Christmas is finally over! Don’t get me wrong—I love the holidays, but by the time December 26th rolls around, I’m ready to pack up the tree and call it quits for another 11 months. Of course, that’s after I hit up the Christmas clearance sales!
I usually don’t head to the stores until a couple of days after Christmas, though. Retailers generally offer much bigger discounts on Christmas clearance items the farther away from the holidays it is. For instance, all Christmas items may go on sale 50% off the day after Christmas, but if you wait a few days, the same items will be marked down even further to 75% off. Don’t wait too long, however, especially if you have plans to shop for popular Christmas clearance items, like artificial trees, candy, and wrapping paper! I’ve found that certain items sell out quickly and you may miss out if you wait too long.
You can usually find Christmas clearance sales in just about every store in town. You’ll find a much larger selection of Christmas clearance goodies in big box store chains, like Walmart, Target, and Kmart. However, you’ll also likely have to wade through hordes of other Christmas clearance shoppers to get to the goodies.
If you’re not willing or able to battle other frugal shoppers, other types of stores also have Christmas clearance sales too. Try checking dollar stores, warehouse clubs, department stores, and even thrift stores! And, if you don’t want to deal with other shoppers at all, you may not have to head out to the stores at all. There are lots of Christmas clearance sales online as well!
While you’re likely to get some smokin’ deals on next year’s holiday decor, don’t get tunnel vision. There are lots of other items that you can pick up for dirt cheap during Christmas clearance sales that you can use all year. Here’s a short list of some of the less obvious items to look for during Christmas clearance sales:
- Holiday Themed Consumables
Food and drinks with holiday themed packages are usually included in Christmas clearance sales. Just because an item has a picture of Santa or a Christmas tree on it, though, doesn’t make it any less tasty! Keep an eye out for crackers, cookies, cereal, sparkling juice, hot cocoa, coffee, and of course candy with seasonal packaging or flavors. Also keep n eye out for holiday gift sets in the grocery aisles.
- Household Products Christmas themed paper products also go on clearance after the holidays that you can use all year. You can find great deals on paper products like disposable plates, cups, utensils, and napkins. You can also find great discounts on holiday-themed sandwich bags
- Personal Care Gift Sets
Personal care gift sets are popular gifts during the holidays, and to get rid of any excess, retailers put them on clearance. Stock up on your favorite fragrances and bath and body products by looking for these gift sets, either in the holiday clearance section or the personal care section.
- Candles
Keep your home smelling sweet all year with super cheap holiday clearance candles. Pine isn’t the only scent available either! You can find scents like holiday cookies, cinnamon, and berry.
- Apparel
Some holiday themed apparel isn’t too obviously Christmas, so it may be a good buy since you can wear it during most of the winter months. Pajamas and pajama sets will also start going on clearance after the holidays.
- Wrapping Supplies The wrapping supplies are the first place I head when I hit the Christmas clearance sales! Look for wrapping paper that doesn’t have an obvious holiday theme to use for upcoming birthdays, and stock up on wrapping paper for next year. Don’t forget to grab some of the clearance gift boxes, bags, bows, ribbon, and even tape!
A couple more tips for shopping Christmas clearance sales…
- Don’t just check the Christmas clearance section of the store. You can often find clearanced holiday items throughout the stores in the different departments.
- Use coupons to maximize your savings. You can stack coupons with sale items to get huge discounts on items like coffee, candy, fragrance sets, and shaving sets.
What are you favorite Christmas clearance finds?
