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Last month I was frantically searching for nice black pants for my daughter for choir. If a child is in choir at our middle school, it’s required they wear nice black pants. Jeggings, black jeans, and yoga pants with the word pink prominently displayed on the back are a no go. You would think that black pants would be easy to find, but that isn’t the case. It isn’t currently a fashion trend among the tween sector. Of course I waited until the last minute to go searching for pants and I asked my daughter to text her friends to see where they bought pants. You would have thought I’d asked to her move a mountain. The only problem is she is a lot smaller than other girls in her grade . After searching a few stores, we found some at Kohls. A few years ago that’s where we had bought them and I should have gone directly there in the first place. This experience gave me the idea to come up with a go to list of places for items. Since we are in the midst of the holiday season, I thought I would focus on shopping for the holidays. I polled a group of my friends recently to get their input as well. The answers in bold are based on my experience..
Best selection of gift cards– Walgreens, Price Chopper, Walmart, Hy-Vee, Lowes
Best place to buy fresh garland– Costco, Rosehill Gardens, Sams, Johnson Farms, Lowes, Home Depot and Red Cedar Nursery
Best place to buy a real Christmas tree– Lowes, Suburban, Family Tree Nursery, Morse Church
Best place to find black pants– Kohls, Old Navy, Von Maur, Gap
Best place to find boys suits– JC Penney, Macys, Dillards, Von Maur, Men’s Warehouse, Kohls, Joseph A Banks
Store bought appetizer– Dean & Deluca, chips and salsa, veggie tray, Costco’s spinach and artichoke dip, hummus and pita chips, Price Chopper Sushi, Costco’s shrimp tray, Hen House
A Good Inexpensive Cake– Chocolate Bundt Cake at Sams, Double Chocolate cake at Costco, Hen House’s Red Velvet Cake, Whole Foods Berry Chantilly, 3 Women and an Oven Bakery
A Quick Pie– Tippins Pies at Hen House, Sams, Costco, Perkins
Hostess gift ideas– wine, candle, CD, note cards, OPI nail polish, scentsy
Catering for a party– Jack Stack BBQ, Bravo, Exquisite Eats, Lon Lane, On the Border, Dean & Deluca, Mr. Gyros, Will Jennys, Sunset Grill,
Take Out For Dinner– Sunset Grill, Fortune Wok, Chilis, BoLings, Salty Iguana, Zio’s, Pei Wei, Pizza from Papa Murphys or Riccos Sonoma Torte & Mushroom Pizza
Paper Goods– Party City, Dollar Store, Hallmark, Target, Sams, Hobby Lobby, Paper Warehouse
Shopping Websites– Amazon, Overstock, Haute Shop, Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom, Zulilly, Topshop, West Elm, Macys
Website for Recipes– pinterest, all recipes, iowa girl eats, kraft, gluten free goddess, tasty kitchen, food network
I hope you find something helpful on this list to make your holidays run smoother, and give you more time to enjoy the season instead of frantically running around. Every day the week of December 3-9, I will be giving away gift cards to some national and local businesses that I hope will make your season brighter.
