Cheap Thrills

Professional gift wrappers at Papyrus in Roosevelt Field spend all day cutting, taping and tying ribbons on packages for oh-so-busy customers who don't have time to wrap their presents.

How to wrap a gift and tie a bow

To do it yourself, see a step-by-step video tutorial, which includes a demonstration for dressing up gifts with pretty ribbon bows tied by hand.

Newsday photo/Ken Spencer

Sure the average cost of a Manhattan hotel room is nearly $250 night, but travellers on a budget can stay in a nice boutique hotel room for far less than that...if they know where to look.

I stayed anonymously at four such hotels during the month of October and reported my findings.

I also stopped by several other boutique hotels that regularly offer rooms for less than $250 and asked to see a room.

I was among the thousands of bargain shoppers to hit Tanger Outlet Center in Riverhead Thursday night/Friday morning for the midnight shopping extravaganza. It was packed-- lots of people, no place to park, great bargains.

Here's the story, including a fun video of shoppers:
Midnight shopping at Tanger

Black Friday spells paradise for many a bargain shopper.

For a preview of what's coming, browse the sale circulars from stores such as Target, Best Buy and Home Depot online at ShopLocal.com. Circulars are updated every day and they can even be targeted to your zip code.

Here's an easy-to-read roundup of store circulars within 25 miles of Melville.

Tower Records stores in the NY metro area are closing shop. Prices on CDs, DVDs and other merchandise have been reduced 40-60% just in time for holiday shopping. Surely they'll go lower, but how much longer will the selection make the trip worthwhile?

Here are the stores on LI:

Carle Place- 105 Old Country Rd., 516-873-1010
Massapequa- 5294 Sunrise Highway, 516-541-2222
Huntington- 350-370 Route 110, 631-425-2500

This just in: Tanger Outlets in Riverhead will open at midnight to accommodate holiday bargain shoppers brave enough to venture out on Black Friday.

Polo Ralph Lauren, Coach, Williams Sonoma, PotteryBarn, Gap, Banana Republic, Nautica, Brooks Brothers and Old Navy are among the participating stores. The first 100 shoppers to check in at the vistors center will receive a $10 giftcard and a plush moose. Free light refreshments will be served. The outlet will remain open until 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 23 and reopen at 7 a.m. Saturday.

For printable coupons and a roundup of other special sale dates, see the Tanger Sale page. (Photo by Joel Cairo/Black Friday at Tanger, 2003)

There are four more nights to take advantage of drastically-reduced three-course dinners at eateries participating in Long Island Restaurant Week, which runs through Nov. 12.

For $21.95 a person, patrons can order the works at dozens of restaurants in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Reservations recommended.

See a list of participating restaurants, some with Newsday's reviews.

(Newsday photo by Thomas Ferrara shows Andrew's by the Pond in Wading River.)

Speaking of travel bargains, Spirit Airlines just announced a crazy set of $7 fares on select flights booked by tomorrow, Nov. 8, at midnight. From LaGuardia, the $7 fares are being offered on a handful of dates in Dec. and Jan. to Myrtle Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and Detroit.

See the full list of dates and destinations included in the sale here.

Everybody loves a bargain, particularly if it involves a vacation. Frequent travelers tend to be particularly savvy about finding ways to save on costs...and bragging about their conquests.

A forum post on Flyertalk.com keeps a running list of discounted rate codes Marriott offers its hotel guests. Entered at Marriott.com at the time of the reservation, some result in a substantial price break.

FAIR WARNING: Some codes may not be valid or available on all dates at all hotels. Others may require proof of eligibility upon check-in (say, a corporate ID or valid membership card). So if you're going to book a reduced rate room under the code "DIS" (Disney employees), you'd better don your best pair of mouse ears.