Black Friday: Christmas shopping deals worth the wakeup call!

 
It's that time of year again when the savagery of shopping shines in all its splendor!! Ahhh, Black Friday, the only day of the year when wearing pajamas in public is kind of okay and hair pulling is included with your George Foreman Grill purchase.

Seriously tough, the majority of Black Friday deals won't be made public until Thursday's newspaper, lucky for you the Deal Divas are here to give you a sneak peak at what to expect and which deals just might be worth the wake up call ...

Tech and home:

Best Buy, which opens at 5 a.m., has a door-buster sale on an HP G60-507DX 15.6-inch laptop with Intel Celeron processor for $197. Each store is only getting five laptops, limit one per customer, so you may want to get there around 3 a.m. when they start passing out tickets. Another highlight is Target, which also opens at 5 a.m., and will hand out maps indicating popular sales throughout their stores. If you spend $100 or more between 5 a.m and noon you'll get a $10 gift card.

Clothing and shoes:

Fashion Bug will be selling their popular Right Fit jeans for $12 on Black Friday. Need to stock up on staples? Ann Taylor Loft, will take 20 percent off your entire purchase on Black Friday if you buy before noon. And if you haven't been to the Limited lately, Friday might be a good time to go. The store is offering 40 percent off your entire purchase all day and you'll get a free scarf with a purchase of $75 or more. And yes, it's actually cute ... see for yourself.

  [free Limited scarf]
  
At the malls

 Victoria's Secret at International Plaza will give its first 100 customers who spend $60 or more a free tote bag. Other cool deals include a $29.50 Sherpa robe and buy one bra get 50 percent off the second. (VS full coverage bra pictured right, $38.) 

Another cool deal at IP is at PacSun where the first 50 shoppers will get a scratch-off ticket worth up to 50 percent off their entire purchase.

Knock out shopping for the hubby and dad at Westshore Mall where Banana Republic is offering buy one, get one free on cashmere sweaters on Black Friday. (cashmere sweater pictured left, $181)

Need to stock up on beauty products? At University Mall, from 6 a.m. to noon, Beauty Mode will offer buy one item and get 40 percent off your second (excluding Bare Escentuals and Dermalogica.) And at Citrus Park Town Center, Charlotte Russe is offering 25 percent off all clothing and accessories on Black Friday.  

Road trip

 Prime Outlets at Ellenton is giving shoppers a leg up on sales opening at midnight with savings at a bunch of stores including the Gap Outlet, Banana Republic Factory Store and Kate Spade.

Bulk up

Between now and the weekend,  B.J.'s Wholesale, is offering a free 60-day membership, and some great Black Friday coupons along with it. Print this pass to get the free membership and go into your closest B.J.'s to pick up the coupons so you'll be ready for Black Friday, when the wholesale store will open at 7 a.m.

Want more deals? Keep checking back in with Deal Divas or better yet sign up for our weekly e-mail alert!

Deal Diva Nicole

(Photos from Limited, VictoriasSecret.com and BananaRepublic.com)

Black Friday starts early with the Midnight Madness Pajama Jam at Prime Outlets - Ellenton

Want to get a head start on this weekend's shopping madness?

The true deal diehards will be scooping up discounts this Friday from midnight to 8 a.m. at the Prime Outlets in Ellenton. Yes, you read that right. STARTING AT MIDNIGHT. If you need sleep to survive the Black Friday craziness, this might not be the event for you. But if you love the idea of pulling an all-nighter and shopping in your PJs, then drive on down!

As part of the 4th annual Midnight Madness Pajama Jam, the first 500 pajama-clad shoppers in line near Lacoste will receive free goodie bags filled with coupons and giveaways.

What kind of deals will you find at the outlets? Get 40 percent off everything at the Banana Republic Factory Store, up to 60 percent off at Gap Outlet, 30 percent off the entire store stock at GUESS Factory, 25 percent the entire store at Gymboree Outlet, 50 percent off one item at Jones New York, 50 percent off your entire purchase at kate spade, 41 percent off everything at Kenneth Cole...

Okay, you get the picture. Some important things to note: In past years, the I-75 traffic headed to the outlets has been thick, so plan accordingly. Also, many of these deals continue in some fashion throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. If that's the case at your favorites, no need to forgo your sleep to save.

Download the discount details here. (FYI, some stores require that you bring the savings flyer to get the deals.) And for you newbies, the outlets are located at 5461 Factory Shops Blvd. in Ellenton.

Deal Diva Colleen

Tonight: Bebe fashion show at Jackson's Bistro

Bebe wants to get your holidays off to a good start. The label will show off its holiday collection in a runway show tonight at Jackson's Bistro, 601 S Harbour Island Blvd., Tampa.

The party goes from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., with the fashion show sometime after midnight. Ages 21 and up. Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door. Proceeds benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. For VIP tables, call (813) 265-1234.

We know what you're thinking: Bebe? VIP tables? I thought this was the Deal Divas blog!

Here's where the deals come in: The first 200 women in the door will get a $25 gift card. So you've already made your money back. And from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., ladies get free pomegranate and vodka -- Bebe's signature cocktail.

We'll drink to that!

Deal Diva Dalia

Photos: Top: Bebe's red chiffon bustier dress, $129.99, is perfect for holiday season. Bottom: If you're heading North for the holidays, this belted trench coat, $98.00, will keep you toasty.

JCPenney coupons: $10 off $25 beauty is back!

The news this week couldn't get better for coupons-obsessed gals like me.

We have Ann Taylor coupons good for an extra 30 percent off! (Sorry, the Macy's coupons deal that we all love so much already has come and gone.)

But joy upon joys, another beauty just landed in my inbox. Print out these JCPenney coupons for $10 off on purchases of $25 through Monday, Nov. 23.

Read the fine print for the exceptions. I'm thinking JCPenney is the perfect place to start my holiday shopping.

Deal Diva Letitia

Macy's coupons: BFF $10 off $25 deal is back!

Divas and divos, start your engines:

The BEST ever deal of Macy's coupons returns Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. You know what I'm talking about. The $10 off $25 purchase, which can be applied toward items already on deep discount.

Yes, the fine print is annoying. But the savings are not.

After all, the holidays are looming, and it's still feels like a recession, no matter what the economist types say. No stock can outperform the old saying: A penny saved is a penny earned.

Now go out and do me proud.

The latest Macy's coupons appear on pg. 5A of today's St. Petersburg Times, or click below to print it out.

Ann Taylor coupons, Nine West sale chase Monday blues away

Grumpity, grumpity. It's Monday.

My weekend was too short (aren't they always?) and my spirits are dragging. Luckily, my retail therapist is pushing some good stuff this week.

Beginning Tuesday, Ann Taylor coupons will score you 30 percent off your entire purchase. Good at Loft, too!

And my indoctrination into obsessive online shoe shopping has a sequel. All week, Nine West shoes are $14.95 at 6pm.com.

Not a shabby start to Monday. Now if only I were independently wealthy...

Deal Diva Letitia

(Photo: Times files.)

Never miss a deal! Sign up for weekly Deal Diva e-mail alerts!

 

Sign up now for our new Deal Divas weekly email alerts!!!

By popular request, we're launching a weekly email alert featuring the VERY BEST deal of the week from the blog -- and all the fashion scores and snarks you've come to love.

Now you never have to miss a deal just because you got busy and missed a few days on the blog.

And if you sign up by Dec. 9, you'll be registered to win a $100 gift card to International Plaza, just in time to wrap up your holiday shopping.

Emails will go out around noon on Thursdays, and earlier on holiday weeks.

Help to spread the word to fashion-loving bargainistas!

Deal Divas

Coupons galore: Gap! Banana Republic! Old Navy!

Glory be! The coupons gods must be smiling down upon us.

Get a little and give a little using this coupon good for 30 percent off at the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. It can't be combined with other discounts. But on the bright side, you can donate five percent of the purchase to a good cause...

Happy clipping ... err, printing!

Deal Diva Letitia

Kate Spade handbags and more; save up to 75 percent in online sale

I love purses. And though I'm not one to splurge on a designer handbag, I can appreciate (and envy) those who do.

I can also salivate over the savings now available through the Kate Spade sample sale. Through Friday, get up to 75 percent off Kate Spade purchases online, and pay just $5 for shipping. (Note: All sales are final.)

In the words of Victoria Beckham, some of these deals are MAY-JAH. Check out this gorgeous Tortola Paola clutch, regularly $345, now $89. Get the Fairfax Short Paola purse for $119. The sale includes shoes, accessories, jewelry and clothing.

Consider this an invitation to do some smart holiday shopping for the Kate Spade lovers in your life. Or heck, just go ahead and buy yourself a little something. You deserve it.

Deal Diva Colleen

DEAL DIVAS HOLIDAY BARGAINPALOOZA!

WARNING: BIG FUN AHEAD!

Colleen and I spent Wednesday working from the malls (it's a hard job, but someone has to do it), finding you the best deals you can ALREADY get for holiday shopping. I know, I know, it's only the first week in November, but that's exactly the point. You can't walk into a store without seeing a heavy array of pine and glass bulb ornaments and snowflake window stickies. Just submit to the seasonal retail gods and take advantage of the sales that come with the madness.

An entire opus will run in the St. Petersburg Times tomorrow. We hope readers will take some notes over their coffee before hitting the stores. But for you, loyal Diva fans, we present a sneak peak. And if you've seen any good sales we missed, add them to the comments section!

HOLIDAY SALES BONANZA!

Deal Diva Stephanie