Peace on Earth! GOODWILL to Men!

Did you know that today is Christmas Adam? When I was little, one year on December 23rd I confidently and excitedly wished my Dad a Merry Christmas Adam. He fell right into my little trap and inquired, "What is Christmas Adam?" I gleefully exclaimed, "Today is Christmas Adam because Adam came before Eve!" Bah-dum-ching!

Can you believe Christmas is almost here?! This year has flown by. I love Christmas. I love to think about Christmas, plan for Christmas, get in the Christmas spirit and just soak it all in.

When I shared an office I could NEVER listen to music because it "distracted" my office-mate (insert major eye roll), but now that I have my own private office I can listen to whatever I want, whenever I want. Even if it's Christmas music in June. Nothing lifts my spirits like my holiday collection on a hot Summer day.

And a hot Summer day is the perfect time to shop for your holiday decorations. I am always on the lookout for Christmas decorations. The best deals are found in the first half of the year when the dregs of holiday decor are shoved into an endcap at Target or stuffed into a basket at the back of Pottery Barn. But did you know that you can find scads of Christmas decor at Goodwill? (gasp).

The Goodwills around here stock Christmas decor year round. I'm sure people are doing their Spring cleaning and haul their unused items to the Goodwill drop off. The selection is actually pretty good in the first part of the year because most of the public is sick of Santa and garland. And that's when you can score the deals.

Here are some of my favorite Goodwill purchases of 2009.

A pretty wreath for my front door.

Can you believe this was only $3.00? Wreaths are expensive nowadays! The good ones can easily be in the triple digits. Three dollars is more my style. I love the texture.

And with the contrasting colors this wreath looks good up close and from the street. Plus, the size is just right for my door.

If you've been to my house and I've offered you a drink, chances are, my husband has interjected some sort of smart remark about the multitude of glasses from which you have to choose. He believes we have waaaaaay too many glasses. I disagree. So our collection is growing.

Here is the latest addition: snowflake tumblers.

These were 75 cents a piece at Goodwill. I passed them up once and could NOT get them off my mind. A set of six. Dishwasher safe. Perfect for iced tea, milk, Coke, ANYTHING. Why did I leave them on that shelf?

It was half price day at Goodwill (*more on that later) and I knew they would be gone, but I had to see with my own eyes. I rushed over on my lunch break and fought the crowds back to the housewares section and they were still there! All of them! I scooped them up and held them tight as I did a quick run through the store. I held them close to my chest (literally) because ALL the carts and baskets were in use. The place was a zoo.

$2.25 for six of these

Cute, right? I had to smile to myself when I brought Tim a drink in one of these glasses and he said casually, "Oh, this is a nice glass." That it is. That it is.

* OK, let me tell you about half price day at Goodwill (the 3rd Wednesday of the month at my Goodwill). This day is only for pros. It is an absolute mad house. People are pushing one cart that is overflowing while dragging a second that is filled to the brim. You can barely navigate through the aisles and half the merchandise (aka junk) is strewn across the floor. Good luck getting a cart or hand-held basket unless you arrive before the doors open. It is a stressful place to be.

Last time I was there, there was a two-year-old (who looked like he was on his death bed) being pushed around in a cart by his distracted Mom. I was tempted to tap her on the shoulder and point out that her little guy sounded like he was about to cough up his right lung and suggest that they head home. I could have even given her a dollar to make up for the savings she'd be forfeiting by going home. People go cuh-razy to save 50% at Goodwill.

Back to my purchases.

Crate & Barrel has cute kitchen accessories every year. This year they have the Snow Pup.

The spatula is $9.95.

Over the Summer I bought my sister the reindeer spatula from a previous holiday season. It was at the Goodwill by my parents' house just waiting for me with the Crate & Barrel tag on it.

But Goodwill priced it at 50 cents.

Um, I'll take it.

And I'll also take the snowflake spatula for myself.

But I will only pay 50 cents and not Crate & Barrel's price of $6.95. Really? Sold.

That same trip I also bought some pre-lit garland still taped up in its original box. I paid $4.99 and am enjoying it in my dining room. I'd like to show you how pretty it looks at night.

Wait, that picture was not very clear.

And that one was worse.

And this is the worst. Note to self: pull out camera manual and at least skim it. The point is, I like my pre-lit garland for under five bucks.

One year I even found Tim's Christmas card sweater at Goodwill. We used to have a Goodwill Outlet near us when we lived in our old house. (Yes, that is a real place and it's as bad as you think.) Adult clothes were $1 and kids clothes were 50 cents. The store was pretty rough. I had to be in the right mood to venture in there. But occasionally it paid off.

In 2004, as Tim was preparing to deploy to Iraq (explanation for his lack of hair), the $1 Ralph Lauren sweater from the Goodwill Outlet made it into our Christmas card.

Kidding. That one did not make the cut. This was the winner that year.

He still wears this sweater. I know I could buy more for $98 on RalphLauren.com

But I think I'll just be on the lookout for more colors under $10.

I didn't buy any "Christmas clothes" at Goodwill this year, but I still have a few days to go!

So when 2010 rolls around and the rest of the world has moved away from Christmas, keep your eyes peeled for those steals!