- Holly Days, presented by the Hillsboro Downtown Business Association
Saturday, December 5th, noon to 6:00 pm FREE
West end of the MAX line. Visit with Santa, caroling, music, gift wrapping, caroling parade and tree lighting (5:00 pm).

- More weekend freebie fun can be found at Aroundthesunblog

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Weekend On The Cheap:

- Thursday night: Civil War! Winner to the Rose Bowl. Go out and cheer on with the masses at a local venue, crash a friend’s party or host your own. Great excuse to celebrate.

- First Friday at the Children’s Museum offers free admission from 5:00pm – 8:00pm.

- Bikecraft V, a “bike-lover’s bazaar that showcases local, handmade, bike-themed arts, crafts, fashion, and more.” This Saturday 10:00am – 5:00pm, free admission.

- 25th Annual ScanFair this Saturday and Sunday at Smith Memorial Center Ballroom, Portland State University. Admission is $6 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. “Celebrate the sights, sounds, tastes and traditions of a Scandinavian Christmas.”

- Bank of America’s Museums on Us, Saturday and Sunday. Free admission to the Pittock Mansion and the Portland Art Museum for all Bank of America card holders, just show your ATM, debit or credit card and get in for free.

- West Linn Holiday Tree Lighting and Holiday Craft Fair this Saturday, 6:00pm – 9:00pm.

- Season’s Eatings Artisan Market at New Deal Distillery, 12:00pm – 5:00pm this Saturday. Admission is a can of food or cash donation to the Oregon Food Bank. Click here for the flyer (opens up a PDF).

- First Sunday at OMSI: $2 admission per person.

- Willamette Week’s new Cheapskate Deal Box features a Free Dance Day at Polaris Contemporary Dance Center, a Cheap Art Craft Show, B-movie screenings with free popcorn and much more.

- OSU’s Food Innovation Center has a new taste test opportunity:

The Sensory and Consumer Group at the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center is looking for participants for a focus group to take place on Tuesday, December 15th and Wednesday, December 16th. The focus group is about 90 minutes and the compensation is $75. Test times run at 10:30am, 2pm and 5:30pm both days. If you are interested, please click on this link to submit a questionnaire. If you are selected to participate, we will contact you via email by Tuesday, December 8th, and then give you a confirmation email the day before the test.

For those who are new to the email list, please note that we cannot contact everyone who sent in a questionnaire. You will not hear back from us for each test as each consumer will not be selected every time. We only contact those who were selected to participate and will be sending out those confirmation emails by December 8th.

Spotlight: Tuesday Morning

Treasure hunters and bargain hunters take a look: Tuesday Morning “upscale” merchandise at 50%-80% off regular prices. Tuesday Morning is a nationwide chain closeout gift store, similar to Big Lots and Ross, squeezed into a smaller space but maximized with substantial savings. You’ll find limited quantity closeouts, overstock and some stuff that you didn’t even know existed. Their product mix is a smörgåsbord of just about everything, which makes it a fun excursion of finding gifts for others or simply for yourself! Among the selections:

Luggage
Candles
Sporting goods
Frames
Stationary
Party goods
Gift wrap
Home accents
Pet accessories
Toys
Furniture
Garden decor
Seasonal
Dinnerware
Table linens
Flatware
Stems and barware
Crystal
Mirrors
Lamps
Area rugs
Wall graphics
Fashion accessories
Gourmet food (pre-packaged)
Womens gifts
Mens gifts
Executive gifts
Books
Baby gifts
Comforters
Sheet sets
Basic linens
Towels
Bath shop
New Arrivals

During a recent visit, we came across these finds:

Telesteps telescoping ladder (2.5 feet telescopes to 12.5 feet): $99
Heated seat covers: $50
Kidsmart vocal smoke alarm: $8
Golf trainer: $18
Aerogarden: $80
Mosquito catcher: $40
Double-sided desktop easel for kids: $15
Magneflux portable induction cooktop: $180

Sprinkled around each store are special Clearance sections, designated by the yellow tags that offer additional savings. Customers can also sign up for the eTreasures program and receive news of latest arrivals and special offers via email.

Tuesday Morning hours are:
Monday – Saturday: 10:00am – 7:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm – 6:00pm

There are ten locations around the Portland/Vancouver area, so check the web site for directions and happy treasure hunting!