This contest is now closed. Congratulations to the winners, Lara (comment #67) and Tricia (comment #180)!

Sears and Kmart are offering FrugalDad.com readers the opportunity to win a $50 gift card, redeemable at Sears, sears.com, Kmart, kmart.com, Lands End, and landsend.com, among others. With the various store options, you’ll find a wide variety of brands to choose from, which most single-retailer gift cards don’t provide.

They were even nice enough to toss in a $200 gift card for the Frugal family, for us to do a little shopping at a local Kmart or Sears store. We decided to check out Kmart with Christmas lists in hand. Here’s a sampling of the items we picked out using our gift card:

• Craftsman magnetic bowl (great for holding nuts, bolts and washers when putting together Santa’s toys)
• Towel rack for our bathroom (ours got a little beat up in our recent move)
• Up on DVD (for our next frugal family fun night)
• Monsters vs Aliens DVD
• Troop Beverly Hills DVD
• Soccer Mom DVD
• A couple Christmas ornaments
• Chess board (my daughter is learning the game)
• Christmas tree skirt
• 8 qt. stainless steel mixing bowl
• Paula Deen cooking utensils
• 2 Mylar emergency blankets (for the car emergency kits we’re putting together)
• 3-pack Trident gum
• Pocket knife (every frugal person should have a small pocket knife on them)

Whew! And after all that, I still have $15-$20 to head to Sears and pick up a tool I’ve been needing. I know, enough about my shopping spree. You are ready to learn how to win your own $50 gift card, right?

How To Enter

Entering is simple. Leave a comment here sharing your favorite holiday tradition. Maybe it’s a Thanksgiving Day family football game, or opening one present on Christmas Eve (my mom used to let me do this). Your tradition counts as your entry. if you are short on traditions, tell us one you’d like to start, or one you enjoyed growing up.

When the contest closes this Saturday night at 11:59pm EST, I’ll use random.org to select two winners who will receive a $50 Sears/Kmart gift card.

Again, the contest closes this Saturday, December 5th at 11:59pm EST. Get your comments in now, and be sure to leave a valid email address where indicated so I can notify you if you are one of the lucky winners. Good luck!

The contest is now over. Random.org’s random integer generator selected comment number 131 – congratulations to “cwaltz.” Happy Father’s Day to all frugal dads out there!

The Home Depot has offered to give one lucky Frugal Dad reader a $100 Home Depot gift card, just in time for Father’s Day.  What a great gift to present to dad, or if you’re a dad, what a great gift for yourself! Just think of the things you could buy at The Home Depot with your gift card. I doubt the lucky recipient will have a hard time thinking of ways to spend his gift card, but just in case, you may want to share the following links.

Father’s Day Gift Ideas

The first lists Father’s Day gift ideas available at The Home Depot for less than $50.  The second link displays gift ideas between $50 and $100, and includes a couple of things I’ve had my eye on for some time.  I could use a new shop vac for cleaning out out our car (no sense pumping any more quarters into those machines!) and for cleanup around the garage.  I could also use a floor lamp for my make-shift office, and I need to stock up on some CFL bulbs and air conditioner filters for these summer months when energy bills are sure to rise.

How To Enter

To enter to win The Home Depot gift card, simply tell us in the comments below why the dad in your life (father, husband, son, etc.) should win this giveaway.  Perhaps they work extra hard supporting their family, or they don’t mind helping finish homework after a long day at the office.

Deadlines

The contest will end next Friday, June 12th at 11:59pm.  At that time, comments will be closed to this post and no new comments will be allowed.  Using random.org, I will select a random number corresponding to one lucky winner from the comments section.  The winner will be notified via email, and this post will be updated to reflect the end of the contest.

The Home Depot Gift Card

Sometimes it is hard to find that perfect gift for dad.  I know; my frugal grandfather and my stepdad seem to have everything they could possibly need, but I’m sure armed with a gift card from The Home Depot they could pick up some useful tools they probably wouldn’t normally buy for themselves.  The gift cards never expire and no service fees will ever be charged when purchasing or using a Home Depot gift card. Gift cards may be redeemed at Home Depot stores.

Visit your local Home Depot, or shop online, to find three new gift card styles to choose from, including a gift card that looks and feels like duct tape and a gift card that comes with a FREE 3/8″ drill bit.  How frugal is that?!

Good luck to all the frugal dads out there!  Get your comment entry in today, and be sure to tell your family and friends to enter.

This contest is now closed.  Using random.org’s random integer generating tool we have selected three winners – comment numbers 12, 82, and 107.  Congratulations to Jenny, Street Preacher, and ~Kat.  I’ll be in touch with each of you over the weekend to coordinate getting your information to All You.  Enjoy your 1-year subscriptions! Thanks again to All You magazine for sponsoring this contest.

ALL YOU Magazine is geared to the value-driven consumer and offers practical, affordable solutions for every area of life.  The magazine features money-saving strategies, fashion ideas, easy-to-prepare recipes and more. ALL YOU is available at Wal-Mart stores nationwide and by subscription.

The April Issue

One of the things my wife and I look forward to from ALL YOU Magazine is the coupons!  I often forget to look through publications like this for coupons, but it is a great source to supplement your weekly newspaper and other online coupon sites.  In fact, the April edition features $51 worth of coupons, including a FREE Rimmel Sexy Cures Mascara, and $1.00 off People magazine.

To make things easier, they even publish a coupon index to help maximize the savings in ALL YOU.

To get an idea of the types of articles featured in ALL YOU, check out their website at allyou.com.  Get tips for  for making your clothes last longer.  Learn how to go green and save money at home.  Get inspiration for creating your own price book.  Lots of frugal ideas here!

How To Enter The ALL YOU Giveaway

The folks at ALL YOU were nice enough to let me give away a 1-year subscription to THREE lucky Frugal Dad readers.  Entering is a cinch.  Simply leave your favorite money-saving tip in the comments for this post.  Be sure to include your email address in the comment form (not the body of the comment) so I can contact you if you are a winner.  When the contest ends, I’ll randomly select (3) entries, using random.org, and put winners in touch with the folks from ALL YOU to begin your 1-year subscription.

Comments will close Friday, April 10 at 11:59pm.  Winners will be announced the following day, Saturday April 11th.  Look forward to reading your favorite money-saving tips!

First allow me to thank all of you for the entries to The Home Depot $100 Gift Card Giveaway!  This was a particularly fun contest because I asked you to share your favorite holiday memory in the comments section as an entry to the contest. I enjoyed reading through all 305 stories, and received another 63 via email.

I plugged the numbers in random.org and asked for a random integer selection. The site selected entry #4 (I guess it paid to be the early bird in this case!).

Congratulations to Andrea, who left the fourth comment on the gift card giveaway post! I’ve contacted Andrea via email and the gift card will soon be on the way!

Again, thank you for sharing all your wonderful holiday stories, and for sharing info about the contest with your friends and family. I plan to host another contest or two before the holidays, so if you didn’t win this one, don’t despair.

To get in the holiday spirit, I’m giving away a $100 The Home Depot gift card to one lucky reader. The Home Depot gift cards are a great idea for the do-it-herself-ers and handymen on your gift list.  Or, you may decide to keep the gift card for yourself and invest in household items that help reduce utility bills all year long such as programmable thermostats, CFL bulbs, or low-flow shower heads.

This year, The Home Depot has 17 holiday gift card styles to choose from including a scratch-n-sniff gingerbread man that can be decorated with stickers, and a card that looks and feels like it is covered with every handyman’s wrapping paper–duct tape (my personal favorite).

Rules for entry are similar to previous contests here at Frugal Dad.

How to Enter The Home Depot Gift Card Giveaway:

• Leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite holiday memory (be sure to complete your email address in the comment entry form).

Comments feature will close at 11:59pm(ET) on Saturday November 22nd. I will announce the winner on Sunday, November 23 and contact you via email. Each commenter or email will be assigned an entry number, and winners will be selected using Random.org to select a random number from the total number of entries.

Good luck!

*The Home Depot gift card can only be used in the United States, but international readers are welcome to enter the contest if they would like to pass along the gift card to a friend or relative living in the United States.  No email addresses collected as part of this contest will be shared with any 3rd parties.

Thanks to all those who entered the Frugal Dad Tote Bag giveaway!  We ended up with over 200 entries, and many of you made a compelling case for why you wanted one of those bags.  I wish I could send one to all 200 of you!

Random.org selected the following winners:

• Konny
• Brian Lang
• Anna 

I’ll be contacting each winner today and giving them a couple days to respond.  If for some reason they do not respond, I’ll select another winner(s) and contact them.  For those who did not win, don’t despair.  I’m planning another contest in a couple weeks to give away even more bags, with a new set of rules (don’t worry–it will be fun, and not too much work for you).

If you would like to order the tote bag directly, you may click on the link in my sidebar (look for the bag) and order directly from CafePress.com.  I’ve removed all profit margin from my Cafe Store and have decided to offer the bags at the base price of $12.99.  I figure it’s better to have more bags out there than me making a dollar or two off each sale.  Thanks again to everyone for continuing to support Frugal Dad!

It’s been a while since I offered a giveaway contest here at Frugal Dad.  I’ve been playing around with a site called CafePress.com where you can brand your own items, and I have to say that of all the things I’ve ordered for my own personal use, I like this canvas tote bag the most–I even had to order two more for my wife and my mom.

One of our custom tote bags makes a great companion to take along on trips to the grocery store (save a few plastic bags while you’re at it), to the library to stock up on great reads, or even to work with lunches packed, a change of clothes for the gym, etc.  The “frugaldad.com” logo goes along with you to remind you to “be frugal” throughout the day!

Entering the contest is simple–just leave a comment on this post and check back next Saturday, November 1st (sorry, you won’t have this in time for trick or treating!).  I’ll select THREE lucky winners using the site random.org and ship out your FrugalDad.com tote bag.*   Be sure to fill in your email address where asked when submitting the comment so I’ll have a way to contact you if you are a lucky winner.  Comments will be closed at 11:59pm the night of October 31st (Eastern time).  Winners will be announced the following day.  Good luck!

*Contest available to U.S. residents only

More about the bag (from CafePress.com):

Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying.

• 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric
• Full side and bottom gusset
• 22″ reinforced self-fabric handles
• Machine washable
• Measures 15″ x 18″ x 6″