Posted by Caryn under Notebook
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Over the weekend I went to the Holiday Shoppe/Craft Fair at my daughter’s school. I’m not sure if you remember these set ups, but it’s generally where they lay out dozens of low-cost “gift” items that kids can buy for a few dollars to surprise Mom or Grandpa on Christmas. It’s a nice idea and usually it can be made into a “learning opportunity” whereby you teach your little precious how to budget and spend wisely. Unfortunately many of the items are of less than stellar quality and you’d probably be just as successful passing a sawbuck to your budding consumer and letting him/her loose in the local dollar store. But I digress. Most of the time these “Holiday Shoppes” are held during school hours so the kids can bring their money in and buy gifts without ruining the surprise for mom or dad. Unless you’re like my daughter who in the 3rd grade decided she wanted a neon tie-dyed teddy bear more than she wanted to spring for the “World’s Best Grandma” coffee mug. Of course I was hoping to pick up a few items at the craft fair portion of the event, but alas, there was not much to be had there. So we did what any mother-daughter shopping duo would do — we headed to Target.
Now I have never claimed to be the world’s most conscientious consumer, but I’ve been trying lately to be a bit more focused on environmentally-friendly and socially-conscious choices.
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