Raleigh's Seaboard Station is also hosting an event today. The holiday open house will run from noon to 5 p.m. Merchants will be offering special deals and hoping to see you there. Seaboard is near Peace College, near the intersection of Peace Street and Glenwood Avenue. You can view the center's Web site here.

The Stone Creek Village shopping center in Cary will be hosting a shopping gala this evening from 6 to 10 p.m. There will be complimentary food, live music and free chair massages. There will also be raffle prizes worth more than $500. You can register for the drawing in the space next to the Pink Alli. The shopping center is at the corner of High House and Davis Drive. 

Just a reminder that Dr. Pepper is giving away coupons for a free 20 oz. bottle of Dr. Pepper tomorrow in conjunction with the release of the new Guns N Roses album, Chinese Democracy.

If you're missing the tie-in, the best I can figure is that the release is happening on the 23rd and Dr. Pepper touts its 23 flavors. You will be able to request your free coupon on the Dr. Pepper Web site starting 12:01 a.m. They will mail you the coupon, which will be good through Feb. 28, 2009.

I will be the first to say that working in retail can be really difficult, especially around the holidays. But sometimes store employees do some pretty ridiculous things. Case in point, this video that I found thanks to my friends over on Consumerist.com. The synopsis: watch what happens when Target store employees load up a semi truck with shopping carts and the driver decides to hit the gas.

It's Friday, so let's do freebies!

*There's a company trying to get some attention by giving away free boomerangs. Who knows? But if you want one, click here.

*Wal-Mart has a Kotex Lightdays sample here.

*Wilson is giving away free sets of Hallow Core (which I take it are some kind of strings... I don't play tennis, can you tell?) Click here.

*There's a Tide Total Care sample here. Not sure if it's the same as one offered previously.

*Wal-Mart has a free sample of shampoo here. I can't tell you which shampoo because I don't know. It's the one featured in all those Salon Secret ads. They'll be revealing the name of the shampoo later this month. 

*And, OK, not free, but I know these are popular. Fancy Feast has put out its new holiday ornament, which you can get with a certain number of UPCs and a payment for shipping. Click here. 

The big discounts are already coming, like this one from JC Penney. Save $10 on your $25 purchase using the code JCP online or by printing an in-store coupon here.

Raleigh's North Hills shopping center will be lighting its big 41-foot Christmas tree tomorrow at 6 p.m. There will be lots of music, festivities and of course an appearance by Santa. Tomorrow also marks the start of extended hours for the North Hills merchants, and they will be offering previews and goodies for shoppers from 5 to 8 p.m. during a "Sip n Stroll" event.

And while we're talking about North Hills, here's one more item to note: Starting Saturday, merchants in North Hills will be giving out $25 coupons when you spend $100 or more in a single transaction. The coupon is good for a purchase of $25 or more by Dec. 24. The national chains will not be participating, and some of the smaller retailers will not either, but most of them will be. All merchants who are participating will display one of the coupons in their window, or you could just ask.

If you read my column this morning, you know that I revisited the topic of bookstores in Johnston County. Two weeks ago, I wrote about Pauper's Books & More used bookstore opening, and many readers took issue with the contention that Pauper's is the only bookseller in Johnston County.

Top among the ones that readers mentioned were:

*Orchard House Booksellers in Smithfield

*The Book Cellar in the Carolina Premium Outlets

*And Source of Truth Christian bookstore at 388 Venture Drive

Have others? Feel free to add to the list by commenting below...

If you're having flowers delivered for Thanksgiving, 1-800-FLOWERS is offering $10 off select items through Nov. 23 when you use the code CNTR2 in the online checkout. I can't really tell if there's a minimum purchase required on that deal.  Click here to check it out.

I thought this was an interesting story over on the Wallet Pop blog about which items have the biggest mark ups. Now of course there does have to be some mark up because the retailer does have to make some profit to stay in business. But, according to the story, some of these items have a mark up of like 1,300 percent! Holy cow! Wine at restaurants, movie theater popcorn and pre-cut fruits and veggies at the store all made the list. Which items do you think should be added?

Sarah over on our Mom2Mom Web site asks an interesting question... do your kids want all these fancy $100 toys for Christmas, or are they asking for more simple things? The funniest tidbit: the good old stick was just inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Check out Sarah's blog here, or answer below! 

Just a heads up, the big winter REI sale begins on Friday. And, if you'd rather shop online, REI's Web site now is offering members $4.99 flat-rate standard shipping. You can check out the details of that offer here.

There's a second Nutro rebate out there, and this one is for cat food. Buy any 8 lb. bag of Natural Choice Complete Care and get $7 back by mail-in rebate. Your purchase must take place befor Jan. 2, 2009, and you must have your rebate postmarked by Jan. 16. You'll need the bar code from the bag, your receipt and of course the form, which you can download below.

This year, I am hoping to find a few savvy shoppers to help with our Black Friday coverage. I'm looking for shoppers who are planning to shop till they drop on Black Friday, starting early and staying late. Ideally, I'd like to find people who plan out their route in advance and will shop for several hours.

If you volunteer, you'll be committing to chat with a N&O reporter for a few minutes in advance of the big day about what you are planning to do and hoping to accomplish. And you'll also be committing to providing us a couple of updates throughout the day via cell phone. We'll want to know about all your good deals and what you're observing as you shop.

Sound like fun? Volunteer by e-mailing me your contact info. Please include all the phone numbers where you can be reached!

Here's one for all you Lushies out there... the retailer of fun bath and body products that recently opened its first store in the state at Crabtree Valley Mall will be running a good deal on Black Friday.

Buy any $40 in products and get any item you like up to $10 in value FREE. Buy $80 worth and get two products up to $20. After all, FREE is always the best price...