Five Frugal Things -- My Own Santaland Diaries
2. I woke up way too early on Thanksgiving and ended up watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, which I watched it with my sister who actually lives in NYC. (We get Peacock streaming TV for free through our cell phone plan, so I share it with family members.) I've always considered the parade a cheesy event for other people, (cue image of snobby me, complete with monocle, sitting atop a pile of hundred dollars bills.) However, it was surprisingly enjoyable and I appreciated how culturally inclusive it was, especially the Native American performance.
I worked at the Herald Square Macy's location back in 1988 as a Santaland Christmas elf, which was a blast. I'm pretty sure it was the same year as David Sedaris, but it's hard to say, as there were multiple short funny gay guys and some memories are fuzzy. This experience means I know a lot more about the Macy's flagship store than the average American, including the basement jail and how all employees were forced to watch a video about how we'd be fully prosecuted and lose all our friends if we stole from the store. Mind you, there was no merchandise to steal at Santaland, but Macy's put all employees through the same training. Plus a creepy full physical exam and the store discount was lousy.
This six-week job allowed me the time to hunt for a real grown up job and if I remember correctly, paid a whopping $7-per-hour, which was almost double the minimum wage at the time. Plus it supplied the clothing, so I didn't have to spend any money on a work wardrobe, which was a huge benefit for young broke me.
Not that you asked, but my favorite Santa was "Santa Ira," who was also Jewish. My least favorite Santa was "Santa Santa" who never broke character, even when it was just the two of us in our North Pole hut, often for extended periods of time. This got old really fast!
2. I sold both the found cell phone case and a random thrifted M&M teddy bear on eBay. Neither sale will make the news, but it's still nice to earn a bit of money from the comfort of my couch.
3. Thanksgiving went off without a hitch, even though my husband was unable to help whatsoever due to his work schedule. (Health care workers don't exactly get the day off for holidays!) Although I served Costco pumpkin pies, I made two others from scratch-ish as I needed a gluten-free option for my daughter.
What the hell is "scratch-ish?" I bought pre-made gluten-free pie shells at Trader Joe's, but made the filling using my own homemade pumpkin puree. So they were half store bought, half overly complicated homemade!
4. I earned enough "points" from donating blood and platelets for a bonus $10 gift card, which I'll redeem for either Safeway or Kroger. I believe this brings my last donation up to $45 in gift cards, plus snacks my Pac-Man socks.
5. I had my husband halfway talked into going to the Leach Botanical Garden with me today, but I remembered that they have free admission next weekend for their "Winterfest." I'm excited to have a proper rain coat again, (Thank you, Goodwill) and am itching to take it for a spin in Portland's ever present rainy weather.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
1. Thanksgiving was delicious and frugal. Everyone contributed by bringing something.
2. I had my traditional leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast. Also from Costco. This was more pre-breakfast. I also made a traditional breakfast for all my sleepover guests.
3. I didn't go out to the Black Friday sales but I did order two gifts online.
4. I sent lunch over with my kids who were going to visit their other Grandma.
5. I'm enjoying some peace and quiet. I finished a library book on my kindle and started another.