I went to Hellmark and back!

[Sunraven]

First of all I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to MaricrisMas for posting about the Hallmark Outlet sale. I never would have known if not for her post. Thanks SO very much.
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I didn’t make it for the September sale so I was ready and raring to go first thing this morning. My plan was to get there right at opening, beat the crowds and head back home.
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DH had to work so I took the bus over (bad, bad idea – remind me never to do that again, my bags were way too heavy). Anyway, I got off at the intersection at about 9:50am and was pretty proud of myself for being right on time, so off I went skipping happily down <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Consumers Rd.</st1:address></st1:Street>, excitement building.
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The skipping, however, came to an abrupt halt as I turned the corner and noticed the crowd of about 200 very eager ladies and gentlemen standing in line! Haha! The line wrapped around two sides of the building. Turns out I wasn’t alone in thinking I’d beat the crowds.
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Anyway I put on my best “let the madness ensue” face and gingerly made my way over, narrowly avoiding the crazy woman in the minivan that saw the crowd of people AND decided to speed her way into the parking area.

That was a little too close!
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All things told though, once the line got moving, it moved quickly. We were all inside at around 10:05am or so.
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The first thing you notice when you walk in are the large brown boxes to the left that serve as an alternative to a shopping cart. I grabbed one and made a beeline to the gift-wrap area and then zipped my way over to the boxed cards area. These were the two things I needed most, and wanted to ensure I got a nice selection of both.

As it turned out these items were plentiful and there were lots for everyone. I am glad I hit those two sections first though as the crowd descended on the cards shortly after... and the manoeuvring of me and Mr. BOX became trickier by the minute.
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I spent under $40, bought stuff for two friends, and I still think I am set for cards and wrap for the next 10-15yrs. I am going to share with my mom and granma too.
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I didn’t buy a lot of Christmas wrap as I started using cloth gift wrap last year for both sides of the family and I like to get a bit creative with the wrapping of Christmas gifts.
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But I kinda went a bit nuts with the birthday/general wraps and I am SO set for a long, long time.
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Some things of note for those attending the October sale:
<o:p>1. </o:p>They are no longer giving $5 off if you donate $1 to charity; instead they are giving the charities a straight 25% of the proceeds.
2. The boxed Christmas cards are priced at $1 each, not 2/$1 but still a very good deal.
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Recommendations to those attending:
1. Bring a shopping bag or two that you can easily fill and sling over your shoulder, it will help you navigate and manoeuvre through the crowds a lot easier than carrying a box around.
2. Find a sitter if you can, it was pretty much a zoo, the line-ups long and I saw a little girl almost get taken out by a box.
3. Drive if you can, don’t take transit.
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And finally here's the list of what I got and some pics of my loot.
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54X Flat Gift Wrap @ 10/$1 – I ended up with 4 extra because I was just grabbing different ones, not counting. So I told the lady that was doing the counting to take those out, but she told me I bought so many, please have the extra 4, no charge. J
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20X Boxed Cards @ $1 each
16X Tissue Paper @ 4/$1
4X Ribbons @ $1 - I think that’s the price of the ribbons, can someone confirm if this is the price, this is the one I can’t remember for sure.
2X large gift bags – the nice lady gave it to me to put my stuff in, no charge. I used one, the other one still brand new.
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What do you guys think? Worth it?
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[Natalka]

OMG - you lucky duck! The angel cards are gorgeous! WD!

[i_love_to_save]

Yes for sure it was worth it. Nice buys

[Sunraven]

[kittyc]

OMG
Your friends who you buying for are so lucky.

[Mandieskyla]

I say worth it and those penguin cards are soooo cute! Penguins are my absolute favorite!

[DianneS]

Amazing! I SO wish I lived in your neck of the woods...

[kittyc]

I say worth it and those penguin cards are soooo cute! Penguins are my absolute favorite!

I think so too

[Sunraven]

[Sunraven]

And finally here's a pic of the cute bags they gave me to carry it all home in:

How adorable is he?

[mpbabes]

OMG!! fabulous!!!!!!!!! I think it was totally worth it...only 15 mins in line? fantastic!

[coupon girl]

wow i would have gone crazy too - great deals

[Patty Smyth]

Wow, wow, wow and they are all so beautiful. WTG! I hate warehouse sales although there's usually a fight or 2 so it's always interesting. LOL

[AryanasMommy]

Definitly worth the hassle you went through!

WTG!

[banana03]

Wtg!