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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - 5:30 pm
How about buying a $10 gift card to a gas station in town? He'll need more gas for that blower, and again...it's a cheap enough thank you for his generosity.
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Debra
Member
11-20-2003
| Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - 5:41 pm
quote:Um, if I baked them some cookies, I could guarantee that they would never ever plow my driveway again.

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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - 6:00 pm
If Veuve Cliquot is too rich for your budget (it usually is mine, but it IS delicious), there are lots of really good Proseccos (Italian sparkling wines) out there for under $20. I got a nice one at Trader Joe's for about $12
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - 6:30 pm
if it's cold then I suggest Thunderbird. That will warm you up and power up a snowblower
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - 7:08 pm
Ohgoodgawd, is that rotgut Thunderbird still around? I remember drinking it when, well I won't say how old I was but I was not legal yet!
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - 7:09 pm
P.S I'd go with Tish's idea for a nice prosecco. You could even buy peach schnapps, too, and give him both bottles so he can toast the new year in with... BELLINIS!!!! 
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 2:25 am
Kar, I think the neighbor helping you out was a wonderful gift. Also think a bottle of wine for him and his wife as thanks would be lovely too. No suggestions from me on what to buy though, on the rare occassions I want some, I buy whatever is cheapest and closest to where I'm standing and call it good. And more often than not it sits around til someone shows up who's willing to drink it.
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Y2krazy
Member
09-17-2002
| Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 5:02 am
Here in Ontario, we have Liquor Control Board of Ontario...stores to buy wine and spirits at. So we can buy gift cards. Do you have a nearby liquor store...and do the same? Then your neighbour could buy the one he likes and knows you actually thought about what he's like.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 6:29 am
.. and will know you want him to plow your driveway again while drunk ...
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Wink
Member
10-06-2000
| Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 9:36 am
Don't know what kind of liquor stores you have in the states or if they carry any imported stuff but there are some delicious Canadian Ice Wines (especially from the Niagara region) that make a wonderful gift.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 6:19 pm
I snowblowed our neighbor's sidewalk and drive the majority of the time it snowed. I never once expected or even wanted a thank you gift. It was just something to do since I was already out with the snowblower. Most of the time I did their other neighbor's sidewalk too and I didn't even know him. If I were given a gift, I'd probably feel obligated to "have" to do it the next time it snowed. But then, that's just me.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 8:37 pm
Sidewalk like public right of way? For everybody to walk on? Maybe not giftable. Long private sidewalk to somebody's house that will otherwise keep them housebound? Might be giftable every now and then. Big private driveway full of real heavy snow that a person needs to clear to get out of their garage? Giftable, I would say. Or go muck out their horse stall, unless you have already done that, in which case the sorry SOB still owes you a few driveways. JUST kidding. (they can't ban me on Christmas Eve)

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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 8:49 pm
Sidewalk like public right of way? For everybody to walk on? Maybe not giftable. Long private sidewalk to somebody's house that will otherwise keep them housebound? Might be giftable every now and then. Big private driveway full of real heavy snow that a person needs to clear to get out of their garage? Giftable, I would say. In my neighbor's case, he had all of the above. [FWIW the sidewalks that everybody to walk on - in that town you had 24 hours after the storm ended to get them cleaned off or get fined $100.]
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Christy358
Member
07-10-2007
| Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 11:34 pm
Ok, I have thought about this. I think the reward is the fact the he did a good deed. He feels good about that. It was something easy for him that meant a whole lot to you. Is there any tit for tat you can do? Something that is easy for you but would mean more to him? Or in the spirit of the season, something you can do that is easy for you ....but means a ton to someone else? You could even write a note that shows how his good deed moved on....
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Christy358
Member
07-10-2007
| Monday, December 28, 2009 - 5:53 pm
Thinking of joining a warehouse club. Sams Club vs Costco opinions?
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Monday, December 28, 2009 - 6:24 pm
I was a Sam's Club member for years and got convinced that Costco was better. Did that for a year and went back to Sam's, then I decided that Costco really was better! LOL
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Rissa
Member
03-19-2006
| Monday, December 28, 2009 - 6:25 pm
As a Cdn my answer may not be too helpfull but here it is anyway (I had a membership in both). LOL Cost: We pay 110 a yr for our Costco membership, that's for a premium membership which gives us 2% back at the end of the year. Thus far we have spent enough that our year-end cheque covers the cost of membership and then some. You can get the basic membership for about half the amount but no rebate so it ends up costing more (for us anyway). Sam's club only cost about $35 and you can get 100% of that back if you *return* membership anytime before the year is up, right up to the day before as I understand it. Value: I preferred Sam's Club. I found the variety and amount of food to be fairly equal. Costco wins in the books/movies dept and Sam's clothes (I thought) were cheaper and better quality. Sam's club had a great selection of office supplies and they seemed to have more variety if not quantity of other non-food items. I also loved that I never had to fight for parking at Sam's and that the check-out lines were never more than 1 deep. Apparently Sam's club didn't find these last couple things as wonderful because they pulled out of Canada and closed all their stores last year. LOLOL What is it you are thinking of buying there? Mainly food? Costco has a great meat counter. Electronics? Furniture? Pharmacy? All of it?
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Bob2112
Member
06-12-2002
| Monday, December 28, 2009 - 6:55 pm
Basic membership at Sam's is $40 and Costco is $50. They both offer a full refund of the membership cost for up to a year, so you could try them both and see which works better for you. You can't beat Costco's return policy. In the past year I have had 2 alternators go bad in 2 different cars, which in turn killed the car batteries. Both were purchased at Costco, one was about 12 months old and the other was almost 20 months. I didn't even have my receipt, but they looked it up in the computer and I got a 100% refund for both batteries. It's actually 100% for the first 36 months, 60% for year 4 and goes down 10% per year up to 100 months. I saw someone return watermelon they didn't like for a full refund. If you have a family, it's hard to go wrong with either store.
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Monday, December 28, 2009 - 7:24 pm
This comparison is from 5/2007 but might be helpful: Consumer Reports article If you're taking a poll, I prefer Costco. Have to drive 17 miles to get to one (while Sam's is just 3 miles away), but to me it's worth it.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - 7:00 am
We currently have both Sam's and Costco, since we spend winters in TX, summers in WA. No Sam's in WA, no Costco in TX (where we stay both places). Costco has better OTC medicine prices, like allergy meds and low dose aspirin, ibuprofen, etc. Best you will find anywhere by far. Costco has better produce, although we generally don't buy produce there. I guess I would say Sam's is any port in a storm, since we miss Costco. We got sucked in on a one-day pass to Sam's and were buying so much stuff that we decided to just get a membership.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - 8:18 am
no Costco in the Valley?
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - 10:23 am
Based upon what we tend to buy, Sam's is better for us. Tho we've only been to one Costco, so might check out the one near where we moved to. In Iowa, gas was cheaper, water was cheaper, paper products were cheaper, and meat was cheaper at Sam's vs. Costco. Which is the main stuff we purchase at Sam's. For the most part, now that we're not in Iowa & will be needing to buy more of our meat, we'll probably purchase meat at a local [not so local to us where we live now] meat shop where we purchased meat when we lived here last. We don't have to pay for our Sam's card, so who knows, maybe we'll get a Costco card too. If we find more items here that we would purchase than we found at Costco in Iowa. Here's another article from a couple of months ago. Tho from the other articles I have read [most were from 2007 like the one above] most people prefer Costco. associatedcontent.com article One thing this article points out, it's good to know your local store's prices. Sometimes bulk isn't cheaper.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - 2:58 pm
I wouldn't shop at Sam's Club if there was one right around the corner from me (has to do with being associated with Walmart). That said, I love my Costco. I go Sunday mornings at 10am, when they first open, and there is never a line anywhere. They have awesome produce and while I never buy it, looks like the meat counter is pretty awesome too. I may also be a wee bit prejudiced, since Price Club was originally founded here in San Diego. I've been a member since the beginning of the Price Club days and have been very happy with them. They've got a great return policy, their prices are great, and the selection is usually pretty good and reliable. (Although I still dunno why I bought two 72 ounce bags of chocolate chips! LOL!)
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - 5:05 pm
No Costco in The Valley.
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Thursday, December 31, 2009 - 11:39 am
My mom has memberships to both. I'm not sure that is cost effective, but she has preferences for certain things at each store. We have only Costco here, I buy as many groceries as I can there because they are the cheapest for almost everything. (I've compared diligently.) Like Rissa, we have the Executive membership (for us it is only $100) and get the 2% cash back. A few years ago when we upgraded the membership, we were told that if the 2% did not cover the $100 membership, they would increase our rebate to cover it. I do not know if that is still their policy because my 2% yearly rebate checks are always more than $100. If it still is their policy, the membership turns out to be free. Some services (such as check printing) are cheaper with the Executive membership. You can get Costco Rx without having a Costco membership. Costco gas is always the cheapest here.
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