Off-grid pantry planner

 

Last month I helped promote the I-X Center’s Christmas Connection shopping event.  In exchange for my help I was given admission tickets – that’s how it usually works with the I-X Center. I think adult admission was $10.99 while kids were free. Our family of four made the trip up the north, about an hour drive and paid the $8 parking. You can read my first post here.

 

Though our tickets were provided I still have to claim the admission price on my taxes, as income – blogging is my job. So the trip essentially costs $10.99 x 2 adults (the boys were free) + parking for $8 – not including time and gas for travel…  roughly $30 just to get inside the door so we could *coughspend more money shopping.

 

Okay, so this review is sounding negative, but … hold that thought a minute.

 

merry christmas

 

To a frugal homeschooling momma this didn’t sound like a worthwhile trip, but there actually is a positive side to this – as I was informed by one of the vendors whom I was buying from.

 

When I inquired how much money it costs the vendors to rent a space in there, and I won’t share that information (it wasn’t cheap), I mentioned my wonderment that people would spend so much money to come inside to spend more money – and his answer made perfect sense. In my own words: the admission price helps filter out the serious consumers from those who would show up simply to steal. And yes, that made sense.

 

There was entertainment, free gift-wrap, tons of products to buy, food samples to try, and a low-cost area for children to buy gifts for parents among other things.

 

And the place was packed with potential consumers.  Clearly this works, so I’d say – if you have the money to spend and this is your “thing” then it is worth visiting. Watch for the I-X Christmas Connection to roll around next November!