Blessings abound. We are simply spreading it around.
I started Queen Bee Coupons four years ago as a way to tell my friends and family about all the deals and coupons I was finding. It has grown to so much more than that. It’s now a vibrant, active community of helpful, frugal friends. And YOU are part of that.
Ever year I have big plans to coordinate some type of holiday giving or donation program with my readers. There are so many organizations that are blessing others – and they are looking for donations. As couponers – I know how generous so many of you are. Mostly thanks to coupons and sales. So I really wanted to rally us all together to give back to our communities.
But the reality is that in this season of my life, juggling a six- and three-year-old, along with the business means I didn’t have the time to coordinate a widespread, extensive donation program. I really believe it will happen some year, but for the immediate future I’m just not able to devote the time needed for it.
But I still wanted to do something. . . .
This holiday season I’ve kept very busy updating the Amazon Best Toy Deals list. When you shop through the links in that post (and others) – I earn a commission. It’s how Queen Bee works as a business – I earn commissions from online sales, printable coupons, etc. You can read more about that in my disclosure policy here.
And this holiday season our cups runneth over. The page views, the shares, the sweet comments. I have the best readers. Thank you for supporting my site – so I can support my family with something I truly, truly love and enjoy.
We wanted to share that same blessing with other families and children this holiday. We set a budget of $250, money essentially earned from you shopping through our site and pledged to buy as many toys as we could with that. I have been shopping for the last couple months – all online – snagging up the best deals.
Thanks to the amazing Amazon deals I was able to get more than 50 gifts to donate for about $246. They would retail for nearly $700.
I’m donating them on behalf of Queen Bee readers. Because it’s really you that made it possible.
We are donating the toys to a variety of non-profits – most notably to SafePlace, an advocacy agency and confidential shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, the YMCA, and the daycare at the alternative high school where my husband teaches.
And thanks to shopping sales, we were able to get some nice quality toys for $250. Here’s a list of just some of the deals I was able to buy – saving nearly 60% off across the board. All items were purchased from Amazon and shipped for FREE thanks to my Prime account.
3 – Learning Resources Smart Snacks: Abc Lacing Sweets – $4.99 (reg. $11.49)
3 – Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Smilin’ Smart Phone – $4.99 (reg. $13)
3 – Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Corn Popper Push Toy – $6 (reg. $15)
3 – Infantino Animal Park Shape Sorter – $6.30 (reg. $15)
2 – Leapfrog Touch Magic Counting Train, Retail – $7.19 (reg. $22)
3 – LEGO: The Adventures of Clutch Powers – $1.96 (reg. $10)
1 – VTech Bear’s Baby Laptop, Pink – $5 (reg. $13)
1 – VTech Snap and Surprise Camera – $5 (reg. $12)
1 – VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels- Car Carrier – $10.59 (reg. $30)
1 – VTech – Baby’s Learning Laptop – $8.14 (reg. $26)
1 – VTech KidiBeats Drum Set – $7.88 (reg. $25)
1 – VTech – Touch and Teach Turtle – $8.14 (reg. $20)
2 – VTech – Explore and Learn Helicopter – $4.34 (reg. $18)
2 – VTech – Slide And Talk Smart Phone – $5.98 (reg. 20)
1 – VTech Move and Crawl Ball, Orange – $5.44 (reg. $15)
3 – KRE-O Rescue Vehicle Value Bucket (A4585) – $4.99 (reg. $15)
3 – KRE-O Transformers Ultimate Vehicle Pack (A4583) – $4.99 (reg. $15)
3 – Barbie Fairytale Princess Fashion Doll, Pink and White – $4.99 (reg. $10)
2 – Melissa & Doug Flatbed Tow Truck – $6.98 (reg. $14)
3 – Melissa & Doug Peek-a-Boo Panda – $3.48 (reg. $10)
2 – Busytown Mysteries: The Biggest Mysteries Ever! – $2.50 (reg. $10)
My heart is full and I hope yours is too. Because you played a part in making this happen. Thank you for supporting Queen Bee Coupons. Thank you for putting up with my silly puns, quirky comments and egregious typos. Thank you for visiting my site when there are dozens to choose from. I have tears in my eyes and joy in my heart as I write this.
Merry Christmas to some of the best people online I know. 🙂
Laura says
How wonderful that you were able to do this. I’ve enjoyed your site so much and have found myself clicking through to Amazon.
Christmas blessings to you and your family.
Erin says
Hi Heather! This is great! I wanted to let you know that you also helped others donate. My organization at work adopted 5 families, and ended up with 330 dollars over what was needed for their requested gifts . We were able to purchase 29 items for Toys for Tots! We primarily got Fisher Price items, dolls, and a few soccer balls. Everything was from Amazon, Kohl’s and Target. Without your site we would not have been able to get so many items for our money! Thank you!
Heather Clarke says
Erin – What a heartwarming story. I’m so glad that you were able to stretch your dollars and give more than expected. What a blessing – for everyone. Adopting FIVE families – what an amazing thing to do! Thanks for your comment Erin and Merry Christmas!
melissa j says
You are amazing! Merry Christmas 🙂
Caitlin Bates says
This is amazing!! Your site is my favorite to follow, and seeing this is post just made my night 🙂 Thank you for all that you do!!
Julie2 says
Merry Christmas Heather. Hope you and your family have the best holiday season ever.
Trina Newman says
Thanks for your patience with the couponing…I really appreciate it and look up to you for all that you do to help us!
celia says
You and your family are amazing. Cheers to more success in 2014!
Gwenn says
Bless you Mama Bee!
Jasmin says
Thank YOU! You are so amazing for all the time and effort you put into helping other families make ends meet with the coupons and deals you post on this blog. Merry Christmas to you and your family…. Excuse me while I grab a tissue for reading your touching post above!
Rachel Henderson says
I just wanted to thank you for sharing such wonderful deals, coupons, and money-saving tips with so many families this season to help stretch everyone’s Christmas budgets. Also, I think it is so wonderfully selfless of you to donate so many things to those in need! I bought several of the deals you posted just for that reason, and I have been able to give many more gifts than expected because of the savings. So thank you!!!
Rachel says
That’s so incredibly awesome!
Jaime says
So awesome!!!