Nuts be to the hyper retail world, they who force Santas in our faces long before the first pumpkin even shows up, and they who so callously abandon this young summer in favor of advertising the dreaded fall season (the words are too depressing to say, but rhymes with “hack to drool”). Their loss is your gain: even though pencils and notebooks are making their way to the front of the store, there’s plenty of time left for fun under the sun. We went digging in Target Atlantic Center today and found clearance sales of 50 percent off or more on fun harbingers from slip-n-slides, to dragon pools to water guns and bubble machines! It’s not even mid-July yet: plenty of time to make your own rooftop waterpark party. A sampling:
The items were all found upstairs in the far corner of the children’s toys section: two discount shelves contain a myriad toys and outdoor games; the adjacent summer toys section contains its own supply of sales.
Rip curls are dangerous in the ocean; Rip Curves, however, are the slickest way to pretend body surf in the park. Was: $30.49, now $21.34:
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Tired of building your own cup holders in your pool? This one has built-in cup holders! Was: $34.99, now $28!
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Maybe you have a baby, maybe you don’t. Maybe you have some bizarre ketchup fetish and need some way to not ruin your security deposit. Whatever it is, this tiny whale pool is less than the price of a beer at $4.49 (bulk ketchup is a few aisles over).
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Speaking of bizarre fetishes, foam party anyone? The Foam-I-Nator is usually $30.49; on the 30 percent off sale rack, it’s just $21!
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Footballs: so drab, so boring, so easy to lose in the dark. This merry-prankster approved sports item was $13, but now it’s only $3.24!
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And finally, what’s a summer day without some teeth-rotting summer treats? One bag of this sugary insulation is just $1.
Follow Tim: @timdonnelly.