Stuff Parents Need - Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Finally Free to Get the Optimal Smartphone Plan: How I Learned What I REALLY Need

December 3, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

This post is brought to you by My Data Manager. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

my data manager cell phone bill

Ok, friends, it’s time for me to make a confession about my cell phone: I’ve been with the same company, on the EXACT same plan, for the past 5 years. When you stop and think about how much smartphones (and how we use them) have changed in the last 5 years, then you’ll realize that this is sort of crazy.

Over 5 years ago, we got signed up with AT&T and got iPhones. Even then I think we were 2 1/2 years behind the times, but we were finally ready to give the smartphone a try. As many of you know from experience, once you go smartphone, it’s pretty much impossible to go back. And let me be clear: I have no desire to stop using a smartphone. I think our cell phones are our portable computers; the calling feature is really just one of many nifty tricks up our phones’ sleeves!

When we signed up, we agreed to the (let’s call it what it is…) staggering sum of $150/month, and the ONLY thing that was unlimited was the data. Everything else has a very small amount attached to it (500 minutes shared between my husband and me, for example).

But let me tell you why we have kept that plan, even as smartphones have continued to evolve and prices have, at least somewhat, seemed to drop, for data plans: THE UNLIMITED DATA. Every time we have started to shop around, we have realized that nobody really and truly offers unlimited data anymore. There’s a cap. The last time we renewed our contract with AT&T, we were told that we could keep our old contract, but if we opted to try anything they currently offered, we’d have to lose the unlimited data.

And my friends, we’ve simply been too scared to give it up. And so we spend $150 every single month out of fear that we use a ton of data and that we’ll get horrific monthly bills if we switch. But the truth is, we don’t really KNOW how much data we use.

And that brings me to the point of this post, friends! We are about to get our knowledge on, and the lesson is TOTALLY FREE. Check out My Data Manager, a free (did you hear me? FREE) app that can tell you exactly how much data you use. It recently launched a new feature that can link up phones sharing a plan. This is CRITICAL if you have someone in your family who tends to use more than anyone else (teenagers, anyone???).

The app will also help you identify which of your apps are the real data hogs, and which ones aren’t so bad. We treat our girls to new apps fairly frequently, and I bet I would be shocked to learn how much data some of them actually use. I don’t want to spend an extra $100 on my phone every month thanks to My Little Pony apps, can I get an amen?

With this new tool, Tim and I can finally figure out exactly how much data we are using, and then go out and get price quotes for plans that are the right fit for us. I have a sneaking suspicion that we are going to be able to reduce our monthly bills. And even if that isn’t the case, then we can feel good about the contract that we still have, because we’ll know that it’s meeting our needs for the best price. Check out this video to get a sense for how My Data Manager works (under 2 minutes…I know y’all are busy!):

Seriously, though, I’m just so darn excited about taking the mystery out of our data usage. Now we can know once and for all what we need and go get it!

You can download My Data Manager for IOS or for Android. And again, just in case you missed it before, IT’S FREE!!! You can also head to the My Data Manager App website if you want to do a little more research before investing the ZERO DOLLARS for the app. 🙂

How are you keeping your data in check these days, friends?

Finding Christmas Gifts for Those with Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

December 3, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 6 Comments

Thanks to VTech and the Mom It Forward Blogger Network for partnering with me to make today’s post possible. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I live 5 1/2 hours by car away from my father. The distance never really seemed overwhelming until last year when he was diagnosed with dementia. I spent the better part of the last year in the first stage of grief: denial. I think I was able to stay in that stage for so long simply because I was so far away from him. When we chatted on the phone, I sometimes caught him when he was having a rough day with his memory, but I would also often catch him when he was doing just fine.

I was fueled by those “just fine” conversations, and decided that anything else was a tiny little blip. But the tables have turned, especially in the last two months, and now the “just fine” conversations are the blips, and the “not so good” conversations are becoming more normal. We spent Thanksgiving with my father, and I was so sad to hear him ask, the morning after our holiday feast, if Thanksgiving had already happened or not. He honestly just couldn’t remember.

Dementia is some heavy stuff, you guys, and I promise I’m not trying to bum you out. But there are hundreds of thousands of people who are very close to someone battling dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease as well. And it’s a battle with a known outcome. Our loved ones aren’t going to win. Kind of puts a damper on holiday shopping for them, not gonna lie.

Honoring the Wishes of a Loved One with Dementia

My father is steadfast in his desire to lead an independent life for as long as possible. We are working very hard (my older brother, in particular) to honor this wish for as long as possible, keeping in mind that we have to keep him safe at the same time. So this year I’m looking for a few gifts for him that might help him feel independent in some way. One of the gifts that I’m most excited about is the VTech CareLine Telephone System.

For me the BIG standout is that the primary phone set, as well as the accessory handset have large photo spaces so that the person using it can just push the picture of the person that need to call. Very simple, very effective.

Additionally, there’s a portable safety pendant that can be worn around the neck or clipped to your waistband, and it has speed-dial capabilities. You guys, this is HUGE to me. My father fell in his home a month ago and just laid there for who knows how long (sounds like 3o minutes or more) before he had the strength to get back up. If he had been wearing a device like this, he could have gotten immediate help.

Honestly, it’s issues like my father falling that make me the most nervous about him being home by himself. The day is going to come when he is going to need to transition to some sort of assisted care situation. But devices like the VTech CareLine Telephone System can help make that time a little bit further away. And since my father wants his independence more than anything else, I’ll do anything I can to help him get it.

If your loved one doesn’t like to answer the phone if they don’t know who it is, or if they are even in a different room when the phone rings, another great feature is that the Caller ID announces who is calling. It can go up to 40 decibels, so if hearing impairment is an issue, it can be addressed. The device is also hearing aid compatible and has a low battery indicator so that it can be recharged before it runs out of energy.

Finally, I am very appreciative of the fact that here are no third parties involved in order to make full use of the CareLine. That means there are monthly monitoring fees, installation costs, contracts, or any of that stuff. The costs are kept reasonable for that peace of mind that people in my situation are seeking.

There’s so much about dementia that is just plain sad. I’m honestly relieved to have something to put under the tree for my dad that is going to help him feel supported and cared for, and like his wishes are being heard.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a VTech SN6197 and SN6307 (same as featured above!). This combo has a retail value of $169.90!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

After you’ve entered here, be sure to head over to B-Inspired Mama and to A Mom with a Lesson Plan. They are also doing giveaways, so you can increase your odds of winning! 🙂 Also be sure to head over to Your Modern Family for tomorrow’s giveaway!

Shopping Like a Boss at Dollar General (and Carrying It All in One Load!)

December 1, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by Purina. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stuff Parents Need.

Friends, if you have not been shopping at Dollar General lately, then you need to make the trip! I scored TONS of awesome stuff there over the weekend in their clearance section that was an additional 75% off. Oh you read that right, AN ADDITIONAL 75% off. Score!!!! They also had toys buy one get one 75% off. So I did some serious shopping!

I got loaded up on great gifts and cute wrapping paper, too! Oh, and see that product in my other hand? That’s right, amigos, I’m toting Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter like it’s no big deal. Because at 8.5 pounds, it simply isn’t! No need to make a special trip out to the car just to haul in the cat litter.

Tidy Cats Lightweight litter is actually the same amount of product that you’ll find in the 20lb version of the leading scooping litter, but it weighs less than half as much! You can find this awesome new Purina product at Dollar General right now (it’s currently on sale for just $11.50!). I found mine on the very top shelf, so if you are a shorty like me, don’t forget to look up high. And don’t be scared to pull it down; you’ve got this!

I love that this new version of cat litter hasn’t sacrificed any of the elements you know and love in the Tidy Cats brand, such as being 99.9% dust-free, providing continuous odor control, and clumping power that makes maintenance a breeze for the lucky person in the house who gets to scoop it (that would be my husband).

Be sure to stroll by the pet aisle at Dollar General on your next trip and check out the Tidy Cats Lightweight litter! Slap a bow on that cute, recyclable jug and you’ve got a perfect Christmas gift for your kitty, too! 🙂

The Hottest Licensed Toy: Disney Princess Palace Pets Magic Dance Pumpkin

December 1, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Now that we are back from our Disney World vacation, where we saw countless characters that we love, both of my girls are even more skilled than they used to be at finding Disney licensed products wherever we might be: convenience store, hardware store, Grammy’s house, you name it. It’s like they have a radar in their brains that goes off when something related to Disney is within a 50 foot radius.

You may have a child who behaves similarly, be it over Disney’s Frozen, Transformers, Doc McStuffins, or perhaps Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (can you believe those dudes are popular again? I love it!). Whatever the case, the odds are really good that Walmart has the characters that make your kids light up with excitement. One landed on our doorstep last week, and it has actually become much more than just a popular toys with the girls.

Allow me to introduce the most popular licensed toy of the Walmart Chosen By Kids List. This is Disney’s Princess Palace Pets Magic Dance Pumpkin. Little Pumpkin is said to be Cinderella’s pet dog now that she lives in the palace.

This version of Pumpkin is quite special because she is so much more than a simple toy. She’s an interactive dog that speak over a dozen phrases, make various sounds, follows movement commands and even perform two dance sequences. To add to the fun, she’s controlled by nothing less than a light-up magic wand.

Even Pumpkin’s accessories are adorable, from her removable fur cuffs to her satin tutu and bow, and of course, that tiara. Both of my girls are totally tickled at the idea of pets having crowns. They even found a little crown for Rose, our cat, to wear. She actually wore it for several minutes, which will surprise approximately nobody out there, because we all know cats are divas.

So I have to tell you true: this toy is a bit controversial in my house due to just how popular it is. My girls, in general, are quite good at sharing with one another, but something about little Pumpkin causes them both to NOT want to share at all. Even after a full week of playing with the toy, she is one that can only come out of the closet a few times a day (yes, we literally have to keep her out of sight the rest of the time) AND we have to set the timer in 2 minute increments so that each child knows exactly when it’s her turn, and exactly when it isn’t. It never fails that the child who is currently waiting her turn spends those two minutes in agony, writhing in pain until she once again gets to hold that magic wand. This is honestly the first toy we’ve ever had in our house that has gotten such a strong reaction out of the girls.

I’m not going to purchase a second one because I believe learning how to share and how to wait your turn with grace are critical life skills. But I will be browsing the other palace pets offerings at Walmart (hello, fleece pajamas for $4.50!) since now I know that the line is a big hit with both of my kids.

If this sounds like the type of toy that your child would to love, Walmart has it right now for $49.97. Don’t forget to pick up batteries (you need four AA and two AAA batteries). When you make your purchase, remember to use the Walmart Savings Catcher app with your receipt, just in case what you purchase is currently being offered at a nearby location for a better price. If the Savings Catcher finds a better price, it refunds the difference to you via a Walmart eGift card. So you can shop with full confidence that you are getting the best price!

You can also include this gift on your Layaway plan, which is available now through December 15th and just requires 10% down or $10, whichever is greater. You can pay at your own pace without racking up a credit card bill, which is a gift, in and of itself, to your budget!

Silk Cashew Milk: The Perfect Iced Coffee Pairing

December 1, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

I know, I know…it’s the time of year for HOT beverages. But not if you are me and are simply addicted to iced coffee year-round. I know I’m not the only one out there!

I’m always looking for fun new things to try with my coffee, and when I heard about Silk Cashew milk, I new I had to try it. Cashews are my favorite nut, to start with, so I was sure I would love it.

And I really do, friends! I first tried the product on its own, and I was really pleasantly surprised by the nutty flavor (which of course, is AWESOME in coffee!) AND I liked how nice and creamy it was. I try to avoid drinking too many of my calories throughout the day (a tough thing to do when you LOVE yummy iced coffees) so Silk Cashew Milk is actually a great find for me because it is creamier than skim milk, but it has fewer calories*. That’s a win/win!

Over the weekend I experimented with making some cashew milk cubes for my iced coffee and I came up with a recipe that works for me! This one has a holiday twist so that I can be just as “in the spirit” as everyone out there drinking their hot peppermint-flavored fancy whateveryoudrink. I’ll take mine over ice, please!

Cashew Milk Peppermint Cubes for Iced Coffee

2 cups Silk Cashew Milk, Original
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 Tbsp Stevia (or substitute with your sweetener of choice)

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Stir until the sweetener has dissolved. Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid.

When ready to make iced coffee, use 3 cashew milk cubes and 3 regular ice cubes. Make a more concentrated brew than you would normally drink if you were making hot coffee. The more concentrated brew combined with the cashew milk cubes will produce an iced coffee that isn’t watered down! 🙂

I hope you enjoy the delicious flavor as much as I do! Cheers!

*Silk Original Cashew milk: 60 cal/serv; skim dairy milk: 80 cal/serv. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 26. Data consistent with typical skim dairy milk.

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Books for the Princess Fan: Disney Frozen Hairstyles and Disney Princess Hairstyles

November 30, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Books provided for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

Raise your hand if your daughter has asked you to give her a hairstyle like Elsa’s. And now raise your hand if you have panicked at this request because you had no idea how to do it.

Well, now you can learn exactly how to make an Elsa braid, or an Anna braid, for that matter, or any number of fun hairstyles inspired by Frozen. We are absolutely loving Disney Frozen Hairstyles, which just came out in October (and is currently available for just $9.50!). There are dozens of great looks, ranging from styles the beginner can try all the way to more complicated techniques that will require more practice. The pictures are cute and fun and my daughter really loves flipping through the pages.

Or if your child wants an up-do like Mulan’s one day, and a ponytail like Jasmine’s the next, you might be the right candidate for Disney Princess Hairstyles (currently $10.56 on Amazon). While this book also has some looks that are too complicated for me to attempt without some practice, I really love that all the styles are created on little girls, instead of on adult models. And I think the books do a good job of showing each step.

Here’s a very simple little trick I learned and that I’ve been doing with Darah’s hair for the past few weeks. You simply take a regular braid and hold on to one of the 3 sections of hair while you push the other sections back up. Then you can guide them back down a bit to achieve the look you want. It looks like a more elaborate braid in the end.

I do this on either side of her head and connected the two braids in the back with a ponytail holder. It’s very simple and very cute!

I think either one of these books would be a hit with any princess fan. Having long hair is definitely a plus, as most of these styles are intended for kids with long hair, just FYI.

How We Turned a Dream Vacation Into a Reality: Financial Goal-Setting

November 30, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 8 Comments

Just two weeks ago my family returned from a 7 day trip to Walt Disney World. I wrote previously about our Disney vacation budget and was open and honest about just how much it cost. When it was all said and done, the bill came to $3,000 for my family’s share of the expenses (my in-laws traveled with us, so our actual total was higher but they paid their share of the costs).

For some folks, a $3,000 vacation is no big deal at all, and it might even be standard once or twice a year. For us, though, it was a BIG DEAL and a lot of money. Like most other Americans, we have debts (thankfully no credit card debt or car payments, but we have a mortgage and we have student loans). We don’t like being in debt (who does?) so we try to be aggressive about paying those down.

Being aggressive about debt reduction does not seem to pair well with saving for a dream vacation. But I would argue that they are not at all mutually exclusive. I do think that if you want to get out from under the choking death-grip of debt that you have to make some hard choices. For us, that means that we live in a small house to save on housing costs. It also means that I look for opportunities to bring in additional income to increase available funds. For me that means LOTS of very early mornings so that I can work while my kids are still sleeping. What those hard choices might look like for you and your family will likely be at least somewhat different.

But with that said, I refuse to deny my family the opportunity to make magical memories. Is going on an expensive vacation the only way to make such memories? Of course not. For me, though, being able to take my children to Disney World to live and breathe a week full of magic while they still fully believe in the magic was important. And so I started saving for Disney World the month after my oldest child was born, 5 years ago.

It was so important to me to save for this experience that I actually started a Disney fund before I started a college savings fund (that came along about 3 months later!). My #1 piece of advice for those of you who have a dream vacation that seems unattainable is to start a savings account and name it after the trip you want to take. So for us, we set up a savings account called “Disney World.” In the beginning, we set aside $50/month that was automatically transferred in from our checking account on the same day as many of our other bills were paid. Because the money was automatically removed very shortly after it was deposited from our paychecks, we really and truly never missed it. I think the automatic draft piece here is very important. You don’t have to rely on yourself to be disciplined; your account will be disciplined for you!

When we experienced job changes and our income was reduced by almost half while we were paying a mortgage AND rent for 5 months, we had to take a really hard look at all of our non-essential expenses. Our Disney World fund took a hit. We didn’t touch the money, but we reduced the monthly transfer amount to $10. I didn’t want to stop altogether, so we changed the amount to something very minimal, but we didn’t stop saving. I think that was important for me, mentally, to not give up on the dream, even though it would have taken us 25 years to save for the trip at that rate. Even if what you are able to save now isn’t “enough,” do it anyway. The day will come when you can save more, and you’ll have some momentum built up.

As my blog grew, I was able to make larger contributions to the fund over the past 2 years. When we connected with the Disney travel rep and got a price quote, then I knew how much more I needed to earn to take care of the entire bill. So I put my nose to the grindstone over the summer and did some extra work and had the entire bill covered by the end of September. If I had decided just this year that I wanted to take my family to Disney World ASAP, I would have had to go into debt to make it happen. Some people make that choice, but for my family, that really would have just meant that we wouldn’t have gone. Even though I have had a decent year with my income, and was able to provide for about 1/3 of the costs in just a handful of months, I still needed all that money that had been saved over the last 5 years to make the dream possible. I am so thankful to our past selves who never quit saving, even when all we had to give was $10/month. Every single penny saved helped us out, and we turned a dream into a reality without going into debt.

The process of setting aside money every month for a long period of time is not all that fun, and it can be hard to see the benefit when you are not that far along in your savings goal. For example, we had only saved up $600 when we had to drop our monthly contributions down to $10/month. I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t feel a little hopeless and like we should just stop saving altogether and use the money for needed expenses (because things were certainly tight for that period of time!). Looking back, though, continuing to work toward our goal during that time was absolutely critical. The dream stayed alive through the lean times, so it got very special attention when our finances were better and we could save more. Basically, we believed in our dream and we refused to give up, even though we had to save at a snail’s pace.

When I hear people tell me that they could never afford a trip to Disney World, I have to raise an eyebrow. Obviously everyone deals with their own set of financial circumstances and I do not want to suggest that I know and understand yours. But this I do know to be true: what’s important will get taken care of. Period. If a dream vacation is important to you, really and truly, then you CAN make it happen. Start with a special savings account, and automate your monthly contributions. You can even set up transfers to happen twice a month, or even weekly! Whatever you need to do, do it. Don’t worry about the final bill and how you’ll ever get there. Just focus on contributing what you can now, and never give up on your dream.

Capital One 360 Black Friday Sale

There’s never been a better time to get started on achieving financial peace of mind, and setting a goal for a dream you have, be it to Disney World, the Caribbean, or anywhere else in the world you want to go. Definitely check out Capital One 360’s Black Friday Sale, because there are some GREAT opportunities to save money, and even to earn some money! Capital One 360 products are actually intended to help you save time and money. They are perfect for people who like to bank online or even on their mobile (yes, there’s an app for that!). If you are interested in a savings account, they are fee-free and they do earn interest. You can even take advantage of remote deposit capture with the CheckMate tool (I LOVE being able to deposit checks by snapping a photo of them…you’ll love it, too!). It’s a REALLY great way to take advantage of unexpected windfalls that might be headed your way (perhaps a year-end bonus or a Christmas gift in the form of a check? Send them straight to your savings account, friends!).

Here’s a complete list of the offerings happening right now with Capital One 360. Be sure to note the referral bonuses, because if you encourage your friends and family to also start pursuing their dreams and working toward financial peace of mind with Capital One 360, you can earn some extra money for YOUR dreams!

Product	Offer	Details
ShareBuilder	Up to $1,250 bonus (tiered offer)	Must be a new ShareBuilder customer
Home Loans	$1,250 off closing costs	Must sign up for the loan during the sale period
360 Checking	$100 bonus	Must make a $500 minimum initial deposit and make five transactions Must be new to 360 Checking
360 Savings	$100 bonus	Must make a $1,000 minimum initial deposit Must be new to 360 Savings
Refer a Friend	$40 bonus per successful referral	For someone to receive the referral bonus, they must be a current customer Their friend must meet the minimum initial deposit requirements Applies to all accounts

I’d love to hear if there is a special vacation you have on your heart and your mind. Have you started saving, yet? If not, what might be holding you back?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Beauty Box 5: Still a Shockingly Affordable Beauty Subscription Box

November 29, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 6 Comments

Products provided for review purposes, and affiliate links included. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

A few months back I wrote a Beauty Box 5 review (go check it out if you missed it because I did a fun video unboxing!). I just received November’s box and I wanted to show it to you. As noted previously, I’m really drawn to this particular subscription box because the contents are a fun mix of higher end, boutique and mass market (drugstore) brands, and that’s exactly what my makeup and beauty purchases are: a mixture. I can’t afford to only buy from places like Sephora, but I also know that sometimes the higher prices can be justified. But it can be tough to roll the dice on a higher-end product if you don’t know for sure; Beauty Box 5 gives you the opportunity to try things out so you can see how you like them!

Ok, so here’s the November box.

Based on the offered retail values, I estimate the worth of the contents to be about $14.50, as 3 of the 5 items included are sample sizes.

Here’s what came in the kit, ranked in the order from least exciting to most exciting (for me, personally).

1. DenTek Floss Picks and Case. For me, the case is a waste of plastic as are the picks. Just use some floss, people.

2. Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash. I actually like Dove, but I prefer to use soap over body wash, so I wasn’t thrilled to see this.

3. Laura Ashley Body Butter. Ok, in some ways I was VERY excited to see this. I grew up absolutely adoring a particular fragrance at Laura Ashley, so this took me back. But I found the scent choice (Italian Lemon) to be very odd for November. I don’t want to smell like lemons this time of year, so I’ll be setting this aside until May or June.

4. HASK Macadamia Revitalizing Shine Oil. Super pumped to see this as I have very dry hair. I’m hoping the bottle might actually have more than one application in it.

5. Nicka K New York Eye light Crayon. The color is rich and I love that there is a sharpener in the bottom of the crayon so you can double this eyeshadow as an eyeliner if you want. Great product and a great price (it retails for just $4.49!).

Beauty Box 5 is available for $12/month, but I really think you should go all in and get the yearly subscription, as it’s just $99 (and that includes free shipping!), bringing your monthly box cost down quite a bit to just $8.25. I think that’s a pretty affordable little indulgence for you to have every month, and a really fun way to try something new.

How We #PowerTheHolidays: Duracell

November 29, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Duracell. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own, as always.

We have had two instances in the past 3 weeks where we needed batteries and didn’t have any. The first instance was when I was using the BerryBreeze to neutralize odors in the fridge, and after not noticing a difference after a few days, I realized that the device simply wasn’t going to work without batteries. It still makes me chuckle that I didn’t even realize it needed batteries at first.

The second was when the beloved Disney Princess Palace Pet showed up. My girls were absolutely beside themselves and wanted to play with it immediately. I had to take batteries from the remote control and from a different toy of theirs to have what I needed.

And that’s when I finally realized that I needed to get prepared for the holidays and stock up on batteries.

duracell holiday

Duracell Coppertop Batteries are the perfect choice for any electronic device that is going to get used a lot, because they are dependable and long-lasting. And don’t worry about buying batteries before you have an immediate need for them; Duracell batteries have Duralock Power Preserve Technology, offering a 1o-year guarantee in storage. You can find Duracell CopperTop batteries in AA, AAA, C, D and 9V.

I’d suggest that you go ahead and purchase a 16 pack of Duracell Coppertop AA Batteries before Christmas, as these will be he batteries you are going to need for gaming systems, lots of different toys, alarm clocks, and other devices. We go through AA batteries more than any other, in our home.

And for a stocking stuffer for someone else, I’d recommend a Duracell 4-pack of batteries. You could even put them in a child’s stocking to discover BEFORE they open a gift that will require batteries. It can be a hint, of sorts! 🙂