Holiday Catalog Watch Week 1: Batman Chess, Anyone?

Posted on by Beth Negus Viveiros

In years past, I’ve done end of year round-ups of the catalogs that crossed my mailbox, to review the offers and creative for that holiday season. This year, I decided to take a look week by week. Since the jack-o-lanterns went out with the trash this Monday, that seemed like a good day to start.

On Monday, four catalogs arrived, including two from Oriental Trading. One focused on crafts, while the other was their “Fun & Faith” themed edition (I’m a Sunday School teacher, and are occasionally tasked with picking up crafts for various activities.) Both included the same free shipping on orders over $49 offer.

toy-catalog-fullToys To Grow On also tried to sway me with free shipping on orders over $59. Eddie Bauer also offered free shipping and free returns, essential in my book if I’m going to be persuaded to buy apparel direct. They also pitched 20% off regular priced items—a bind-in coupon was also valid at retail locations. I will admit to being a little irked there wasn’t a detailed explanation of the returns policy, but it was easily assessable on the home page of EddieBauer.com.

Wednesday brought three more catalogs. J. Jill’s November “Share the Warmth” edition didn’t vary much in design from the numerous other books I’ve received from the retailer recently, and there were no special offers or discounts.

The American Girl catalog held a fascination for me, as it typically does. Being the mom of two sons, I have no first-hand experience with the brand—the arrival of the Lego catalog is the one that elicits excitement in my household. The catalog offered free shipping on orders of $100 or more, excluding “Doll Hospital, hearing aids and ear piercing services.”

(No, these services are apparently not covered by Obamacare. But the Doll Hospital Admission Form is pretty interesting – you can get not only hearing aids for your doll but replacement heads, limbs or torsos. If your doll’s needs are not that intense, she might just opt for a “wellness visit” to get her skin cleaned or hair brushed.)

The final Wednesday catalog was the attractively designed Noble Collection. The catalog of movie themed collectibles and props featured $20 or $50 off orders of $100 or $300 respectively. This wasn’t quite enough to tempt me to pick up some lovely Hobbit jewelry (I’d look grand in the Headdress of Galadriel) or a spare Harry Potter wand, but I’ll admit I did spend more time than necessary looking at the spiffy $795 Batman chess set—and I don’t even know how to play chess.

On Thursday, I received two more catalogs. Music & Arts sent along a Holiday Gift Guide featuring “The Voice” finalist Chris Mann on the front cover and an inside cover full of coupons on orders ranging from $25+ to $500+, as well as a full page plug for an in-store Black Friday sale. Uncommon Goods’ latest catalog also arrived, offering a selection of independently made crafts, household items and jewelry—heavy on cool gifts but light on special offers.

Have you gotten—or mailed—any great catalogs this holiday season? Let me know at [email protected] or @CMBethNegus.

 

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