Save on Holiday Decorating and Gift Wrapping Essentials!

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday out of the way, a new phase of the holiday season begins- decorations! It's time to put up and dress the tree, string lights, and hang up the decorations. With any luck, the weekend was kind and you were able to secure some early gifts. All your seasonal décor and presents may be ready to go, but don't forget about the items you'll need to get them up, in, and looking their best. It's time to stock up on decorating and wrapping materials, and save money in the process!

Command Small & Medium Hooks

For holiday decorating, Command hooks and strips are a clean alternative to nails and pins. Hooks are sized for every project, from small hooks that hold a pound of weight to larger, general purpose products that hold up to 7 pounds. Strips can support picture frames that would normally require a screw or a nail in the wall. Adhesive strips attach to both the wall and the frame, and are easily removable from both once it's time for the frame to come down. From now through December 18, you can find a coupon on our Holiday Shop page to take $5 off a $25 order of Command products!

Scotch Magic Tape

Likewise, make sure you have everything you need to wrap presents, including wrapping paper and gift bags, scissors, and Scotch tape! Bags can be used as-is or decorated to add even more cheer. We also have a special holiday offer- a coupon for a four-pack of Scotch tape free with a $75 order.

Our Holiday Shop page also has some great gift suggestions, including phone accessories, portfolios, Contigo travel mugs and more!

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday Deals!

Along with the turkey and pie, Thanksgiving weekend is the best time to save money with big deals from Thursday all the way through Monday. Whether it's holiday gifts for your friends and family, supplies you need around the house, or little stocking stuffers, here's a guide to when you can look for the biggest savings on OfficeSupply.com!

Lorell Computer Desk

You'll want to get up early for Thanksgiving morning, because we'll have special coupons available that will only be good until 11:00 am Central time. You can take 15% off your order or claim bigger discounts on lamps and shelving products. All day long we'll have a coupon lowering the requirement for free shipping. At night, look for reduced prices on products like a Lorell computer desk, Inkjoy pens, and more surprises- including a steep discount on one item artists and coloring enthusiasts won't want to miss!

Keurig Brewing System

If you don't want to venture into the throngs of shoppers, a whole new round of deals starts on Black Friday. We'll have a special Black Friday page up all day to show off the sales on popular products, including a hotel-quality Keurig brewer, an executive fountain pen, and a Stanley screwdriver set. Another big savings coupon awaits that day as well!

Flash Furniture Massaging Office Chair

Not to be outdone, expect more coupons and more sales once Cyber Monday rolls around. One of the biggest online shopping days of the year will feature coupons to claim free Tombow adhesive refills, and discounts on paper towels, Quartet dry erase boards and Lorell vertical files. Later that day, look for additional savings on a carton of paper, a Leitz speaker system, a Lorell sit/stand workstation and a massaging office chair.

With all these savings and many more to come, check out OfficeSupply.com throughout the weekend for some great offers and big discounts!

Crayola Stocking Stuffer Giveaway

Are you a fan of coloring? Want to equip your kids with a wide assortment of markers, crayons, colored pencils, and more? Announcing a new giveaway contest where you can win a $150 prize pack of Crayola products!

All you have to do is go here and sign up by December 18. We'll draw a name the next day and the winner will enjoy all the Crayola magic! Crayola is synonymous with crayons and markers, and the assortment in the prize pack covers that and more. Look at everything you can win- from classic essentials to clay to chalk to watercolor paint, you'll be able to let your creativity run wild. The pack also includes updated offerings like erasable colored pencils and Twistables- retractable crayons!

Twistables Retractable Crayons

The selection also includes a coloring book both children and adults can enjoy. Hurry and enter the contest- we'll select the lucky winner on December 19.

Staying Productive and Motivated Through the Holiday Season

As the holidays approach, we all have various annual traditions we like to honor. We have our ways of celebrating Thanksgiving. We may have a typical time and unique ways to put up a tree. We have parties we like to go to, shopping to get done and plans to make for both. There's also one more tradition popular in offices around the country- counting down the days until we're off work for the holidays. It's an exciting time, but also easy to get distracted and maybe even overwhelmed. That makes it important to have a plan for getting the work done leading up to the end of the year.

House of Doolittle Calendar Desk Pad

End-of-year work is a bit of a double whammy- there's often a lot on everyone's plates as the year winds down, whether it's because of reports or holiday marketing or deadlines before the calendar changes. It's also a time when employees are using the rest of their vacation days, worrying about holiday plans, and waiting for both of those to get here. There are ways to cut through that and stay productive. Start now and list everything that needs completing and when. Make a schedule, (taking into account when co-workers are off if anything involves collaboration), and write it into a calendar- better if it's something nice and visible like a desk pad. As projects get completed, there's extra satisfaction in crossing the days off like an Advent calendar.

Juggling everybody's time off can slow down projects. Instead of being surprised by someone's out-of-office reply, keep track of who on your team is going to be out. Either add it to your calendar or, if there's a shared collaboration space, consider an organizer board that everyone can add to and view.

Optimal Desk Setup (courtesy Fellowes)

Are you getting so antsy for the holidays that you start to feel uncomfortable at your desk? Maybe your desk setup needs improving. Consider a variety of ergonomic solutions such as keyboard managers, wrist rests, footrests, and proper screen placement to make it easier to get through the day. Fellowes has a nice site for identifying potential problem areas. Also, check your desk to make sure only the only items on it are necessary, and that those items are in easy reach. No sense having a file on your desk if it's tomorrow's project. Stash it away and don't think about it until then!

Holidays, festive as they are, can also be a stressful time. Many workplaces have a bunch of holiday-themed activities. They're plenty fun, but only if they don't add to your stress. Don't be afraid to be selective about what you participate in. The company-wide Secret Santa game may be meant to bring everyone closer together, but if it leaves you wondering what gift to get and when you'll find time to get it, don't feel like it's an obligation. Stick to the activities you'll actually enjoy. And on that same note, make a determined effort to enjoy the time off you get. Holiday preparations can be involved and the family gatherings can be exhausting, but make time to refresh. It's important to do what you love and spend time with the people you care about. It makes the countdown that much more pleasant.

OfficeSupply.com Olympics

There's a classic episode of The Office where the Dunder-Mifflin team organizes a series of “Olympic” games around the office- trash can basketball or Flonkerton, the Icelandic “box of paper snowshoe racing” sport. The idea proved popular, and many offices started their own version of the Office Olympics. And why not? They provide fun activities for the entire team, unite departments that may not collaborate much, and possibly reuse yogurt lids. Or have a proper trophy!

Once a quarter the entire office squares off in a different competition, with this trophy, a gift card and pride on the line. Events have included a bean bag toss tournament in the warehouse, giant Jenga in one of the conference rooms, or ladder ball and ring toss outside. There have even been team games like a Pictionary competition. This month is a Thanksgiving-themed Wild Turkey Hunt, sending our Olympians through the warehouse looking for printed cards with random point values.

With the help of some big point turkeys, customer service representative Veronica won the round and will go on to the finals to play for the trophy!