While you wouldn’t know it by the wonderful weather this weekend…Fall is in full swing and I am ready to settle in and make the most of it. I love to bake…I love to plan and prepare for Holiday festivities…to decorate the house. I’ve been blessed this year to have so many new and wonderful friends in my life…I have all the best intentions of baking up a storm and showering them with home baked love (note: I said “Best Intentions”). I’m planning my gift lists for friends and family and looking through the deals this week I’ve got a little head start, there are some deals around town that will help to scratch that prepare for the Holidays itch I’ve been having…here is a small sample:

FREE Photo Merchandise from Kodak Gallery: Visit the post I have on SuperJennto learn more…but if you act fast you can get a $15 gift card for free merchandise (photos, photo books, mugs calendars, cards…) from Kodak Gallery. What a great way to round up a couple of gifts or your Holiday cards for FREE.

Christmas Light Trade In: At Home Depot this week you can trade in your used or broken incandescent holiday lights and receive $3 off your purchase of any LED Christmas Lights. LED light strings use 80% less energy than incandescent light strings. What a great way to save money…both in buying the decorations AND in energy costs down the road.

You can purchase a string of the LED lights for $5.97 …with your discount that is $2.97. There is a limit of 5 strings per customer.

If you are crafty you can find a wide variety of fabrics, notions and patterns all on deep discount at Hancock Fabrics this week. There is also a coupon for an additional 10% off of your entire purchase during an Early Bird Sale on Veteran’s Day.

You can find a Roasting Pan at World Market on sale for $9.99 this week. It will hold up to a 25lb. turkey … quite a deal if it is a nice heavy pan.

Hastingshas a special coupon in their flyer this week that is good Friday and Saturday only…but will land you any CD in the store priced $18.99 or less for $9.99.

Aldi (yeah, that’s right…Aldi) has butter for $1.38. If you didn’t stock up during one of the two recent sales at HyVee you can get yourself some cheap butter and freeze it to use when you are ready to bake. They also have apples for $0.25/ea. I haven’t been in yet but I’m curious what kind of apples are included…if you know please post and share! I’m really wanting to make an Apple Crisp for my family and would be thrilled if Granny Smith were part of the deal.

Dillon’s is having the last few days of their most recent $5 Mega Event…. if you buy any 10 participating items you will get $5 (or $0.50 per item) off of your total bill. Assuming you buy at least 10 items and receive the discount here are some great finds to help you stock up for Holiday baking:

Nestle Toll House Morsels: $1.99 Use the $0.50/1 coupon from the Nov. 1 Red Plum you will be getting these for $0.99/ea. Buy ’em up and stick ’em in the freezer…use them later in chocolate chip cookies…fudge…pancakes…muffins…need I say more?

Carnation Evaporated Milk: $0.69/ea Use a $0.50/2 from a recent insert or print one HERE and you will be paying $0.19/ea.

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter: $1.17/ea Buy 2 and use the $1/2 from the 9/13 Red Plum and get them for $0.67/ea.

Betty Crocker Potatoes: $0.99/ea Use a $0.40/1 printable coupon and get these for $0.20 a box. Looking for an inexpensive way to make a donation to the food pantries? This might be a good option!

Angel Soft Bathroom Tissue: $1.30 (normal price) Use a $0.50/1 from the 9/13 Red Plum and pay $0.30 for a package of toilet paper. The weekly email from Plymouth Church this week said that one of the items they are in need of right now when collecting for the food banks is toilet paper. This is another great way to use your coupons for good.

With everyone around me coughing and hacking up a storm I’m rather enthralled with the $0.50/ea bags of Ricolla and Hallscough drops. Use the B1G1 coupon for Ricolla in the 10/11 Smart Source and you will be getting the bags for $0.25/ea. The 11/8 Smart Source has a $0.50/1 Halls coupon that will make them not only free…but a money maker.

Scenario:

Buy 2 Ricolla and 1 Halls.

Use B1G1 Ricolla and $0.50/1 Halls. You will get all three bags for free. (The overage on the Halls will cover the price of the first bag of Ricolla)

I discovered that Hy Vee is having a sale through the month of November on Organic Valley Milk. Half Gallons are 2/$6 and there is a $2/2 coupon in their monthly flier. You can find the flier right at the front of the Health Market. $2 for a half gallon of organic milk is a really good price.

Finally…I’ve been shopping around for a laptop … Christmas present for my grandparents who can no longer climb the stairs daily to use their computer…this week Office Depot is running a special on a Toshiba …15.6″ screen with Windows 7 and 2GB memory for $350.