Why I Love Thrift Stores

Because every once in a while you get really lucky and stumble upon something like this:

Thomas the Train Wooden Railway set, $4.29 + tax
Retail value, $250 range
Unbelievable, isn't it?



I wanted to start a little train set for Trey as one of his Christmas gifts, and when I found trains and tracks in the dollar spot at Target, I bought $10 worth--5 trains, 5 sets of track. And I thought, what a good start for a great deal. But now I really know what a good deal is on a "starter" set! The only tricky part was that Trey was with me and saw what I was buying. For a few days straight he kept asking to play with his "choo-choo trains" and got really upset when I wouldn't respond (I still want this to be a Christmas gift). He hasn't mentioned it for several days now, so hopefully he won't see this post and be reminded.

My plan is to have this set up under the tree and after he wakes up, but just before he comes out we will turn on the two engines that are battery-operated, so they will be moving around. Won't that be fun? :) Oh, and one of the trains in the set was recalled so I mailed it in for a new replacement, and they are sending me an extra train (also new in pack) as a gift for my trouble. So we have a couple stocking stuffers already, too.