The Things I Love Prepares For 10th Annual Christmas Day Sale

Christmas morning is a time known for celebration and giving, but if you plan far enough ahead, it can also be a time for saving.

At least that's how the morning goes at The Things I Love, the stylish shop filled with with a wide range of home decorations and other gifts. At The Things I Love, Christmas morning is home to one of the store’s biggest sales of the year, when nearly everything in the store is between 25 to 30 percent off, minus a few companies they aren’t allowed to sell at discounted rates.

Still, there are more than plenty of things in the store on sale, from jewelry to home decor to candles to wine accessories to furniture and more.

“People plan for this all year,” said owner Sandra Szpicek-Leylegian. “They come in and see things they want and plan on coming back Christmas morning to get it on sale. We have people waiting outside before we open.”

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Christmas, and Szpicek-Leylegian said in the past people have waited outside on line for the doors to open, or simply sat in their cars in front of the store waiting for 10 a.m.

“It’s first come first serve,” she said. “People get little cards with their name on it and just put it down on things, or start piles. We have a lot of great serving items and things like that, so people come in and stock up on things they can give as gifts throughout the year.”

This is the 10th year they’ve been holding the sale.

“A few years ago, before we had items from companies we couldn’t discount, we advertised that everything in the store was on sale,” Szpicek-Leylegian said. “One woman walked in and said, ‘So everything in the store’s on sale?’ I told everything, and she pointed at a couch and said ‘I’ll take that then.’ She left for a second and came back with her husband, son and nephew, and they carried it right out the front door.”

Szpicek-Leylegian estimated that at most 15 percent of shoppers on Christmas are actually buying last-second Christmas presents.

“It’s people who bought all their gifts for everyone else like two months ago,” she said. “It’s the people who come in to treat themselves to something special for a great price.”

Szpicek-Leylegian said the store continually gets deliveries throughout the year, including two on Friday, that keeps its selection large and varied.

“You’re not going through here picking over the scraps of orders delivered in October,” she said.

The store does the same sale, for the same hours, on New Year’s Day, and what’s in the store then can even be new, as Szpicek-Leylegian said they get shipments of products during Christmas week as well.

Part of the reason the sale is popular is because The Things I Love offers a lot of one-of-a-kind items, Szpicek-Leylegian said. But there are other reasons as well.

“We’re trendsetters,” she said. “We’re carrying what’s going to be popular. If we were technology, we’d be next year’s iPad.”

is located at 191 S Main Street, New City.