This post is sponsored by Big W. In accordance with the No BS sponsored post policy– I accepted this one because I really, really enjoy being able to give away things like $100 gift vouchers. It makes me happy.
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In my head, I call the end of June ‘Toy Sale Time!’
It’s brilliant. The catalogues alone are like are mini-celebrations in awesomeness. Even before I had kids I loved Toy Sale catalogues. (I know, that’s weird. But I’m sure I’m not the only one).
Buying toys is fun. I don’t care how old you are. I just wish my daughter shared my taste in La La Loopsy dolls. She thinks they’re terrifying. I think they’re gorgeous.
When your kids are really little, toy purchases are easy. They like pretty much anything, especially if it’s shiny, colorful, or noisy. Preparing for Christmas and birthdays (all conveniently clumped together) was easy- I’d just buy bits and pieces over the year and hide them away until it was time for Santa to distribute them. But the older my kids become-especially my son, who’s five, turning thirty- the pickier they are. They know exactly what they want- it’s usually what everyone else has. And, as any parent knows, that guilt-inducing look of disappointment on a child’s face is… just…awful.
Which is where Toy Sale Time comes in. All the coveted goods, all on sale.
Big W gave me a gift voucher to spend in their Giant Toy Spectacular, which I happily accepted. I got online not long after the sale started and did my favorite kind of shopping- from my computer, without crowds or kids. Being smart, Big W opened their online toy sale on June 19th, while the instore sale runs from June 27th until July 10th,
The only problem with Toy Sale Time is the inherent fickle-ness of young children. What they want right now may not be what they want in six months time. So I’ve decided that Toy Sale Time is only for buying perennial, long-term favorites. Which, for the Bumpy thing, is always Barbie- dolphin trainer Barbie, this time. (I’m not sure that much Barbie-love is healthy… but we’ll talk about that in another post, at another time).
For the Chop, it’s Skylanders. He loves Skylanders. Actually, make that we love Skylanders; because I’ve never met a video game I didn’t get into. I’ll even confess to being so into it I’ll take my personal favorite Skylander- Cinders the dragon, in a witches hat- and play once the kids are in bed, completing particularly tricky spots and levels and upping my skill level. (Again, not sure. Does that makes me a bad mum… or a good one?)
Talking toy sales on Twitter a few days ago, I confessed that I’m not much of a layby-er. I think standing in too many long lines with my mum and grandmother when I was a kid put me off layby’s altogether.
And it seems I’m almost alone in that. The general Twitter consensus was that layby- especially six month toy sale layby– is awesome. You can pay it off as you go. You can return things that have gone out of fashion by the time Christmas rolls around. And the layby desk makes the perfect hiding place for presents you don’t want the kids to discover.
So- a kind of survey, if you will. Combined with the splashing around of gratuitous Big W Wish gift cards. There is five of them to be won, worth $100 each, to be used online or instore.
I want to know- are you a layby kinda person? How do you manage Christmas with kids? Do you hit the toy sales, buy little bits all year round, or hit the shops two weeks before the big day?
Fill in the form below to win- I’ll correlate the results and publish them, anonymously, sometime after the giveaway closes. The closing date, by the way, is midnight AEST Friday 28th June; and the winners will be drawn and contacted by email soon after. You gotta have a valid email address to go with your entry, mmmkay?
This one’s open to Australian residents only (sorry, sorry, sorry, OS readers). The answers that tickle my pickle at the time of the comp being drawn win. No bitching, whinging, nor circle-jerking shall be entered into.
Astound me with your financial prowess, jellybeans. And happy toy shopping!
No form? Try clicking here instead.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I buy gift cards throughout the year whenever I do the groceries, and then closer to Christmas I start cashing them in and using the grocery money saved to buy presents.
I start Christmas shopping around October and take my time enjoying picking out the pressies.
Sometimes, I’ll get the toys during sale times.
In the current financial climate I prefer to layby, its easy to start early and buy things layby them and pick them up when you can afford to. I have 8 grandkids so laybying is soo much easier to cope with.
With 5 kids-layby was a way of life.july sales/no deposit layby is what got my xmas sorted!!
The link for the T&C’s just takes me back to this blog post.
Hey Tam, it’s supposed to
T and c’s are contained in the post- that link is more in case people come across the entry form separate to the post. Sorry for the confusion! x
Lori Dwyer recently posted…The Right Way To Do This.
Great giveaway – will definitely make five families very happy.:)
Thanks sapna
I love doing giveaways like this- I know how awesome it is to win something like this! 
Lori Dwyer recently posted…The Right Way To Do This.
and the problem of the toy sale for me is i always get the info about it late, so all of the toys that i want to buy is always sold out!
Julia Shanon recently posted…Top 4 Objectives of an Advertisement Campaign
Amen to that!
Lori Dwyer recently posted…The Right Way To Do This.