Present the printable coupon to the men’s Dsquared fragrance counter at The Bay to receive your free sample of Dsquared Potion.  The offer is valid in store only.  Ends October 18 2011 or while supplies last.  One coupon per customer.

Print coupon here.

Livivng well is offering a $2.00 off Benylin coupon.  The coupon is good towards the purchase of any Benylin Extra Strength Mucus and Phlegm.  Coupon excludes Benylin Extra Strength Mucus and Phlegm 100ml.  May be something to add to your medicine cabinet with the cold season starting.

Click here to choose your province and receive your coupon.

Like most kids ours are super excited about Halloween the moment the candy and decorations hit the store shelves. With their excitement of dressing up comes the begging for the store-bought costume. My wife and I remember being children so we remember the lure of the fancy brand new store-bought costumes. Most kids want one and, admit it, we were no different. Like most things in our lives Halloween requires budgeting. I would love to buy our girls the new Littlest Pet Shop or Disney Princess costume but it’s just not cost effective or sensible for us to spend $20 plus on a new costume per child for only a few hours worth of wear. Here are some things we have done to make Halloween and dressing-up more cost effective for us and some easy do it your self at home costumes.

1. We have a dress up trunk. Our dress up trunk is stocked with second hand costumes and fancy clothing we picked up for cheap at our local Goodwill or at after Halloween sales. In it we have cheer leading costumes, Spiderman wear, fancy dresses, cowboy hats, boots, rodeo skirts, princesses dresses, bracelets, lab coats, nursing scrubs and the list goes on. We spent about $40 over the course of a few trips to the store and we have countless outfits not only for Halloween but for every day pretend play.
2. Dress the kids up like a rock star. This is fairly easy to do with little cost. You can dress them in their own jeans and “rockster” t-shirt. Pull girls’ hair up into to funky sporadic ponytails, For boys, you could spike their hair: get some spray-in hair colour and paint on tattoos with washable face paint or use temporary tattoos. I don’t know how many years my wife says she dressed up like a punk rocker because it was the easiest thing to be.
3. Be a black cat. All you need to do is dress in all black. Stuff a black sock and safety pin it to the top or your child’s pants (make sure to fasten the safety pin on the outside of the pants for safety reasons should the pin come undone). Use some face paint to paint the whiskers and nose (you could even paint ears on the forehead OR make your own ears using a headband and gluing/fastening black triangles cut from construction paper or card stock to the headband)
4. Construction worker. I’m sure most of us have an old plaid shirt hanging around. Why not cut the sleeve off and have your child wear it over and old plain t shirt. Add in some jeans a pencil behind the ear a play tool belt or maybe Dad (or Mom) has a tool belt that could be used. You then have yourself a little construction worker ready for a night of trick or treating.
5. Sports Player. Maybe you have an old or new jersey hanging around. Soccer, hockey, baseball, football. Dress them up in their jersey and for each sport give them an accessory that co-ordinates. For hockey wear a helmet or bring a stick, for soccer bring a soccer ball or wear a sweat band, for baseball add a baseball cap or carry a bat, for football add some black under eye paint and shoulder pads.

Other fast and easy costumes if you have a dress up trunk already or an extensive wardrobe are could cow girl/boy, doctor, nurse, princess, fancy dressed lady going to tea, or policeman.

If you have the extra money and the desire to do so pick up Halloween costumes when they go on sale after Halloween. You will save yourself paying full price and then if you put it away you will have a new costume to give your child next year without the brand new price tag. We were lucky enough to pick up 4 costumes at our local shopper drug mart last year for only $2 each!

Please share your costume ideas with us. Its always nice to see what other costume ideas others have come up with.

I love me a good clearance sale! Right now at Bluenotes they are doing a BOGO Penny Clearance sale.  You will pay the clearance price for the first item and only a penny for a second item of equal or lesser value.  There is plenty to choose from for both girls and guys and the sale is going on both online and in-store.  I’m going to go see if there are any potential Christmas gifts to be had!

Click here to check out the BOGO Clearance sale online.

Thanks to couponlady for posting this sale for us!

Home Depot stores across Canada are offering 15% off all In Stock and Special Order Kitchen Cabinets (In store only) until November 23rd.

They are also offering an alternative: 10% off cabinetry refacing. I’ve seen them do this on TV a few times and it’s amazing!

Click here to browse cabinetry

Baskin Robbins is having daily deals for each day of the week.  These deals are ongoing as I cannot find an expiry date. The deals are pretty good and there’s even one for a cake if you have a birthday or special occasion coming up.  The daily deals are as follows:

Monday – Add a scoop for an extra $1

Tuesday – Buy one two scoop sundae and get the second at 1/2 price.

Wednesday – Large beverage for the price of a regular.

Thursday – Mini parfait soft serve for $1.99

Friday – Brownie or raspberry a la mode cake for $9.99

Saturday – Double waffle cone for the price of a single waffle cone.

Sunday – 31% off a sundae.

Click here to view the Baskin Robbins website.

Gymboree Canada is holding their fall sale where you can save up to 70% off fall merchandise. I love shopping at Gymboree because the quality is really great and when a sale like this hits, it’s a great time to stock up without breaking the bank. You can also shop for summer styles for next year because they are on sale as well starting at only $0.99.

Click here to shop online.

This week there are some thanksgiving specials over at Amazon.ca. They are one-day deals and there will be a short post each day about the items. Today’s specials are:

• Stargate SG-1: The Complete Series (Seasons 1 through 10) on DVD for $67.99
• Star Trek: Deep  Space Nine (DS9): The Complete Series (Seasons 1 through 7) on DVD for $169.99 (it’s still quite expensive but the cheapest I’ve ever seen for this set, and it’s a much higher quality set in terms of the DVD box set style than the TNG box set)
• Aura Sound Station iPod Docking Station for $199.00
• A three volume book set in paperback – Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography, Volumes 1 through 3, for $36.50

Free shipping on all orders over $25. Stay tuned tomorrow for some more deals.

Living Well is giving away samples of Splenda Flavours For Coffee on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011.

Enhance your cup of coffee with the perfect union of flavour and sweetness with no calories. Try SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Flavours for Coffee in silky smooth French Vanilla and roasted Hazelnut flavours.

You’ll need to log in to your Living Well account to order your sample. Make sure to check back on Tuesday, as supplies are limited.

Breathe Right is offering free samples of their Breathe Right strips.  They offered this promo a couple months ago as well.  These strips work for snoring and stuffy noses.  With the cold season starting you might want to give them a try.  My Dad uses them as he’s not allowed to take cold medications for colds and they help alleviate the stuffiness in his nose at night.

Click here to fill out the form and get your free sample.

Thanks to Sharpie’s early SDM flyer post, we have confirmed that next weekend’s promo is a $10 Tim Hortons Quickpay card when you spend $50 or more (usual exclusions apply). With the temperature dropping fast, a free $10 Tim Hortons gift card will sure come in handy!

Old Navy and their amazing sales are at it again with a HUGE Fall Haul Sale. Up to 50% off online and up to 75% off in store!

Click here to shop online

The sale prices online are incredible so I can’t even imagine what a mad house the stores must be!

TODAY ONLY Banana Republic is hosting a Power Lunch Sale offering 40% off regular priced merchandise in store & on the website.

11am – 2pm only

Coupon Code: BRCDAPOWER

Kleenex is offering a great freebie to launch their the new Cool Touch Tissue. This new product releases a cool sensation to soothe a sore nose upon contact. This is perfect for the cold and flu season coming up. I love being able to try a product before I buy! Just sign up to receive a free sample and send one to a friend.

Click here to sign up on the Kleenex website for your free sample.

From Oct. 10-14, 2011, Shoppers Drug Mart is offering a free surprise gift card that could be worth $10, $15, $25 or $50 OFF YOUR NEXT PURCHASE when you spend $50 or more on almost anything in the store. Offer excludes prescriptions, products that contain codeine, tobacco products (where applicable), stamps, passport photos, lottery tickets, event tickets, transit tickets and passes, gift cards, prepaid phone cards and prepaid card products. Surprise Gift Card is valid until November 4, 2011 at participating Shoppers Drug Mart stores only.