Head to Jo-Ann's on Saturday December 10 from 11am-1pm where your kids can make a fun craft this weekend. Kids can create a Christmas Ornaments Make It-Take It. It's Fun & Free!

Looking for more events? Be sure to check out our Calendar section where you can find lots of things to do every day!

This offer may not be valid at all locations, please also check for valid dates of coupons or gift card purchase. Here's a tip for you savvy shoppers.. if you shop or dine at any of these establishments, now is the time to buy gift cards there plus get a little reward for later. That is the best way to stretch your buck!

If you know if any others please leave a comment below!

Restaurant Gift Card Deals

• bd Mongolian Grill- $10 in GoMongo card and 2012 calendar with coupons wyb $50 in gift cards OR $5 GoMongo card wyb $25 in gift cards
• Ben & Jerry's- Free scoop of ice cream wyb $10 or more in gift cards
• Brio Tuscan Grille- $20 gift card wyb $100 in gift cards
• Bonefish Grill- $20 bonus card and sweepstake entry wyb $100 in gift cards
• Bravo- $20 bonus gift wyb $100 in gift cards
• Carraba's- $20 bonus card and sweepstake entry wyb $100 in gift cards
• Champps Americana- $15 bonus card wyb $50 in gift cards
• The Cheesecake Factory- Free slice of cheesecake wyb $25 in gift cards
• Chili's- Save 10% wyb $100 in gift cards
• Chipotle- $30 or more in gift cards in a single transaction at any Chipotle restaurant between 11/18-12/31, then bring in your receipt on your next visit to get a free burrito, bowl, order of tacos or salad before 1/31/12
• City Barbeque- $5 bonus card wyb a $25 gift card
• Fazoli's- $5 coupon wyb $20 in gift cards
• Max and Erma's- $5 bonus card wyb $25 in gift cards
• Mimi's Cafe- $5 bonus coupon wyb $25 in gift cards
• Noodles & Co- Free sandwich duo wyb $25 in gift cards
• Outback Steakhouse- $20 bonus gift card wyb a $100 gift card
• Potbelly Sandwich Works- Free sandwich wyb $25 in gift cards (Thanks Go Get Your Coup On)
• Red Robin- $5 bonus buck reward wyb $25 in gift cards
• Ruby Tuesday- $15 bonus card wyb $50 in gift cards
• Rusty Bucket- $10 bonus card reward wyb $50 gift card purchase
• Sonic- $5 gift card wyb $25 in gift cards
• Smashburger- $5 Smashbucks wyb $25 in gift cards
• Spaghetti Warehouse- $5 bonus card wyb $25 in gift cards
• Steak & Shake- $5 bonus card wyb $20 in gift cards
• Taco Bell- Free taco flatbread sandwich combo wyb a $20 gift card
• T.G.I. Friday's- $5 bonus card wyb $25 in gift cards

Retail Gift Card Deals

• American Eagle Outfitters- $10 money card with every gift card purchase to use after Christmas when you spend $35
• Barnes and Noble- $10 bonus eGift card wyb $100 in gift cards (online only)
• The Children's Place- $10 eGift card wyb $40 in gift cards (online only)
• JC Penney- $5 JC Penney cash wyb $20 in gift cards
• Half Price Books- $5 coupon wyb $25 in gift cards
• Linens and More For Less- $10 off $20 purchase coupon wyb $50 in gift cards

Okay, for all you lovers of Trader Joe's, I think you are going to like Earth Fare supermarket!

Tomorrow Wednesday, October 19 Earth Fare is having their grand opening at 8am. They are located at Cross Pointe Center, where the old Stitching Post was. While they aren't having any grand opening freebies tomorrow (see I knew what you all are were hoping) they have something better going on every week. Earth Fare has Kids Eat Free every Thursday from 4-8pm where kids eat free with an adult entree purchase of $5 or more. But here's what makes their Family Dinner Night so great, there is typically entertainment for the kids (read: clowns, balloons, crafts..etc), your kiddos get to choose what they eat and up to 6 kids can eat free with a $5 adult entree purchase! This is a great deal for those of you with larger families.

I was lucky enough to get a tour of the store today and lest you think that the parents are getting the short end of the stick with this deal there is a deli, cafe, smoothie bar, soup, salad, bakery, sushi bar and even a pizza kitchen for you to choose from!! Here are the kids options, I love how there is something for just about EVERY kid no matter how picky. (They get to choose one item from each category)

Main Dish

• Turkey Provolone Roll-up
• Veggie & Hummus Roll-up
• Soy Nuggets with Ranch Dressing
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich
• Pizza Slice
• PB & J Roll-up

Fresh Side

• Carrots & Ranch Dressing
• Fruit cup
• Fruit (Apple, Banana, Orange or Grapes)
• Raisins

Snack

• Cheddar Bunnies
• Gummy Fruit Snack
• Oatmeal Snackimals
• Applesauce
• String Cheese
• Blueberry yogurt

Drink

• Milk
• 100% Juice
• Water

They make their kids menu even better by having a high standard for their products. And just like everything else in their store including dairy products, snacks, wine, cheese and even dog and cat food there are certain things they don't use. So you can enjoy your favorite snacks and staples without unhealthy ingredients like High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Fats, Artificial Trans Fats, and Artificial Sweeteners.

• NO Artificial Fats or Trans Fats
• NO High-Fructose Corn Syrup
• NO Artificial Colors
• NO Artificial Flavors
• NO Artificial Preservatives
• NO Artificial Sweeteners
• NO Antibiotics or Synthetic Growth Hormones in our Fresh Meat or Dairy
• NO Bleached or Bromated flour

There is a huge section of bulk food and you can even bring in your own containers, just be sure to stop by the front desk when you come in so that they can weigh it so you don't pay for the weight of your container (how cool is that?!?).

Be sure to sign up for their weekly freebies/coupons and deals. I've been receiving them for about 3 months now and I've received ones for Free 1lb of Chicken (or Veggie Burgers) with $10 purchase, free 1lb of grapes with any purchase and free Earth Fare brand cookies with any purchase.. those are just a few of the coupons that I've gotten already. So make sure you sign up and you can get these great deals too. They also have coupons in store, they hand out coupon booklets when you come in and there are even coupons on their site. For those of you that are like me, you can even show them your coupons on your electronic device so that you can save paper, or just copy down the PLU code for your coupons. Plus be sure to follow them on Facebook for events and promotions. Personally I'm really excited to actually grocery shop there, and I'm almost positive that we will be going to Family Dinner Nights on Thursday!

( Earth Fare Family Night has been added to our Kids Eat Free list)

Here is our list of printable coupons and deals for retail stores and restaurants.

Retail

Banana Republic Factory Outlet: 15% off your $100 purchase exp 2/29/12

JcPenney: $10 off your $40 purchase exp 9/25

Moochie & Co: Bring your pet in the last Sunday of every month from 1:00 - 6:00 pm and receive 20% off all regular-priced merchandise

Stride Rite: 20% off your $50 purchase exp 9/27

Restaurant 

Cinnabon at The Dayton Mall: Mention "Cinnapacks Off the Rack" and receive $3.00 of any Cinnapack 

Mimi's Cafe: Kids Eat FREE on Friday with adult purchase exp 9/30

Smoothie King: FREE small smoothie with the purchase of a Smoothie King Gladiator Meal Replacement exp 9/30

Do you know of any others? Let us know and we'll add it to the list. Happy Shopping!

Do you have some exciting outdoor projects included in your summer plans? Are you a member of Home Depot's Garden Club yet? Well be sure to sign up and receive valuable money saving offers, tips and more via mail. Join Home Depot Garden Club for Free and get exclusive members only coupons, timely regional tips and expert answers to all your gardening questions!

I've already gotten a few mailers already that have great coupons and info about taking care of your outdoor plants, so be sure to sign up so that you don't miss out! Just click on the image above to sign up.

Here are some of the top Meijer deals from Happy Homemaker Cindy.

Meijer Deals:

President Brie Log - $2.99
$3/2 printable here
=$1.49 each

Sargento Sliced Cheese - $2.50
$0.75/1 Sargento Natural Blends Slice or Snack Cheese
$0.50/1 Sargento Natural Sliced or Snack Cheese Kroger My Magazine, Dairy (exp 8/14/2011)
=1.50 each

Heluva Good Sour Cream Dip - $0.99
$0.55/1 Heluva Good Sour Cream Dip, exp. 7/31/11 (SS 06/19/11 R)
=Free

Jmba Frozen Smoothie or Bars - $2.50
$1/2 Meijer Mealbox
$1 printable here
$1/1 Jamba Smoothies 5/22/2011 SS Insert (exp 8/31/2011)
=$ 1.00

V8 V-Fusion - $2.50
$1/2 Campbell's V8 V-Fusion or Vegetable Juice Bottle (Meijer)
$1.50/1 V8 V-Fusion Juice Variety, exp. 7/31/11 (SS 06/26/11 R)
=$.50

The great thing about summer is that it brings the fun of outdoor Farmers Markets to the Dayton area. You can find locally grown produce, organic meat, bakery items and much more! They always have a great selection of food and other items. It's a great way to help support local farmers and businesses in the Dayton area. Plus if you ask any farmer's market die-hard shopper they will quickly tell you that what you can buy there is unlike anything you can ever hope to find at a grocery store. So now thanks to some of our amazing readers we have a list of several local farmer's markets. If you know of any others please feel free to leave us a comment and we will add it to the list.

‎2nd Street Market
Location: 600 E 2nd Street, Dayton
Dates: Year-Round
Hours: Thursday & Friday 11am-3pm
Saturday 8am-3pm
Closed on Christmas and New Years

Centerville Farmer's Market
Location: 892 S. Main Street, Centerville
North of the intersection of State Route 48 & Spring Valley Road
Dates: May 26- Oct 27
Hours: Thursday 2:30-6:30pm

Greene County Farmers Market
Location: North Allison Avenue in Xenia, next to Aldi’s
Dates: Tuesday during the summer
Hours: Tuesday 9am-1:30pm

Location: Five Points Shopping Center parking lot
2239 Tarbox Cemetery Road
Dates: Thursday during the summer
Hours: Thursday 2-6pm

Location: Beavercreek Kmart shopping center on Dorothy Lane
Dates: Saturday during the summer
Hours: Saturday 8am-12:30pm

Sugarcreek Township Farmer's Market
Location: 4333 Feedwire Road, Kettering
Dates: May 20 - October 28
Hours: Friday 3-7pm

Tippecanoe Farmer's Market
Location: 3rd and Main Street, Tipp City
Dates: June 11- Sept 17
Hours: Saturday 9am-12pm

Wegerzyn Market at Moose Lodge
Location: 2110 E. Central Ave, Miamisburg
Dates: July 5 - Oct. 25
Hours: Wednesday 1-6pm

Shiloh Church
Location: 5300 N Main St, Dayton
Dates: May 7- Oct 15
Hours: Saturday 7am-12pm

Thanks Lizzie, Brandi, Melissa, Veronica, Amber, Rebecca and Cindy!!

I love how I can head to almost any thrift store in the Dayton area and find something good. It might take a bit of work to find a real gem, but you NEVER know what you might find. I typically shop there to find stuff for my boys, they grow out of clothes so quickly when they are little and I can usually find clothes that is gently worn or even the latest toy that they are into we can find it slightly played with. Our Things I Love Thursday this week is a guest post by one of our readers-Amy Moller.  Amy and I both share a love of thrifting and she wanted to share one of her favorite locations with us.

Goodwill: 950 Centerville Miamisburg Rd.

Pros: Good selection of used computers and lots of clearance Target dollar section items. There is a decent selection of clothes, shoes, purses: I can find name brands (NY&CO., Express, Anne Klein, Polo, etc) in really good shape and not outdated, Nice men's/women/s dressing rooms (very private), very clean and organized. It is just down the street from a huge Salvation Army, and they also have medical scrubs, pants that appear to be new for about $8, and other new items that are possibly overstocked or out of season.

Every Wednesday they offer 10% off to anyone 55 years and up

An interesting tidbit: 86 cents from every dollar goes to Goodwill Industries.

Cons: the selection of boys clothes isn't very big. If you're looking for women's clothes, this is a great store and even a fairly large selection for men. Also, they do not have much as far as electronics and furniture.

I'm linking up over at The Diaper Diaries for Things I love Thursday.

I really like living in Ohio, I know the weather can get cold and it's not a tropical location but there are lots of things to do and tons of great local businesses. One of the local places that our family loves to shop at is Trader Joe's. I love how when you find someone else that shops there it's like finding a kindred spirit. Then you both proceed to list what you buy there and why it's good. I always find it funny that every thing that anyone else has on their "must buy at Trader Joe's list" is the "best stuff." Because let's be honest, almost everything there is pretty great. But do you know what? Not only do I love Trader Joe's, but my kids do too. There is rarely any complaining about going to the grocery store when I say that we have to go there that day. So here are my favorite things about Trader Joe's, I'm not going to list all my food I like there because that is a pretty long list so I'll just stick to basics. The things that in my mind make Trader Joe's one of the Things That I Love this Thursday.

1. Stroopy the Cow- I don't know who came up with this idea, but it's GENIUS! There is a plush cow that floats around the store, maybe you have seen it and didn't realize what he was doing hanging around the store. Well, did you know that Stroopy the Cow is a scavenger hunt for your kids? That's right!  Once you walk in the door tell the kiddos to keep their eyes peeled for Stroopy the Cow. So while you are on a shopping trip, your kids are on a hunt for Stroopy. When you checkout be sure to have your kids tell the person at the register where Stroopy was and they will score a prize- an organic sucker to be exact. There have been a few times that we've not found Stroopy the Cow, and we have still gotten a sucker just because they are nice there like that.

2. Sample Station- There is almost always some fun new sample to try. Whether it's meatballs or the latest and greatest cheese there is usually some tasty morsel awaiting you towards the back of the store. They also offer free coffee if you are caffeine inclined.

3. Cookies- So back at the Sample Station sometimes there is a "weird" sample and my boys don't want it. But guess what?! They have Cat Cookies for the kids. All they have to do is ask and whoever is back there will give them a sample cup full of cute cat shaped cookies.

4. Try It Now- Here is the "secret" about the Sample Station... Have you ever seen something at Trader Joe's and thought, "hmm, I wonder if this is any good." Well, all you have to do is take it over to the Sample Station and they will open it for you and let you try it right there! Then if you do like it they won't make you take the opened one, they tell you to get a new one and they will use the open one for samples. It's that AWESOME!?!

5. Stickers- The registers always have stickers, they are cute Trader Joe's stickers for the kids and you might even get lucky and make it home without them being stuck on you. (Don't you hate that, when you are running errands all day and somehow you ended up with a sticker on you sometime during the day. Then at the end of the you realize that it's on you.. and no one said a thing about the sticker on your butt.. Never happened to you? Me either..)

6. Friendly Staff- All of their staff is helpful, friendly and polite- every time we have been there. The kid-friendly staff is wonderful, it's nice that when we walk around and my littlest boy says "hi" to every passing employee that they stop and pay attention to him. He loves it and it's heartwarming to see how authentically nice they all are.

7. Return policy- There have been those few times that I bought something that we don't enjoy- like that time that I bought Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup... NO SALT... ugh. All you have to do is bring back the item, even if it's opened, and they will refund your money. It's nice to know that I can take a "risk" at Trader Joe's and not be stuck with some weird No Salt soup that I accidentally bought.

8. No Artificial Things- I've been trying to be more careful with what I feed my family lately and was pretty excited when I learned that everything with the Trader Joe's label has NO artificial flavors, colors or GMO's (genetically modified organisms).

Have you ever been to Trader Joe's? What are some of your favorite things about them? Or more importantly what are some of your favorite things to buy there? What should I try next time I'm there- because I'm always up for trying new stuff from Trader Joes. And look at that cutie with his stickers and sucker!

This post is linked at Things I Love Thursday on TheDiaperDiaries.net.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED: CONGRATS BECKY D
YOU CAN VIEW OUR LIST OF GIVEAWAY WINNERS HERE.

About a month ago we went to Toys R Us and learned that they have new exciting LEGO sets called Ninjago coming out to Toys R Us on January 1, 2011. I've got to admit I was pretty impressed with these new LEGO sets. They are a LEGO game and a set all in one. They seemed a lot like spinning game behind Beyblade spinners, but the fun and creativity of LEGO. The legend tells of how the First Spinjitzu Master created the world of Ninjago using the mystical powers of Fire, Earth, Ice and Lightning. There are now four young ninjas that must be trained in the ways of Spinjitzu to help save the world from Lord Garmadon and his evil Skeleton Warriors.

Ok, so onto the giveaway!! We are giving away a 11 piece set that builds a Ninjago sword display, a Ninjago sticker and black Ninjago headwrap. Plus we have an exclusive coupon to receive a limited edition Ninjago Battle Card with any Ninjago purchase between 1/2/11- 1/29/11. (Toys R Us will also be running this offer If you spend $30 or more in LEGO Ninjago during the month of January at Toys R Us, you can also receive the limited edition Ninjago Battle card and a card album.)

So how do you enter? You can get up to 3 entries. And you KNOW you want to win this because who DOESN'T want FREE LEGOs?!

- Leave a comment about this giveaway

- Leave a comment somewhere else on the blog, then come back and leave a comment here telling us you did

- Follow us on Facebook then leave a comment telling us

This giveaway ends Sunday, January 2 at 9pm EST. We will use Random.org to choose our winner. This giveaway is for local readers.