#1 Create an Excel spreadsheet BEFORE shopping. – It is mandatory that you prepare and review a detailed list prior to purchasing, so you ensure that you have allocated enough money from your savings account to buy and shop for everyone on your holiday list, and to make sure no one is left out. Organize as follows:

1st column -- list names of people to buy for
2nd column -- state a budget (give a realistic $ range of what you want to spend)
3rd column – list ideas

#2 Avoid all crowded shopping malls and long lines by sitting in front of your computer at home, shopping online.

#3 Time is one of our most precious commodities – remember that you can save, on average, about 6 solid hours by shopping online in the comfort of your home, curled up with a glass of wine or hot chocolate and listening to your favorite tunes.

#4 Allow yourself to be creative, browse through hundreds of online catalog sites and continue adding to your idea list on your Excel spreadsheet. Copy/paste the name of the catalog/website’s URL so that you have it easily accessible from your Excel sheet.

#5 Learn to stay within your given budget and DO NOT go over your budget. Especially with our economy these days, money is tight, so use it wisely. Look for special savings offers.

#6 Organize your purchases. Be sure to PRINT out the order confirmation page after placing your online order, then place all receipts in one file folder. As the packages arrive at your doorstop, inspect the merchandise and then make a note on each receipt that the order has been received.

#7 Get Savings Certificates – look for Free shipping and percentages off of merchandise. Shop wisely online and you can save a ton of money AND avoid crowded malls, long lines, pushing and shoving from nasty consumers.

#8 Simplify your life by enjoying more at-home family time. Put a tray of raw, frozen chocolate chip cookies in the oven to bake as you shop online. Notice how calm, serene and appreciative your entire family becomes – all because you avoided BLACK FRIDAY.

Don't forget to check out some great gift ideas and INCREDIBLE savings offers from the Catalogs.com Holiday Gift Guide!

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My Mom makes the world’s greatest cranberry relish. This Thanksgiving holiday, treat yourself to homemade relish that is incredibly easy and fast to make. Forget the canned relish, YECH.

2 packages FRESH whole cranberries (found in the produce section)
1 orange, peeled
1 apple, peeled and cut into chucks
1 pear, peeled and cut into chunks
1 ½ cup white sugar

Cuisinart above until chopped (do NOT puree too much)

Toast lightly 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts and fold into cranberry mixture. Refrigerate and serve.

Trust me … it’s amazing! Hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving

Posted by Melody at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What an incredible weekend we had! After receiving almost 1,000 written entries from teachers all over the country, we picked our winners. We flew teachers in from all over the country, had a beautiful awards ceremony followed by a lovely luncheon. The grand prize winner of $2500 Tools for Teaching was Christine Rivan 3rd Grade Thomas Jefferson Primary Peoria, Illinois. Second place winner receiving $1,500 was Kathryn Quigley Special Education Dillard High School Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and our three runner ups, each receiving $500 were Bhavna Rawal Dual credit chemistry teacher Northbrook High School Houston, Texas, Kekai Bryant-Williams 9th-12th Grade Math George Washington Preparatory High School Los Angeles, California and Geri Ellner Krim Library Media Specialist Brooklyn Collegiate Brooklyn, New York.

READ THEIR COMPELLING ESSAYS FOR YOURSELF ... CLICK HERE

Again, we congratulate our Tools for Teaching Winners at Catalogs.com and we thank Nasco for partnering with us for this incredibly worthwhile cause.

Posted by Melody at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What an incredible weekend we had! After receiving almost 1,000 written entries from teachers all over the country, we picked our winners. We flow teachers in from all over the country, had a beautiful awards ceremony followed by a lovely luncheon. The grand prize winner of $2500 Tools for Teaching was Christine Rivan 3rd Grade Thomas Jefferson Primary Peoria, Illinois. Second place winner receiving $1,500 was Kathryn Quigley Special Education Dillard High School Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and our three runner ups, each receiving $500 were Bhavna Rawal Dual credit chemistry teacher Northbrook High School Houston, Texas, Kekai Bryant-Williams 9th-12th Grade Math George Washington Preparatory High School Los Angeles, California and Geri Ellner Krim Library Media Specialist Brooklyn Collegiate Brooklyn, New York.

READ THEIR COMPELLING ESSAYS FOR YOURSELF ... CLICK HERE

Again, we congratulate our Tools for Teaching Winners at Catalogs.com and we thank Nasco for partnering with us for this incredibly worthwhile cause.

Posted by Melody at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Our public relations firm scored a big hit for Catalogs.com this week. We were featured in WomenEntreprenuer.com, and quite frankly, we are all thrilled with the results. I remember vividly the 55 minute in-depth phone interview with Eve Gumpel. One would think it might be difficult to have content to speak for 55 minutes. Not so. It’s funny how it becomes so easy to talk about something that you live, breath and eat 24/7/365. The title that Eve came up with is great, “Need Qualified Leads? Try Catalogs.com” More than 650 companies rely on the website for lead generation.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the reading…

Posted by Melody at 08:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)