T.J.Maxx and Marshalls your holiday gift headquarters!

If they aren't already your holiday gift headquarters they might be once you read this! The VERY lovely people behind T.J.Maxx and Marshalls contacted asking if I would like to work with them again and check out their holiday fashions. Of course I jumped at the chance and seriously they have the nicest people working for them. They honestly deserve a star award. Since I have worked with them in the past (see post here) they invited me to a Virtual event called Behind the Seams where we all met online at a certain time and a stylist showed us some holiday fashion and gift ideas. It was a lot of fun I even saw some bloggers I admire there (Keiko Lynn!) I got some great gift ideas and learned some fun facts about their stores.

* They get 10,000 new items weekly to EACH STORE. They get so much merchandise they can't put it all on the floor so it doesn't hurt to ask if they have more sizes of an item in the back.

* They make deals with buyers and designers to get items for 20 to 60% below department store prices. Sometimes you may notice the price "compare at" is actually lower than the retail price. (They like to be modest sometimes)

* The reason they can keep the prices so low is they don't pay to advertise the designers they carry. They also don't invest in decor or displays. The focus on getting the best deal on designs.

* It is a misnomer that everything they carry is last season. They do have some last season items and they will actually be marked on the tag as "past season" many of their items are current season and you can find the exact same item in fancy department stores. I personally saw a Michael Kors bag on Saturday that is currently available still at Macys.

* One of the ways they get a great deal is they will get colors of items other stores didn't pick up. Say Macys only picked up the pink and white in a Ralph Lauren shirt and the designer made it in pink, white, green and black! TJMaxx or Marshalls can get a great deal on those other colors! (I have noticed that before. I found a Kate Spade bag in a popular design in a GORGEOUS orange color I have never seen)

They sent me an amazing array of gifts for attending their event. I got some great Christmas ideas from it too. (Not pictured the cute beret in today's post!)

Both stores carry similar items but Marshalls doesn't have a jewelry department. They make gift giving simple. You could buy an inexpensive basket or stocking, put a fancy soap and a bag of lotions and a little handtowel and you would have an awesome hostess gift for under $25. I walked around T.J.Maxx and found lots of great gifting options for you guys all for under $25 (some items were as low as $3). Both stores have an outstanding array of gifts options.

Fancy soaps in beautiful boxes. The ones I picked up were from $3 to $10. As I said they would make a great hostess present. They are already wrapped too! Just put a ribbon on it. My gram loves these and she leaves them in her drawers to make her clothes smell nice.

The also have a huge selection of fancy pump soaps. If you know someone's bathroom or kitchen covers these make a great quick gift for $5!!! And they are really big size too!

Dude hello kitty flannel pjs for $14.99!!!!! (hey family you see this? Size medium) Get these and a pair of fluffy socks and for $20 you have a great BFF gift.

Or some cocoa to go with those PJs. You could get both or $20.

Designer kid leather gloves for $25 (They had some for $10). (Perfect for your inlaws! Shhhh don't tell my sister in law) Dave actually surprised me with the magenta Cynthia Rowley ones with a bow on the wrist. They are so soft I pet them while waiting for the T in the morning.

I hope I gave you some inexpensive gift ideas and inspired you to check out T.J.Maxx and Marshalls for your holiday gifting needs. I apologize in advance for any addiction to those stores I create. ;) OK no I don't!

But what did I get you ask??? Well I got something at T.J.Maxx. I got this Maggie London dress for $20. My wedding anniversary is in a few days. I plan on wearing this to celebrate. (

At Marshalls I got these Restricted boots for $49.99. These exact boots are available on a certain popular online shoe store right this minute for $90. They are real suede and have a 4 inch heel but with a hidden platform. They are extremely comfortable (seriously) and I might of ran in them. Twice.

It is too cold for outside photos anymore. This is what I have to work with. I can't wait until Spring when I can go back to natural light!

The boots and the dress were both bought with gift cards provided to me by Marshalls and T.J.Maxx.

Ready for the best part? T.J.Maxx and Marshalls want to give one lucky reader out there a $100 dual store gift card. Here is how you can try to win it. We are competing against the other bloggers who attended the event. The site with the post that gets the most comments by 5pm EST on December 20th will win the card to give to one of the commenters at random. (I don't win anything. You my dear readers could be the winner!)

So lets see those comments!!

Possible topics:

How cute will this outfit be for my wedding anniversary.

Have you ever shopped at T.J.Maxx or Marshalls.

What is the best deal you ever got.

Under $20 gift ideas.

The best present you ever received.

What you wanted to be when you grew up.

So go forth and comment. (on this post in specific) Please feel free to tweet or blog about this post. Please leave an email address to be entered to win. (format it with the AT and DOT to avoid the spam bots)