Easter Clearance at Target

I admit that I don't really get into the "hype" that precedes holidays. Obviously Easter and Christmas have more meaning because I'm a Christian, but even when Valentine's Day and Halloween roll around, there isn't any increase in excitement. Now that I do the shopping for the house though, I actually look excited to the clearance items after the holidays! I used to just check out CVS, but now that there's the Target closer to me, it's definitely a place for me to at least stop and look. I didn't anticipate finding much because I was at the store a few days earlier with my mom. It's usually the best time to buy candy, but I don't like jellybeans or Peeps. The chocolate available was also shaped as eggs and not all were individually wrapped, so I passed on all that.

The one thing I did absolutely fall for were the pails! In the pictures, they look like they're very easy to spot, but in reality, they were kind of behind other products or up high on shelves or down below. Thankfully, I actually made it out of the house earlier than normal because I got out of bed once Howard left for work, so I had the opportunity to peruse and choose what I wanted in relative peace. The only people that were there was a mom and her three kids, but they were primarily looking at candy. Just a half hour later or so, there were a ton of people in the area! There was one mom who left her kid in the stroller at the endcap because she didn't want to bother pushing her through the crowds! It really made me happy that I got "first" pick even though it's highly likely that others got there before I did, haha.

The robot pails were a good size, and I thought they'd be cute to stuff with baby gifts. Actually I debated whether or not I was going to post these pictures on my blog because I didn't want it to spoil the surprise, but I know it'll be okay because it's not the gift itself. It's kind of like, getting a cute pail instead of spending on a gift bag or wrapping paper since I don't have either. Anyway, I thought the robots were cute because they definitely don't look like they're Easter-themed. Originally sold at $5, they were on clearance for $0.50. Though I initially had those top four in my cart, I did put them back when I saw the larger pails.

The ice cream and cupcake pail was SUPER cute! If we had room to store things, I definitely would have bought it along with the few others I saw on a shelf in another spot. I think they would be perfect for a girl's birthday gift. Maybe I would've wanted to keep one for myself too, haha. But with the lack of storage space in our studio apartment, I chose to just get what I knew I would use. The funny thing is that when I went back to the clearance section, I saw someone put it in her cart. As she was texting, I interrupted her to tell her that there were more in a different location because at that time, I think ALL the pails were gone! It ended up being Jenny, someone I know from a local church who married a guy I knew from junior high! I also got to see her son for the first time who was unbelievably cute even though I could tell he was unsure of me. Haha, that's okay; I am technically a stranger!

I told Jenny that there were some fairy pails on the bottom shelf at the endcap. I think these would've been a great buy too for a girl's party, but I just had no use for it. These larger pails were originally $8 and were on clearance for $0.80. I just have to say ... who in the world would pay $8 for this?! I don't intend on doing Easter baskets for our kids because it just doesn't seem like that's something to be thinking about when we're supposed to be focusing on Christ's resurrection. Howard and I didn't get Easter baskets as kids either and didn't miss out on it. In fact, it was only when I started teaching that I realized that some families really took it seriously with the egg hunts and everything! The only tradition I had was that my grandparents would give us money to buy new shoes or a new outfit to wear on Easter Sunday. I just try to wear something new or at least somewhat new when we go to combined service. Am I digressing? Yes, I think I am.

Anyway, though the plan is not to do Easter baskets, I do have to say that I like how some people did them when I saw pictures on Instagram. I've been interested in Thirty-One lately, and I saw that some moms had separate small Thirty-One bags or totes or boxes of some sort that had their kids names on them that they used as the "basket." I think that would be a clever way to give gifts to the kiddies because they'd be easier to store than these ol' buckets!

Though I didn't buy any of the pails above, I did grab the stack of animal pails that I saw on a higher shelf. I really was happy to see that they were super cheap when I scanned them. Because it's an animal design, I know I can use it for a boy or girl baby or kid. 

I know gift bags can cost a lot for just being a bag, so this was a great buy. Of course, I am horrible and putting together gift baskets so that they look all nice with all the items properly placed, but I guess I'll worry about that when the time comes!