Seeking Silverdale and Central Kitsap

I posted on my Facebook page this weekend that this year is the first time in a long time where I started my holiday shopping before Thanksgiving. I am well organized and plan everything out well in advance, but for some reason I find myself to be that person in the store a week or two before Christmas, (or sometimes on Dec. 24), picking up what I need. (Considering my family has always opened presents on Christmas Eve, shopping that afternoon and rushing home to get everything wrapped before dinner, doesn’t always make the most sense).

Having in-laws that live in Indiana has changed my shopping habits a little, because we have to mail their gifts early to make sure they arrive in time, but I still push things to the limit when it comes time to shop.

This year however, we decided to change our habits. Instead of loading up our Macy’s and Mastercard in December, we opted to get some of our shopping out of the way this weekend, so that we could split the payment and ease up on the “We have no money” anxiety that we experience every holiday season.

We went out to Silverdale Friday and it was a jackpot for deals. Stores are trying hard to entice buyers through their doors this year because of the fear that this could be one of our worst holiday shopping seasons to date. I realize not everyone can afford to go crazy on shopping this year (trust me, I can relate), but there are some great deals right now. I’m guessing a lot of sales will last through December, but some of the best deals are the ones where stores are going out of business.

I hate prospering on another person’s (or business’s) demise, but Linens ‘N Things and Whitehall Jewelers at the Kitsap Mall are going out of business and offering some great deals. We went to LNT this weekend and found a couple of gifts at 40 percent off. We didn’t hit up the jewelry store, but the signs I saw advertised they had stuff 60 to 75 percent off. (Hint: All you husbands, boyfriends, significant others, whatever you choose to call yourself, go score a great piece of jewelry for your special someone at a significant discount, you’ll earn major brownie points…and don’t let them know you got it on sale.)

If you read the story I wrote for Monday’s business spotlight in the paper, you can learn more about LNT going out of business. There’s also speculation that Circuit City could be right behind them, if they don’t do well this holiday season. Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, and some speculate the company has met its end. For those of you with Circuit City gift cards laying around, I’d recommend using them ASAP.

After filing for bankruptcy the company tried to say it wouldn’t accept its gift cards, but a Delaware judge said they couldn’t do that, ordering them to honor the cards. Who knows how long that will last?

At LNT, they aren’t accepting coupons, or gift cards, and if you registered with them for a wedding or something else, while your guests will luck out by getting the gifts at a discounted price, you won’t have anywhere to return them if there’s a problem. Maybe it’s time to look at Bed Bath & Beyond?

If you want to know more about the Linens ‘N Things closures, click here for the Reuters story, and click here for the New York Times’ Dealbook blog.

Here’s the Huffingtonpost.com article on the bankruptcy filing by Circuit City, with links to more stories about the company’s future.

For those of you who haven’t given up hope on holiday shopping – go take advantage of some of those sales…and happy shopping!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 7:40 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.