of mini bowls which actually have the measurements on them as well which is great if you have some baking to do. All in all the ceramic baking dish alone should have cost at least $30. I ended up coming in just shy of $25 for each set. Though I can't tell you who my secret Santa recipient is, yet, I really hope she likes it!


What was supposed to be a 10 minute shopping trip turned into well over an hour, not because there were huge lines, but because I totally got stuck in the toy section. I was floored to see some of our favorite toys and brands at outrageously cheap prices and I really had to do everything I could to control myself as I swore I wouldn't buy one more thing for Connor. heh. I saw great sets from Learning Resources, an awesome Transformer Mr Potato Head that took an immense amount of willpower to leave behind, several Zambi the Elephants, and so much more! There were also several Hasbro board games on clearance which have rebates available for them that would have made them close to free after rebate as well. Tons of great last second gifts if your still looking!

There was also a huge display of my favorite cookware of all time, Le Creuset, at about 1/3 the retail value. $50 for a fairly large dutch oven which normally you never see under $180 even on sale... if Santa would like to bring me one for Christmas I'd be much appreciative! After lurking around in the toys and cookware for a good hour I did venture out and checked out the baby clothing as well as its about 8 weeks till our new munchkin comes and there were tons of great ideas for name brand infant clothing as well. I even saw several pairs of Robeez at incredibly low prices!

With only a few shopping days left I know if your a mom like me you'll want to avoid as much of the last second holiday rush as you can. Lets just say I could have finished my entire holiday list at Marshalls last night if I still needed more gifts. There were so many great ideas at awesome prices it took everything I had not to buy more! From toys to electronics to name brand perfumes your bound to find something for everyone on your list with one stop and no need to run around chasing sales!

Marshalls and TJ Maxx are also hosting a Carol-oke contest. Record yourself singing your favorite Christmas carols. Post the videos to the Carol-oke Youtube page and be entered to win a $5000 holiday shopping spree!! What we wouldn't give to win that!

In the meantime head on over to your local Marshalls or T.J. Maxx and check out the great deals! If your looking for some last second toys I highly recommend checking out the toy section as well! When I say they were well stocked I mean my local store was WELL stocked.

Disclosure : I was given two $25 gift certificates to do this review, one to spend on myself and one to spend on my Secret Santa. However my opinion is always my own and no compensation influences it!