Monday, December 5, 2016

Fancy Smanchy Gift Ideas

  I received a catalogue in the mail today from Bed, Bath and Beyond and was absolutely shocked at the prices of their food gifts.  There are so many that can be recreated at home for pennies upon the dollar of the prices they are charging.  Here are just a few that I saw:




$34.99 for 4 caramel and chocolate covered apples.  I could do this for $4 tops!



or even more ridiculous...


https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/mrs-prindable-39-s-milk-chocolate-toffee-walnut-jumbo-caramel-apple/1044227043?Keyword=chocolate+apples

$23.99 for one jumbo apple!  Seriously...who would pay that?




$8.99 for a 12 oz. tin of Peppermint Bark  
I make this in big batches myself every year with some white chocolate bark and crushed peppermint candies (I get the candies from the Dollar Tree)






$2.49 on sale for what is basically brown sugar with some cinnamon to sprinkle on your baked sweet potatoes.






https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/2-lb-old-fashion-candy-in-a-holiday-tin/1047319882?categoryId=14454


$44.99 for 2 pounds of old fashioned candy in a tin.
This could be recreated with the old fashioned candy that you can get at the Dollar Tree and put in a thrifted or recycled Christmas tin for under $4.00


   I'm sorry but is anyone else either shaking their head in disbelief or rolling on the floor laughing at these prices?  And it's not just Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Look at any number of other websites that offer "Holiday Food" and you will be shocked at what you find there also.  Any of the above and more could easily be made at home frugally, wrapped up nicely and given as a Fancy Smanchy gift and you get the satisfaction of knowing that it was done with love, creativity and on a budget!








23 comments:

  1. Things like that are always WAY overpriced. I never understood people who would pay those prices

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    1. Me either Jess. I hope things are going well with you!

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  2. I'm amazed that people pay these prices. I made up a food hamper for my SIL last year. It initially got quite a lukewarm response. An expensive hamper from Myers, an upmarket overpriced department store, got a much bigger response. When she started to look through the Myers hamper and then mine, her response changed. Apparently everything tasted better in mine. It's the store that they come from that seems important to some people. I will go with home made everytime.

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    1. I get the same response from my handknit gifts, Jane. apparently some people in my family only like handknit items if they are made by little slaves in third world countries and have a label on them like Ralph Lauren or Ellen Tracy.

      Jane

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    2. Isn't it amazing how much "value" people will put on the name of where something came from until they actually notice the quality of the homemade items? I feel so sorry for the shallow people who cannot get past the "labels". I would much rather have a beautiful homemade gift than something store bought any day!

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  3. I'm always in shock at the prices of almost everything in catalogs, Debbie! Not just the food. I wonder who are the people that would pay $24 for one apple? You know the old proverb, "a fool and his money are soon parted". BTW,

    Hugs
    Jane

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  4. Oh, I just lost my comment to look at the single apple....that is ridiculous! If the higher priced ones have free shipping, I'm sure that is rolled in. I would be curious of how fresh they are because many times special items like this don't ever seem fresh to me. Maybe a bachelor would order and pay for such items...surely we moms wouldn't! Andrea

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    1. Andrea, I made the same comment on the freshness aspect too. My husband said you could even buy the ready made caramel "sheets" to wrap the apples in, dip them in some chocolate and roll them in nuts for way less than $23.99 ;)

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  5. Debbie - I so needed a good laugh and you provided it with this post. What is it about some people? My only catalogs are LandsEnd and gardening/seed catalogs so I had missed all of the other Christmas 'goodies'. I made up a 9-Bean Soup for Christmas presents one year and one of my cousins said 'how's you do this?". Really??? I bought nine kinds of beans/lentils or barley and then used my measuring cup. HAHAHA.
    Snow is still with us. We ended up with about 6 inches, complete with a 5-hour power outage. I hunkered down with my dog, some candles, my camping lanterns and a good book. More snow coming this way on Thursday. Cheers, SJ

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    1. SJ, that bean soup mix sounds wonderful! Perfect gift and food for this time of year. I love gifts like that! I am so glad you got your snow but am sad you lost your electricity for awhile. We are due to be hit big time tomorrow. We do still have some on the ground from the last snowfall but nowhere near what you got.

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  6. Debbie I totally agree. I plan on doing chocolate/nut covered apples for pennies, and peppermint bark as well. have everything here at home to do it.
    I truly guess there are people who would pay those amounts. Obviously more cents than sense!!!!!!

    This kind of goes along with my post yesterday of not getting ourselves over extended and having holiday guilt. If you buy all this crap in the stores - it would be real easy to spend way too much.

    Good post. Have a good day.

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    1. Cheryl, your apples sound really good and I'm sure they will be fresher and tastier than the apples from the catalogue. :) I refuse to overextend financially...I have done that in the past buying for people that did not appreciate homemade gifts. Those people are now no longer in our lives and to be honest, I am glad about that. ;)

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  7. Wow. Unbelievable the prices people pay for such silly things! I often wonder myself too, who buys this stuff? I'm glad I don't live in their world, wherever it is, lol! Hugs to you today Debbie, enjoyed this post :) Now I'm hungry for peppermint bark, lol!

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    1. I know, the prices blew me away. I like our frugal little world much better too. :)

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  8. The prices are outrageous, but, the only good thing I can think of is they make it easier to send gifts to family and friends who are out of state.

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    1. I figured in the cost of making some of these things along with the shipping cost and it is still cheaper for me to make them at home and ship them. :)

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  9. The way I hear it young people do not cook anymore but want instant. I think I'll get the big bowl out and make something sweet now that you've got my sugar tooth all revved up.

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  10. I make Secret Toffee and Peppermint Bark every year. Tons of it. lol. Everyone loves it and looks forward to it.

    My husband was out of town last week working and my furnace broke down right in the middle of the evening making bark. Dang cold. Got someone out the next morning but I was a sight cooking in my down coat. lol Take care.

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    1. I'm so glad you were able to get your furnace fixed. I had to laugh at the image of you making bark with your down coat though. ;)

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  11. Its amazing that these companies stay in business with those prices. Most of those anyone could make.

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    1. That phrase "A fool and his money are soon parted" comes to mind a lot when I see the prices on some of these things. There are a lot of "fools" in this world. ;)

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