Where to Find the Best Black Friday Deals in the Area

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday rule the shopping roost after Thanksgiving.

If you have a black belt in Black Friday shopping, listen up: area big-box retailers are gearing up to dazzle bargain hunters on Black Friday!  Not to be outdone, Target and Best Buy are also planning all-out holiday shopping assaults. According to an ad leaked online, Target's best deals will be for TVs, a Nook, a Nikon camera and an XBOX 360 Kinect bundle. At Best Buy, doorbusters include deals on TVs, phones and Samsung laptop bundles. Walmart will offer three items at low prices—an iPad, a TV and a Blu-ray player.  According to TheBlackFriday.com, several other stores will also have doorbuster sales at midnight on Friday, including Kohl's.  For the early morning traditionalists, some stores will open at 4 a.m. with special sales. If …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Shop Pink in Norton to Benefit Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which means a variety of pink products will be hitting the shelves. But, do your pink purchases always go towards the cause?

A wave of pink is flooding stores everywhere, as retailers participate in Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For the savvy shopper, it's an opportunity to donate to a good cause while snagging unique, pink-hued items. But before you plunk down your green for some pink, the nonprofits behind Breast Cancer Awareness Month want you to check the label. Jenna Glazer, director of development for Young Survival Coalition (YSC), a global organization dedicated to helping young women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, said that buyers should be on the lookout for a label or tag that tells where the money from the purchase goes. "If you walk into Bed Bath & Beyond and see something with a pink ribbon and no information about where the money is going…

• Photos (6)

Extreme Couponing Films in Norton Roche Bros. [VIDEO]

"Couponator" Judy pulls away with the win.

On Oct. 25 in the Roche Bros. Supermarket located in Norton, Connecticut's "Couponator" Judy faced "Sister-Save-A-Lot" Antoinette of Chicago in a couponing battle called "Extreme Couponing All-Stars," which aired on TLC 10:30 p.m. Jan. 3. In "Extreme Couponing All-Stars," 12 couponers compete to see who can save more. Whoever has the highest percentage of savings is named the winner of the round. There are several rules to determine the winner including a shopping time limit of 30 minutes, spending at least $500 retail before bonus card and/or in store savings and not paying full price for anything. Judy carted away her winnings, earning a personal best of 95.9 percent savings. Her total retail cost was $584.88 while only coughing up $24.…

Mike's Musings

Hardman: A Tale From the Shopping Front

Columnist provides guides for holiday shopping.

  Helmet? Check. Shoulder pads? Check. Rib pads? Check. Athletic supporter? Check. No, I'm not playing football in the high school Super Bowls or as quarterback for the Colts against the Patriots. Yes, I'm getting ready for Christmas shopping. This column isn't really for those who are adept at shopping and navigating the perils of the mall. I'm extremely jealous of those people. I wish they would take me with them to do my holiday shopping. I'd even pay a fee. I went to a certain store the other day with a holiday wreath in its logo, and they have a bargain theme to their commercials. My brother-in-law calls it the pistachio store, because they sell them there. I like the food, books and DVDs, but I just go nuts when I go there. The other…

• Photos (1)

Poll: Black Friday, is it Worth it?

Did you wake before dawn to fight the crowds in hopes of that great deal?

Shopping centers opened their doors at the crack of dawn today to launch the holiday shopping season. With Black Friday dubbed the busiest shopping day of the year, we wonder who out there believes it is worth it to get up early and fight the crowds to get that great deal. What do you think?

• Photos (1)

Patch Passport

Discover Treasures at Bridget's and Olde Thyme Shoppe

The Friday Patch Passport shows you where you can find trinkets in your town. Get out and explore the unique local shops and all they have to offer.

No journey is complete without scouring the local stores for unique trinkets or picking up a gift or two for friends and family. Today, get out and explore the unique local stores and all they have to offer. See what treasures you can discover. Our first stop is Olde Thyme Shoppe, a Norton staple founded in 1983, located at 370 Old Colony Road. Olde Thyme Shoppe is a Victorian-style gift shop and greenhouse that harkens back to the era that inspires it. Period-specific music plays as customers browse though the shop, jam-packed with all things Victorian, including dresses, china and tea sets, aromatherapy products, hand bags, wedding gifts, gift baskets and household goods. Outside, the cottage greenhouse is filled with lush flowers and …

• Photos (13)

MUSINGS ON MOTHERHOOD

The Uncharted Territory

Navigating the teen years.

My oldest daughter will turn 14 next month. I seem to be standing in the middle of a dark country road with the headlights of a fast moving car bearing down on me. The proverbial deer in headlights. This new dawning era of the teen years is leaving me bewildered and confused, just like the teens. The teenager is trying to separate from the parent and establish their own identity, which is a good, but sometimes painful process. No longer can I put my teen on the “time-out” stair. Instead I take away privileges, like sleepovers or videogames. I miss that control that I had when she was younger, when she never questioned me or my authority. Now I have to explain my decisions giving my reasoning behind them. This is a good thing, so she can …

• Photos (1)

MUSINGS ON MOTHERHOOD

Getting A Second Chance At A High School Dream

Columnist once an aspiring writer gets second chance.

My 13-year-old just critiqued the first draft of my two page handwritten article for Patch.com. She said that it didn't make sense and asked me what I'm trying to say to my audience. She suggested I make bullet points to organize my thoughts. Wow. Guess I should head back to school for a refresher on English composition. Before I even started, my pen died. I grabbed another – a green gel pen. Nope. I tried another– OK– the free pen from the toy store worked. The paper stuck to the kitchen table where one of my four children spilled juice. And so I began my writing journey for Patch.com. I began to write about who I am, when my youngest child, in dark glasses, informed me that the scarf that had been around the cat's neck for a video …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)