Plum Party! Celebrating the Frugal Fun of the Upcoming Holiday

Last night  my post was rather bah-humbug about Grey’s episode, so today I’m flipping my seasonal excitment. I’m becoming mildly excited. I still don’t like celebrating the holidays before Thanksgiving, but I certainly get the stresses of holiday preparation. So absolutely anything that makes it go easier needs to be shared.

Take, for instance, my night last night. Prior to watching the annoying 2 month epi of Grey’s that aired in less than 60 minutes, I watched Flash Forward, multitasking on Black-Friday.net, where I started my shopping list. See? I’m preparing. Just last night I figured out what we’re gifting my MIL, my dad, and a few gifts for the kids.

But what really helped me to prepare was the so fun Plum Party at the Continental on Wednesday. (I was shocked when I realized that I hadn’t been to Continental in over 11 years. Eleven. And I had never been to their back room which was just a fantastic party spot.) Sponsored by Red Plum, they shared 30 hot gifts under $30. And that’s exactly what I needed to get me started. In addition to a tres-yum Red Plumtini (recipe to come), I bonded with reps from Red Plum, and the awesome decorator (okay, really PR rep) Jennifer from IKEA, and had a fab time chatting it up with great blogging friends. But most important, the awesome gifting ideas. I can now say that I’m totally inspired to start my holiday shopping.

Some of my fave under $30 gifts that are just too good to keep secret:

We have several of these in the classroom part of our playroom that we used to create a chalk board. But Red Plum presented Wall Candy’s Chalkboard stickers as a gift for a mom to use as a part of her organization center. Cost $18, ships free.

I thought this was a part of the decor at The Continental. What a surprise that it was an item found for under $30. The picture doesn’t do it justice. Its a gorgeous Fair Trade Recycled table runner. I mean it. Gorgeous. And that’s a big hint for anyone who wants to get me a gift for under $30.

The minute I saw the Days Ago Digital Day Counter I knew that it was something I didn’t just want: it was something I needed. They’re reusable timers that tell you exactly how many days ago you opened food. So that you can can stop pulling out a Sharpie everytime you open food and just reuse the timer. Cost: starts at $5.17.

When I saw it, I really wanted to gift Make Your Necklace to the Kindergarten teachers this year. I am so tired of trying to find the perfect gift that is totally their style. But with this gift, they can make it totally their style. And the cost is almost too good to be true. Unfortunately, the only way to gift it is to send an e-mail through them. Which doesn’t exactly work when you’re gifting a teacher. Or a family member under the tree. Still, its a great gift for someone far away.Cost: $15.98.

The Evidence Kit is part of the Spy Gear series that Big and Middle have listed all over their holiday wish lists. I am SO excited that I was given one as a gift at the Plum Party. It’ll be wrapped and ribboned. Cost: $21.50.

Here’s Red Plum’s complete list of 30 Frugally Fantastic Gifts for Under $30.

© 2009, Julie Meyers Pron. All rights reserved.

About Julie Meyers Pron

Julie Meyers Pron has written 894 post in this blog.

mom of 3 and wife, Julie is a former elementary school teacher and a Public Relations manager. She is the owner/editor of Just Precious, founding partner of Just Centsible, and a team member of Splash Creative Media. Julie is a PTOer, volunteer, elementary educator and that's just the beginning of the list!

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