A Thrifty Tip

When thrift shopping, it can be easy to overlook things in boxes in favor of the more obvious/attractive items.  Sometimes the boxes are on the bottom shelves and seem like more effort than they are usually worth to sift through.

That being said, on a recent visit I was intrigued by this box.

My curiosity got the best of me.

This is what I saw after removing the lid.

I became more intrigued by this hand carved nativity set so neatly packed.

One of the first Christmas gifts Brett gave to me our first year of marriage was a Precious Moments nativity set.  I loved it for many years.  Forty some years later I no longer love it.  At this point in my life I have been wanting one made of wood.  It has sort of been on my radar, although I haven't been looking too diligently.

Carefully packaged in newspaper that I can't read.

I can imagine somebody returning from Bethlehem with this beautiful memento of their trip.  It would appear that since 2001 it has been loved and appreciated.  Hard to say why it ended up at the thrift shop.  But, I must say, I am glad it did.

Unboxed.

A close up view.

Another close up.

With this unbelievably low price there was no way I could pass it up.

After doing an online search I have learned that similar sets are selling in the $150-200 price range.

Another recent box find started off like this.

I nearly didn't waste my time on it until something on the box caught my eye.  The mailing label was attached indicating where it had originally shipped from.  A company that I have never bought from, but know to be a bit high end.

Once unboxed, the label was still attached.

Looks like the lady who ordered them never used them.

Once taken out of the box the familiar Mackenzie Childs patterns were revealed.  I think these will be fun for Easter decorating this year.

In this case the $1.99 price tag sealed the deal.

If you find yourself thrift or garage sale shopping and come across things in boxes, it just might be worth taking a look.  You never know what treasure might be lurking inside.

:)