It seems we just got through Easter, and here’s another holiday – and it’s an important one to a lot of people. Mother’s Day is on May 9!

Don’t tell me you forgot about Mother’s Day. After all, how often do you get to recognize the woman who gave birth to you? The one who diapered you, kissed your skinned knees, made you peanut butter sandwiches with the crusts cut off? How could you forget?

Okay, enough of the guilt trip! Now that you know Mother’s Day is only a short time away now, it’s time to turn to that all-important question – what are you going to get her for her special day?

It doesn’t do much good to ask your mother what she wants. Most mothers, when you ask, will just say “oh, don’t worry about it. I just want a hug.”

Here’s a secret. Hugs are nice, but moms like to be remembered, too. Just because a woman has had a child, that does not mean she’s given up her love of nice clothes, pretty jewelry, perfume and presents that make her feel special.

So, what are you getting your mother for Mother’s Day?

Well, you’ll have to think about what she likes. A piece of jewelry won’t be a good present for a woman who never wears it, and while some moms would be thrilled with a new kitchen appliance, others would be very disappointed.

If you’re still looking for some ideas, assistants at IMshopping have come up with some very good answers to that question.
For example, have you thought about giving your mom the gift of indulgence with some nice spa treatments? Most women are busy these days, whether they work outside the home or not, and everybody loves a little bit of luxury. A basket filled with bath salts, loofah sponges and the works would be something your mother could use more than once, and she’ll feel special every time she reaches for it.

Sometimes you might not be looking for a gift for your own mother, but for another mother you love, such as your wife. The same principles go here – buy her something that goes with what her interests are, and you can’t go wrong with something pretty.

For example, there’s a reason why flowers are such a great seller for days like Mother’s Day…they’re so pretty. Consider having them delivered a couple of days before, on Friday, possibly to her place of employment. When a husband or significant other sends a woman flowers that others can see and enjoy as well, the woman may seem embarrassed, but she usually loves the little extra touch of attention! And contrary to popular belief, delivered flowers don’t have to be expensive.

You might also want to consider a nice piece of jewelry. Many people choose a mother’s birthstone necklace or ring, with the children’s birthstones serving as decoration. There are many varieties of this type of jewelry, so there pretty much is a type to suit any mother,

Food also makes a great gift. Whether it’s a breakfast in bed basket or one of those edible fruit arrangements, mothers love food that isn’t more macaroni and cheese and hot dogs!

So what are you waiting for? Don’t forget Mother’s Day!

]]> /blog/what-are-you-buying-your-mom-for-mothers-day.html/feed 0 /blog/shopping-sweepstakes.html /blog/shopping-sweepstakes.html#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:49:50 +0000 young /blog/?p=647 Many companies sponsor shopping spree sweepstakes to promote their new products or to increase awareness of their existing products. By entering the phrase “shopping sweepstakes” into the Google search engine, you will be connected to many different site links for entering shopping sweepstakes.

Be aware that many websites that offer shopping sweepstakes entries and prizes will expect the contestant to test one of their products and complete a customer survey. These products can range from food samples to exercise equipment and the information you provide to the company will help them improve on their product, or make adjustments to marketing strategies prior to making the product available for sale. As compensation for your service in providing opinions on the company products, you will be given a shopping sweepstakes entry form, from which you may win any of the prizes listed on the website.

In any authentic shopping sweepstakes, there will never be any requirement to make a purchase. In fact, it is illegal, under federal law, to require a purchase for any sweepstakes entry. But, it is also the intention of the sweepstakes promoter to increase their online and mail order mailing lists through sweepstakes entry contestants, so they must ask if they have permission from you to forward additional offers for product testing and coupons. You have the right to instruct the company not to forward any additional mailings to you. If the hosting company does not clearly display this option, choose a different site, as the one you are on may be conducting illegal activities through use of personal information obtained on the entry forms.

Most shopping sweepstakes sites are legitimate, and can provide their winners with impressive prizes and gifts for their services, while exposing their products to new consumers. There are many people who nearly make a living on sweepstakes entries and winnings, and are dedicated to entering every shopping sweepstakes they come across. With the vast numbers of prizes available, the excitement of the sweepstakes entry is providing a great advantage to many companies whose products are gaining popularity and exposure through the sweepstakes site.

In most cases, consumers who try a product through a sweepstakes entry site will end up purchasing it in the future, increasing the overall sales of the hosting company. As illustrated, shopping sweepstakes entry websites are a powerful tool in marketing as well as research and development of their new products.

As these games are usually won by exposing 3 identical symbols on a game card, It’s wonderfully amusing to watch the recipient of instant win game tickets scratch off the blocking squares. Seemingly rational adults suddenly revert to superstitious nuts as they scratch off their tickets in a particular sequence, or with a “lucky” coin, or by the direction of the youngest member of the family, to increase their chances of winning. Get a group of adults in the same room, scratching off their own tickets, and it gets pretty hysterical! Upon realization that they have won several free tickets and several $2 winners in their batch of 20, these same rational adults then contemplate which store to redeem their additional tickets from, and whether to take cash or additional tickets for the prizes. Pretty invariably, the winners of instant win games choose to take as many additional tickets as they can, since they didn’t use any of their own money for the initial ticket purchase, and therefore have nothing to lose.

When the dust settles on the instant win game sequence, usually there is no retirement sized payout, and the recipient is left with nothing but a few days of anticipation of potential wealth and dreams of what to do with it. But, oddly enough, the recipient of instant win game tickets is never really disappointed. And really, this giving of a bit of childlike excitement to another adult is what the giving spirit is all about. A simple stack of instant win game cards as stocking stuffers can be lots of fun for the giver as well as the recipient – and hopefully, if the recipient strikes it rich, they will remember the giver and spread the wealth around a bit !

Any of us could make a $5000 shopping spree go so much further than $150 blouses and $350 shoes. How many pair of average quality shoes can seriously be purchased for $5000? At $100 a pair, which is still really steep in most budgets, a $5000 shopping spree will yield 50 pairs of new shoes! That’s a new pair each week for an entire year!

Since shoes and clothing go out of style every two years anyway, it seems more sensible to purchase lots of basics with the $5000 shopping spree, in a more reasonably priced location, like maybe, Ohio! New York City is the mecca for high fashion and impeccable quality, but good quality basics can be purchased anywhere for very reasonable prices. A basic skirt should be about $30. A blouse, maybe $40. At these prices, a $5000 shopping spree will grant the happy shopper 71 entire outfits!

Being sensible with the basics, and still adhering to the purpose of the wardrobe intervention by selecting some fashionable accessories and a few trendy apparel items, almost anyone can stretch a $5000 shopping spree to replace all of their outdated clothing for the next two years. Consider five pairs of shoes for $100 a pair. That’s $500. $4500 left to go on our $5000 shopping spree. Let’s take five basic dresses as $65 each, 20 skirts at $30 each, 20 tops at $40 each, 5 dress blazers at $150 each and we are only at $2975. So if anyone out there thinks these prices are too low, beef them up a bit, because we have room in the budget!

So, all said and done, we have $2000 of our original $5000 shopping spree budget left for trendy jeans, slacks and sweaters. With a $5000 budget to go on a shopping spree, any sensible minded person will be able to go home with an entirely new wardrobe that will last through the next 3 style changes.

Many $500 shopping spree entry forms are available online, by simply Googling the phrase “$500 shopping spree”. There are also many radio stations that deliver shopping spree prizes during the holidays, in great numbers. These winnings vary according to the particular radio station, and many stations offer varying locations to exercise the $500 shopping spree as the holiday season progresses. Most of the prizes are for shopping malls, where the cash value can be spent at multiple store locations and cover most of the extent of your holiday gift wish list without tapping into your personal finances.

If you enjoy giving gift cards as holiday gifts, break up your $500 shopping spree into small denominations and make lots and lots of people in your family happy! A $25 dollar gift card, especially if you have a large family, is a wonderful gift and will cover the costs of 20 people on your holiday list. If you only have 10 people to shop for, purchase a $25 gift for each, and also enclose a $25 gift card. With this strategy, you benefit both by getting credit for taking the time to pick out a gift and for providing a gift that the receiver will spend as they wish. A won $500 shopping spree does not even have to be entirely spent on gifts for others. Use a portion of the winning to treat yourself to a manicure or some other way to pamper yourself this holiday season.

Speaking of pampering, spa services are a great holiday gift also. If your $500 shopping spree allows, purchase ten $50 gift cards to be used for massage, or nail treatments, or hair styling. Giving the gift of an hour of luxury is well appreciated, as most people will find more practical uses for a generalized gift card. Spa services are a treat that most people will not indulge in, unless given the gift by a wonderful family member who has generously donated their $500 shopping spree prize.

Many of the most popular current shopping spree games involve online registration of actual toy pets, and the subsequent shopping for required items for the pets including food, clothes, and shelter. Additional aspects of this shopping spree game include purchasing property for the pets after earning money through various activities on the website. If the pets are neglected, they will become ill, requiring access to activities which will restore their health and happiness. If the player very good at providing the necessities for their pet, they have the option to purchase exclusive gift items.

Educational websites are organized and promoted by the public school system and provide links to money exchanging shopping spree online games for various age brackets on the elementary education level. A visit to one of these sites will provide parents with links to various games involving allowances and shopping spree games by selecting the “money” link in the left panel menu. These shopping spree games are highly recommended by elementary school teachers, and many are practiced right in the classroom.

If you’re a purist, and are trying to bring your kids back from the age of computer based everything, there is a good shopping spree board game available for preschool aged children which practices basic addition and subtraction while teaching the ideas earning and spending money while planning ahead for future purchases. In this fun game, children must be the first to purchase a certain number of items while remembering to save enough money to pay for parking before leaving the shopping center. If the player runs out of money, or otherwise loses it, they have to earn more before continuing the game. Again, the EducationalLearningGames.com website is very useful in providing resources for shopping spree style board games which will help teach children about money, spending and saving habits.

Much can be said for positive thinking. There is an entire movement on the train of thought that holds that if you visualize your goal on a daily basis, you will accomplish that goal, no matter how insurmountable it may seem. Most life coaches recommend compiling a list and collage of all of your goals into a poster. This poster is to be displayed where you will see it on a daily basis, and the goals portrayed on this poster will become so much a reality of your life that you will find yourself accomplishing every one of them. The same strategy applies to winning any contest. Visualize your goal. Believe in your goal. Accomplish your goal.

Practice, is of course, imperative to winning of any contest. If you are not committed enough to the goal of winning to practice, than the possibility of victory is completely lost. Again, any contest from hot dog eating to spelling bee is accomplished through training and preparation through practice. Do not take the other contestants for granted. They are working just as hard as you are, and you must continue practicing all the way up to the moment of competition to assure that you will win any contest.

Finally, grace in victory is the ultimate display of showmanship. Always be generous in your praise of other contestants. Their positive energy in their happiness for you will carry you through countless additional victories. Your pride in the knowledge that you worked your hardest to accomplish your goals will give you the increased satisfaction in knowing that you deserve to reap the rewards of your hard work. Being a humble victor will guarantee you to win any contest.

If the $1000 shopping spree is at a grocery store, purchase $500 worth of nonperishable food items and donate to a food bank. Be sure to make most of the goods nutritious basics, but also throw in a few dessert items. The emotional needs of children deserve a small treat during the holidays as much as the body needs nutrition. Be a secret Santa to a perfect stranger this holiday season by sharing your $1000 shopping spree.

If you’d rather not be so anonymous, another wonderful way to share your $1000 shopping spree, if the prize is from a grocery store, is to buy $500 worth of groceries, and offer the full shopping cart to a family in the parking lot. Offer to help them load the bags into their car, and just bask in their disbelief. Let them know that you won the shopping spree and just wanted to share the good feeling. These good deeds tend to gain momentum, and chances are that the family will share some of your gift with someone else.

If your prize is at a general retailer, multiply your good fortune by five – purchase $500 worth of goods with your $1000 shopping spree and give $100 worth to five different strangers in the parking lot. Seriously, think about the impact of this kind of charity to the lives of five families that you don’t even know! Or – if a generalized prize — go to the dollar store! You could purchase 500 stuffed animals – there are actually $1 stuffed animals at the dollar store – and make 500 children smile on Christmas morning, and still have half of your $1000 shopping spree for yourself and your own family.

The current economy is crippling many families this holiday season. There are many people that truly need the entire $1000 to keep from losing their car or home, but the $1000 shopping spree contests are usually geared to purchases from a particular source. Be generous this holiday season and distribute your good fortune by bringing a little holiday cheer to as many people as you can touch with your $1000 shopping spree. Happy Holidays!