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Friday, December 12, 2008

Friday Show and Tell – More Thrifting for Christmas Collections

Show and Tell
Show and Tell Friday is hosted by Kelli at There is No Place Like Home.

Yesterday I returned to the thrift shop and came upon piles of Christmas stuff that donors had been bringing in to the store. Among them were lots of snowmen and santas. I started selecting one or two here and there, when I noticed that one of the ladies at the front desk was waving at me, trying to get my attention. She asked me to remind her of my name, then told me that there was a box at the desk with snowmen. She put it on the desk for me to go through and I selected some of them.

After filling up a plastic shopping bag with books, I gathered 2 small containers of other stuff and went up to the desk to check out. I told her I would probably have to put back some stuff because I was short on cash. She looked at my pile of things and said "Just make an offer." I told her, "Well, all I have to offer is $5.00." She said, "That’s fine." I had one bag of books for $1.00 and that left $4.00 for all the rest:

Soft snowmen of cloth, etc.


Five resin figurines

Ceramic, glass and candle figures

Carved wood and painted wood snowmen. The one on the left has a sticker, "TJ CARVER/ Real Wood Carvings"

Tiny whimsical snowmen, including one plastic wind-up walker


Green ceramic stool to place a figure on, and snowman-decorated box

Three Santa items, a brass reindeer ornament, glass salt & pepper

All these for four dollars! And so my Snowpeople and Santa collections were enhanced with my brief store visit.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my thrifty finds. Visit more Show and Tell at There is No Place Like Home.

30 comments:

The Queen of Fifty Cents said...

You sure drive a hard bargain! That a fabulous deal.

Decor To Adore said...

It looks like the "deal of the day!"

Anita said...

My sister collects snowmen... they always remind me of her... :) Thanks for sharing all your cute stuff!

Heather said...

very cute snowmen!

Salmagundi said...

WOW! You hit the jackpot. There are some cuties there. You must be a VERY good customer plus, I know, you are always nice to the clerks. That goes a long way in life - I'm amazed at how much nastiness goes on in the checkout lines. Cheers and blessings for the nice people. (I kind of got carried away there - I've been to Walmart too much recently!!) Sally

JEWELGIRL said...

Wow, what a shopper you are! I love snowmen
and Santa items too, you did really well! the
Santa with the fluffy beard is my favorite!

Anonymous said...

YOU KNOW I LOVE-----------THRIFT SHOPS AND G SALES AND SUCH.I AM AN AHOLIC.WHEEE WHAT FUN YOU HAD...ANN

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Wow! What bargains! You are a major bargain hunter -- a girl after my heart! Love everything you found and I love that you got such a great deal. laurie

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

What a great day you had and look at all your goodies..way to go girl you did great..hugs and smiles Gloria

Happy@Home said...

It sounds like a great day for thrifting. I love all of the snowmen you found. What fun.

Linda C said...

What a find and what a deal! Bless that lady:)
Linda C

Anonymous said...

Just curious...who do your thrift shops suppport. Most of what I think you mean by thrift shops are called Op Shops here in Australia, or Opportunity Shops. They are run by volunteers to raise money for charity.
Because of the differences between the ages of our two countries and depending on where the shop is situated we do not have the depth of donations that you would have. I usually go in when I drop off fabrics or clothing etc and my main collections have been of unloved pottery. The goods have a price on them and sometimes when you buy a lot is is reduced. The ones in country areas are more interesting and old doylies and items of that nature art interesting. As are books. There is some need to balance bargaining with the fact that the goods have been donated to raise funds for charities. I am wondering if that is the purpose of your thrift shops. They are of course also used by those in need financially, especially the clothing areas. Where you have yard sales we have garage sales.
I am probably too sore and lazy to get up as early as is required to get up and out and drive around to get the bargains.
You certainly did well with that collection.
It is not the type of thing we would normally find here. Unless an estates goods had been donated. But we do not have the history of Christmas decorating that you have over there. Again partly the fact that Australia was a penal colony with only a few more wealthy settlers and those who were struggling to escape poverty just did not have the finances, nor was there the population figures to warrent a lot of Christmas ornamentation. It has changed and is changing over the past couple of decades.
I am looking at a pile of decorations and thinking....can I really be bothered as I am alone and will be out on Christmas day but have a sit and sew breakup dinner here on Thursday, so have at least brought the tree and decorations in from the shed. Another factor is our lack of attics and basements to store a lot of items to use once a year. I have a brick shed where I tend to store things in plastic crates. Storage has become easier since they began to breed...as they seem to do...lol.
Interesting to see and reflect on the changes. I have certainly collected a few more things over the years and I loved the ornaments a friend who studied in the US brought back with her.

Carrie said...

Hello Ozane,
Thanks for your extensive comment. Your point is well taken that thrift shops support charity organizations. So do the thrift shops here. During the current season the thrift shop personnel are quite overwhelmed with a constant inflow of donations. People are constantly coming in with bags and bags, boxes and boxes of things. The donations of holiday items are in excess of the ability of the volunteer workers to keep the stores from being completely chaotic. Therefore, they are glad when shoppers stop in to haul the stuff away. The stores are a great shopping venue for people with low income levels--myself included. I also donate saleable items regularly throughout the year to area charities for them to sell in their stores.

It was interesting to read your contrast between customs in Australia and the United States.

I hope I addressed your concerns in my reply. Again thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Carrie

Carrie said...

Ohh, ozjane, pardon me for mispelling your name!

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Oh Carrie, I am so sorry to hear that you have lost power! Such an inconvenience, especially this time of the year when we are all so busy. I hope you are able to return home Mon. Thank you so much for the wonderful comments you leave on my blog. I also love coming over to your blog. I think your snowman collection may catch up with mine before too long. Remember, I've been at this for almost 40 years! What an interesting remark and response exchange with Ozjane above. It's so easy to forget the differences in cultures around the world. I do hope you can return home Mon. Again, thank you so much for being such a kind visitor to my blog. laurie

nannykim said...

Wow that is a deal!!! I don't ever see that type of deal at our thrift shop!!!

Becki said...

Wow! Those are some wonderful items for quite a bargain. Makes me want to get myself to a thrift store (though I never have that kind of luck). I love the snowmen!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Carrie, I left two messages on your other blog, and I'm going to leave one here, too. I just wanted to be sure you saw this. First I love all the items you found! They are so neat! Second, I just want you to know how excited I am! Please email me at my blog name at yahoo.com because I can't click on anything and email you. My computer won't allow it for some reason.

I'm so excited! I'm sorry you are having an ice storm. It's cold here, but not like that. I pray you're safe and warm. You're a sweetie!

XO,

Sheila

Nancy Rosalina said...

WOW! You did good! I love the snowmen!!!! Nancy

Bo said...

Hi Carrie...I hope by the time you read this you & your dear mom are back home safe & sound...Winter has some lovely moments, but also some dangerous ones as well. Thanks for coming by my DH's village. Take care, ;-) Bo

Kelli said...

Carrie, I hope you and your mother are back home and safe. I have been praying for you!
~Kelli

Scooterblu's Whimsy~Rhonda said...

Carrie, You found some wonderful treasures, and what a bargain they were! That makes them that much sweeter! :) ~hugs, Rhonda

Lady Katherine said...

Oh My! Are you lucky or what!! What great finds and a great deal.

Alice said...

Wow! You got a ton of stuff for $5.00. Great job! I love the fuzzy faced Santa in the last shot. He is awesome! If you ever get tired of him - I'll take him :).

You are always welcome at The Shadow of the Cross. Feel free to visit anytime.

Anonymous said...

Carrie, you have a painting by C. L. Strickland. He was my father. I would be happy to tell you all about him. He lived with me in Massachusetts when he painted your picture. I watched him paint it! You can reach me at snowmoonshadows@hotmail.com. God bless.

noelle said...

Dear Carrie: Love the snowmen, you did hit the jackpot! Maybe Santa will send you another one this year. Keep an eye on your mailbox. Your Sis, Noelle.

Anita said...

Hope you're staying warm! :)

Unknown said...

What a great deal!

I tagged you if you are interested :)

http://whiteoaklane.blogspot.com/2008/12/favorite-authors.html

Lady Katherine said...

Stay warm, but do not let your wonderful snowmen melt!

Yellow Rose Arbor said...

I'm so far behind with my comments! I'm looking forward to getting back to normal soon, but we are going on a trip (ten days) tomorrow, so it will be a while yet.

These ornaments/figures are delightful!

What a coincidence that Rose won your Nativity plate and I won your sister's angel! I may get to see your plate, we plan to visit Rose next week! (I had wanted that plate, hmmmm!! LOL!

Katherine