Free 60 Day Trial Membership - BJ’s is giving away a free 60 day trial membership to their warehouse with full member benefits.  Print off the coupon to take advantage of this deal.   

Use your membership to save money on food, toys, electronics, or seasonal merchandise.  I am a fan of their cakes from the bakery.  They have cream in the middle and they are so moist, yummy, and inexpensive.  Also, BJ’s allows their members to use manufacturer’s coupons.

Sale items - With your trial membership, you might want to take advantage of some of these deals:

• Mr. Coffee 12-cup programmable coffeemaker for $29.99 
• BOSE around-ear headphones bundle
• Accelerator PC Trainer 5 First Laptop loaded with games, music and educational activities priced at $39.99

Giveaway – One lucky reader will receive a $25 gift card for BJ’s Wholesale Club.  There are several ways to enter.  Pick as many options as you’d like.  Just be sure to leave a comment for each one, which makes it easier to count entries and choose a random winner.

1.  Leave a comment.  You can tell us if you shop at a wholesale club, why you like them, or your favorite discounted items.
2.  Tweet about this giveaway. You can use the easy tweet button to your right or use this abbreviated url http://bit.ly/5Tbvj8.  Be sure to leave a status url.
3.  Follow @thriftymommy on twitter.
4.  Blog about this giveaway.
5.  Digg, Stumble, or bookmark this post on Delicious or Reddit.
6.  Subscribe to Thrifty Mommy.

This contest ends Sunday, December 20, 2009 and is available to those with a U.S. shipping address.  The winner will be contacted via email and will have 72 hours to respond. 

Good luck everyone!

Disclaimer:  I was not paid for this post but did receive a small gift from BJ’s Wholesale.  Image 1 (c) Karen Weideman, image 2 (c) BJ’s.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Each 12 Days of Christmas mug and dessert plate bears a different design inspired by the popular Christmas carol, and is accented with holiday holly berry and garland.  The collection is crafted of Lenox ivory fine porcelain and includes a nice box that could be used for gift giving and storage.

Holiday 12 Days of Christmas Mugs - Set of 12 generous mugs by Lenox, each holds 12 ounces.  Mugs feature twelve different designs, all tied into the 12 Days of Christmas theme.  Each design is elegantly framed with the classic holly and berry garland of Lenox’s popular Holiday™ pattern.  Crafted of ivory porcelain, all mugs are dishwasher and microwave safe. Beautiful Lenox gift box also doubles as a storage box to keep this set protected as you wait for Christmas to arrive again.

Holiday 12 Days of Christmas Dessert Plates – Set of 12 generous dessert plates by Lenox, each measures 9” in diameter. Plates feature twelve different designs, all tied into the 12 Days of Christmas theme. All designs are elegantly framed with the classic holly and berry garland of Lenox’s popular Holiday™ pattern. Crafted of ivory porcelain, all plates are dishwasher and microwave safe. Beautiful Lenox gift box also doubles as a storage box to keep this set protected as you wait for Christmas to arrive again.

There are a few things about this set that really stands out to me.  Both the mugs and the plates are dishwasher and microwave safe.  If you’re like most families, you have a busy lifestyle and you need dishes that can be functional, easy to maintain and care for, and beautiful for guests and your family.  Also, the 12 Days of Christmas dishes are accented with the Lenox Holiday holly and berry garland, which allows them to be used with the Lenox Holiday china. These mugs and plates would be perfect for an after dinner coffee, hot chocolate, and dessert.  The sets come with a nice box for easy storage so that they do not take up a lot of space.

The 12 Days of Christmas mugs and plates retail for $200.00 per set, but Bed Bath & Beyond has them for a great price.  You can get the plate set for $79.99 and the mug set for $79.99!

And on to the giveaway .  .  . This giveaway is for a set of 12 Days of Christmas plates AND a set of 12 Days of Christmas mugs!!!!!!!  Isn’t this exciting?   

As always, I like to keep giveaways interesting and fun. There are several ways to enter the contest. Pick one or all of the options, but please leave a comment for each one you complete. It makes it easier to count the entries and pick a winner.

1. Tell us what you would do with the china if you were to win.
2. Tell which Lenox pattern is best suited for you and why.
3. Write a paragraph on why you like Lenox so much or a paragraph on some memories shared while using Lenox.
4. Tweet about this contest. Use the easy tweet button to the right or use the abbreviated url http://bit.ly/7mTk6I.  You may choose this option up to three times each day. Be sure to leave a status url so I can verify.
5. Tweet a picture of some Lenox china that you already own.
6. Blog about this contest.
7. Follow ThriftyMommy on twitter.
8. Digg, Stumble, or bookmark this post on Delicious or Reddit.
9. Subscribe to Thrifty Mommy.

This contest ends Thursday, December 17, 2009 at midnight and is available to those with a U.S. shipping address.  The winner will be contacted via email on Thursday, December 17, 2009.  The winner will have 24 hours to respond, but it’s best to respond as soon as possible so that we can get this beautiful set to you before Christmas. 

Good luck everyone!

Disclaimer: I did receive products to review, but did not receive any monetary compensation.  Image provided by Lenox.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

According to CharcoCaps, an over-the-counter, activated charcoal capsule that stimulates and supports the body’s own defenses against intestinal gas, most people experience gas about 14 times a day. Um, yikes.  Mainly the foods we eat are often to blame, especially many fruits, vegetables and whole grains but other issues such as medications, stress, travel, and illness can also cause gas.

Beside supporting defenses against gas, CharcoCaps also helps to naturally relive gas discomfort, pressure and bloating, which helps absorb gas. It can also help eliminate ‘jet bloat’ that folks get when flying.

Where am I going with this? Well, as what I can only assume is an obvious play on terms, CharcoCaps is holding a giveaway where you’ll have a chance to win a $100 pre-paid gas card to “help take some of the gas pains out of your wallet” simply by filling out the CharcoCaps Gas Etiquette Quiz. One card will be given away each month (while supplies last). Gas is no fun to discuss but if you win some gas for free, well, that’s pretty cool.

Take the Gas Etiquette Quiz.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

This giveaway includes great stuff like Hi-Liters, labels, GlueStics, binders, dividers, sheet protectors, Marks-a-Lot permanent markers, and t-shirt transfers. The gift basket has a retail value of over $50!

Avery recently partnered with Box Tops for Education. Now, when you purchase Avery school supplies for the new academic year you also receive Box Tops coupons to clip and return to your child’s school to be redeemed for cash. Each school then uses the cash at their discretion to purchase new supplies, fund programs, or buy much-needed equipment, computers, etc.

I know you’d like to win this great prize package from Avery. As usual, I have several ways for you to earn entries.  Of course, the more times you enter, the higher your odds of winning.  Here are your options:

1)  Leave a comment with something other than “enter me”. Tell me about the school supplies you like or maybe give me your favorite money saving tip.

2)  Tweet about this giveaway on twitter.  There is an easy tweet button to your right.  Be sure to leave your twitter name or status url in the comment box. You can earn 3 tweet entries per day.

3)  Follow @thriftymommy on twitter.

4)  Blog about this giveaway or mention it on some sort of forum. Leave a direct url so that I can easily find the info for your entry.

5)  Give this post a thumbs up on Stumble Upon, Digg It, add a link on Facebook, or some other way of promoting the giveaway.

6)  Add Thrifty Mommy and/or Keeping the Castle to your blogroll.

You can earn entries for each of these things that you do.  Please leave a separate comment for each one.  It just makes it easier for tallying entries and choosing a winner.

This contest ends Wednesday, September 9, 2009.  Winners will be contacted via email and will have 72 hours to respond.

Good luck everyone!

image from avery

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

LAST MINUTE SAVINGS:

Through tomorrow; August 27th, you can save up to 50% on all sorts of school minded clothing. From basics to uniforms to supplies like backpacks.

THE CONTEST!:

Lands’ End Ready, Set, School Photo Contest is fun and will be extra fun if you win. Facebook fans of Lands’ End can submit photos of their child (one photo per child) to the Lands’ End Facebook page through their Contests tab. It can be a photo of your child in her new school clothes, her fave new school shoes, her new school haircut or whatever other original picture you can think of. Then folks can browse through a gallery of all the submitted images at the Lands’ End Facebook page.

On September 11, Lands’ End will choose 10 finalists and allow all Lands’ End fans to vote for their favorite photos. You can vote once every 24 hours. Each of the top 10 finalists will receive a $75 LE gift card. On September 18, the child’s photo with the most votes wins a grand prize of $4000 to put towards college savings. Not bad. That will buy a lot of college textbooks.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

First up Tarte is having a killer friends and family sale – 40% off EVERYTHING! Tarte is a really cool place to score more natural blush, lip gloss, and all sorts of other nifty cosmetics infused with juicy goodness. I’ve reviewed many Tarte products and liked them all. You can read my reviews of their Tarte Cheek Stain, a spring cosmetic set, and my fave, the Rise & Shine Natural Lip Stain. Right now you can try the above and more for a lot less than usual. Use the code FF09 at checkout.

They’re also handing out free samples with each order, but this deal ends super soon so check out the goods fast. Oh, and because font is odd on the web, if “zero” 9 doesn’t work in the code, maybe that’s an O. Don’t you hate when companies use 0 vs. O? But Tarte is cool, so I’ll let it slide.

In other yummy news, Smucker’s is asking folks to share special family memories and recipes in their second annual “Spreading Smucker’s Traditions” contest. One grand prize winner will win a five day, four night family trip for eight to Walt Disney World Resort where they can create new family memories. Nice right!?

To enter, you just have to share an original family recipe that “Incorporates at least ¼ cup of Smucker’s jams, jellies, preserves, or fruit butter and the story behind how their recipe makes family celebrations special. The recipe must have been passed down for at least two generations or is currently being passed on to a second generation, and needs to include names of all family members involved in the sharing of the recipe.”

This giveaway is coming up soon. It starts August 26 and goes through October 12, 2009. See all the official rules at Smucker’s starting on the 26th.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

One lucky winner is going to receive rent or mortgage relief for an entire year. Nice. Garry Graham, Burlington Coat Factory’s SVP of Marketing, says, “Money is tight for most consumers, and while Burlington Coat Factory offers budget-friendly prices that are easy on the wallet everyday, we wanted to do something special for one of our customers… Through the Live Free for a Year sweepstakes, we will help one lucky customer in a very real and meaningful way.”

Burlington Coat Factory’s official rules note that they will pay up to $20,000 towards the winner’s principal and interest payments for a home mortgage or residential rent payments for one year. The contest kicked off on July 6th and ends at the end of business on Wednesday, September 9th.

To see all the official rules visit the Burlington Coat Factory website. To enter head to a Burlington Coat Factory store near you and fill out the official entry form.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Win an electronic gift certificate for whatever amazing organics you like at Earth Mama Angel Baby. Ends June 21st.

Win a hyper cool Strida 5.0 SX Limited folding bike:  Eco-friendly bling worth $950! OMG. Ends June 24th.

Build a Bear Gift Card Giveaway – perfect for a restless kid this summer. Ends June 27th.

Win a $50 Tiny Prints Gift Certificate!- I LOVE Tiny Prints, thus I’m proclaiming that this is a killer prize. Ends July 10th.

Enter to win a FREE wedding photography package, valued at over $4,800 – SCORE if you happen to be getting married soon. Ends June 30th.

Dyson DC25 Giveaway – In case you’re not aware, the Dyson is a super mod, super cool vacuum valued at $500. Ends July 15th.

Win a nice little Flip Video Mino to record all your summer shenanigans on. Not only handy, but oh so pretty for a camera. Ends June 22nd.

Do you know of any bling giveaways happening? Or, why not just tell me which of the above look fun to you. Personally, I wouldn’t mind the camera or bike.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Our randomly drawn winner is…

Carolyn Gonzalez who says, “I think a lot of us want the same thing: GE French Door Bottom Freezer Refrigerator with Icemaker – Oh that’s my dream!!”

I think Carolyn is right, many of us wanted a new fridge. Congrats to Carolyn! I’ll email you soon with details.

Thanks to everyone who played and thanks to GE for sponsoring this event. If you didn’t win you might want to drown your sorrows in a Free Doughnut for National Doughnut Day. Of course the yoga mat is healthier, so if you partake in said free doughnut, consider a nice midday walk.

Don’t forget to check out the the great GE Stainless Steel Kitchen Appliances sale going on until July 6, 2009.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Enter here.

Another cool giveaway to enter here at Thrifty Mommy is the Karen run, $100 Lands’ End Giveaway!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy