Borders Going Out of Business Sale = Replenished Gift Closet

My gift closet has been looking kind of sad lately, so I've been looking for opportunities to replenish it a bit in preparation for the upcoming holiday season. Ok, I know it's only August. But I find that by buying early, I spend less, am less stressed during the month of December, and have more time to find great gifts that I hope the recipients will really love.

With the gift closet in mind I took advantage of some free time this past weekend to visit Borders’ Going Out of Business Sale. If you haven’t heard, all Borders stores across the country are closing.  They are liquidating every bit of merchandise in their stores, from books to calendars to DVDs to fixtures and furniture.

When I was at Borders this past weekend, everything in the store was 40-60% off the lowest marked price. I have a mental list of who I need to buy for in the next 6 months. Since my list is mostly children, I started looking in the Children’s bargain books area.  I found several large sticker books for only $1.99, an Alex Toys crafting kit for $7, and a set of large Sesame Street flash cards for $3.  Nothing I bought was over $10.  I estimate that I will use these items for 4-5 children’s gifts, plus various stocking stuffers for my kids and husband.  

I did look briefly for myself, as I am always in the market for good cookbooks for ideas and inspiration. I found this:

From Gangsta’s Paradise to Cookin’ with Coolio? I guess he was just playin' when he said, "half of them ain't lookin' what's goin' on in the kitchen, but I don't know what's cookin'. " Well played, Coolio.

Anyway -- the point is, I didn’t find any cookbooks to buy, which is probably a good thing. It kept my spending in control. My total out of pocket after the discounts was $64 -- more than I wanted to spend, but not bad if I am able to divide the trip into 5-6 gifts. 

Oh, and if you're my real life friend, and you have a kid, and you invite my kids to a birthday party, well, you have a little preview of what we might be bringing. :)

A final note about Borders: I spoke to the manager when I was there and she indicated that the sale would probably continue into the middle of September. I would guess that starting around September 1, prices will start dropping even more, until they reach 80-90% off.  Of course, it's always a gamble to know how much inventory there will be left at that time.  I'll probably be back then, though.