I love finding a good bargain so when things I like go on sale, I try my utmost to grab a bargain. However, what I hate most about store sales are the long queues, the messy sales racks, and simply… the crazy shoppers.
Since I’ve gotten older I just find sales shopping really overwhelming, overbearing and claustrophobic. Nowadays I just shop online from my mobile or computer and enjoy the fact that I don’t have to step foot into a store, queue up for hours or interact with anyone. Just me and my computer/mobile. Happy times.
I recently came across a sales site called lovethesales.com. They’re a bit like a Google search engine for sale items. From what I’ve gathered, the website pulls through thousands of sale items that are currently on offer from hundreds of online retailers for us to ogle at and buy. The website caters to all departments; womenswear, menswear, kidswear, home & outdoor furniture, kids toys… the lot. The retailers the site pulls through ranges from cheap and cheerful high-street stores to your high-end retailers like Ralph Lauren, French Connection, etc.
However like any good deal, the items are only on the site for a limited time then new ones are added. Once that happens, if you’re too late you can miss out on a really good deal. I had my eyes set on a brilliant train set from Toys R Us that was £24.99, down from £49.99 but as I was too busy contemplating for a couple of days whether it’d be a useful gift, when it came to the day I wanted to buy it the deal was gone. Bummer.
As I was still on the lookout for gifts for the children, I searched the website once again for kids toys. There were thousands of toys to choose from. I sometimes felt way over my head so I made time to myself (when LO was at nursery) to sit down with my iPhone and go through the 12 pages of toys. I used the filter tool to select toys under £30 because I didn’t want to spend a fortune. For our family, the cheaper the better because in a few months time it’ll either be broken or have bits missing then we’d just get a new one or a replacement. A pretty standard thing in our household.
I eventually found two lovely toys; one for LO which he could play with Baby Girl and a little one for just Baby Girl.
*prices are correct at the time of ordering on 12/12/16
Playskool Poppin’ Park Elefun Busy Ball Popper
(£19.99*, Toys R Us)
I chose this particular toy for LO because it looks a lot like the Elefun toy with the butterflies that I originally wanted to get LO. It’s aged 9months+ so it means that both LO and Baby Girl can play with this and I don’t have to worry about it being age appropriate for the little bubba.
Lamaze Play & Grow My Friend Emily
(£9.99*, Smyths Toys)
This was the item I chose for Baby Girl. I loved the cute little doll’s face (reminds me of the cabbage patch dolls) and the handy hook means I can hang the Emily doll on the pram when we go out or just hang on her Jumperoo when we’re at home.
Delivery was super fast and the Playskool Elefun ball popper arrived first. I did want to save it for Christmas but as I needed to write a review on the website, I had to let LO and Baby Girl have an early present each. LO was so excited when he saw the box – I knew he’d like it because he has a thing for toys flying in the air for him to catch. Baby Girl’s Emily doll arrived a couple days after. She seemed to take a liking to the doll but actually was more interested in LO’s toy. At least I know they both like similar toys which will come in handy for next Christmas. 🙂
I made one massive mistake… I forgot to order the batteries for the elefun ball popper as I thought I had some. I did, but unfortunately I only had two batteries and not four which is actually how many this little thing needed. I haven’t been able to buy more yet so the kids haven’t been able to experience the ball flying about and the music playing but they seem pretty content just playing with it as it is. The kids are not hard to please when it comes to toys. Personally I wished that Baby Girl would’ve played more with her Emily doll as now it seems like I could’ve gotten something else for her or something for the whole family instead like a board game. Good thing is that Boxing Day sales and January sales will be coming round very soon so I will stock up on more gifts for the kids then.
If you’re still looking for a last minute Christmas present or gift for someone, I’d definitely recommend checking out the website out to see if anything takes your fancy. If not, definitely visit them when it’s Boxing Day and New Years… you’ll thank me for it then. 🙂
You don’t have to register to use the site either like similar discount sites ie. Achica.com however I did notice that there were some sale deals which were only available to registered users so I did end up registering. The offers that were available to registered users only included things like Pampers nappies deals, bulk baby wipes, super cheap BooHoo.com dresses, etc so it all depends on what you’re looking for. The toys I found above were not exclusive and you didn’t have to register to buy it.
I think I will take a look in store on Boxing Day but only if I can get there in the morning… I don’t want to be going during peak hours. The thought of a busy shop crammed with crazed shoppers has given me the shivers. I will happily sit at my computer and log onto Love The Sales instead. 🙂
NB. We were kindly sent two items from lovethesales.com in exchange for an unbiased review. All words, opinions and content are my own. General images and stock photos have been credited respectively.
Manny.Wandering | The Wandering Mother Blog 
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