20 Things At Fall Consignment Sales (That Will Simplify Your Winter)

This post is written in partnership with Just Between Friends Lancaster. The opinions in this post are 100% mine.

You’ve probably noticed that it’s consignment season! Consignment sales are happening around Lancaster County, and one of my favorites (because of how well organized it is!) is coming up soon. Just Between Friends Lancaster will be held at Park City Mall this year!

20 Things To Find At Fall Consignment Sales

I’m a planner. Sometimes I feel guilty for it, but in all honesty, planning has saved our family tons of money—whether its keeping our pantry or freezer stocked with food we use regularly, or looking ahead at the calendar to make sure we have what we need before annual events come upon us.

Today I want to share 20 things that I have found at the JBF Fall Consignment Sale, that have tremendously simplified our winters!

1. Sneakers. When I arrive at a consignment sale, I often head to the boys shoes first. My boys seems to fly through their sneakers especially!I love finding brand-new shoes, still in the box and never worn, for less than $5-10!

By the way, I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried to buy cheap sneakers at Walmart or Kmart route, and it definitely doesn’t work (at least not in our family!) The shoes inevitably break in a month or two. Name-brand sneakers however, have always lasted us several months if not a year or more! Worth the investment for sure!!!

2. Costumes. Halloween is quickly approaching. Feel free to wait till the last minute and pay probably $20-30 for a costume for your kid, OR check out the consignment sale rack where almost all costumes are $10 or less! I love the variety of costumes you find at consignment sales too!

3. Winter Pajamas. I always wore one of my dad’s t-shirts to bed when I was growing up, but there is something special about your own perfectly-fitting, soft and cuddly, matching pajamas when you’re a kid. Especially when mom finds them for just a couple of bucks!

4. Winter Concert Attire. We’re homeschooling this year, but when our son was in private school, he was always required to have black pants, and black dress shoes on. Often times preschoolers are asked to dress up in Christmas attire. A consignment sale is the perfect place to search for any of these items that you only use once or twice a year! This is also an excellent time to look for coordinating outfits for your holiday photo cards.

5 & 6. Snow boots & gear. Look at your winter accessories bin before you head to the sale and make note of what you need: heavy socks, snow pants, gloves, hats, boots . . .

7. Winter Coats. I absolutely love finding excellent quality, name-brand coats, for $15 or less. It feels like such a bargain and just makes me happy. This is another rack to check first!

8. Family Books. Great for snow-days and winter weather school delays! I also find keeping books of any kind, especially picture books, in the van for car rides or if they are driving with me and have to wait at the bank, or school pick-up, etc.

9. Crafts. I love to keep friendship bracelet kits, stamping kits, and painting kits on hand for snow days. It keeps them busy and creative on their day off of school!

10. Games & Puzzles. These are other great treasures to purchase and keep hidden at home until a snow day presents itself. Games and puzzles are also great evening family activities!

11. Roller Skates. This may sound weird to have on the list, but an excellent activity to do in winter when its cold outside, is visit a roller skating rink. Did you know you can get FREE roller skating passes for kids?

12. Ice Skates. If you find a pair of cheap ice skates, grab them! They are fun on local ponds on the coldest winter days, but you can also use them for any of the FREE ice skating days at the local rinks this winter. There are also some really great deals throughout the winter for cheap skate passes that you could use and not need to rent skates! And of course, if there are hockey skates, our favorite in the winter is Kids Skate FREE Day.

13. Sports and Team Attire. Check for any sports gear—you never know if your team might win the Superbowl this year! Its always nice to have some jerseys or t-shirts on hand—last year I didn’t have any in the kids sizes so they couldn’t dress up the day after the Superbowl and wear jerseys to school. Mom fail! 🙁

14. Kids Luggage. Are you traveling for the holidays this year? Will your kids need luggage? I find the absolute cutest luggage bags at JBF sales. Kids love to pack their own bags!

15. Christmas Decor. Look for baby’s first Christmas photo frames, or other decorations. You’ll likely find wrapping paper and Christmas cards too.

16. Christmas Games. Consider your Christmas plans for this year. Will you play Elf on the Shelf with your kids or as a family?

17. Christmas Countdown Charts and Advent Calendars. One of our family favorites is to use small calendars with doors to open and behind each door was a piece of chocolate!

18. Christmas gifts. I found this cute little sewing machine one year. Its perfect for a little girl who is dreaming of her own sewing machine! You’ll also find tons of other toys, kits, books, videos, electronics, and so on!

19. Christmas Books. Christmas storybooks are special to read every holiday season, whether your a young kid, older kid or an adult!

20. Party planning supplies. Does your child have a winter birthday? Do you have the supplies you need for their party this year?And on the same note as party supplies . . . this is really thinking ahead, but every year I find heavily discounted NEW Valentines Day cards packs that are perfect to use for younger children’s classroom parties!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR JBF SALE

Does this list give you some ideas on what to shop for to simplify your winter? If so, mark your calendar for the Just Between Friends Lancaster Consignment Sale. You can get all the sale details, including the location, the hours each day, and tickets for the presale, on the JBF website.

To stay up to speed with everything happening at the sale, be sure to follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter where you’ll find regular updates and sneak peaks at the sale!