Promo items make great gifts--who knew??

You know all those promotional items like pens, and calculators, and yo-yos that companies get from places like Promo Central to put their logo on? Did you know those can make GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS??
If you're anything like me, you're always looking for a pen.
Oh, you're not like me because you're organized and you know where all your pens are? Good for you. I, however, can never find either a pen or a pencil. In fact, Tempe often has to do her homework in crayon because of our lack of sharpened pencils or pencil sharpeners. 
There was a time that I had dozens of pens at my disposal. If you needed a pen, I was your gal. Unfortunately, those pens have all gone to wherever it is that pens go--maybe the same place that socks go.
This is where the great Christmas gift comes in. Like lots of families, Jason's extended family does White Elephant every year. The gifts range from actual junk (like a huge box of wire coathangers) to pretty nice stuff (lotion, DVDs, and board games). But one year I totally hit the jackpot!
My sister-in-law Rachel's parents (some might say "Aren't those your in-laws?" No, this is Jason's brother's wife's parents. Got that?) run a promotional items business and Rachel usually raids their stash every Christmas for the White Elephant at Grandma's party. So one year I ended up with.... (drumroll) a sample of pens!!
A sample of pens?
It was the thing they sent out to prospective clients to show all the many, many varieties of pens that they can put their logo and/or name on. It was a zippered file folder with about 30 different pens inside. Oddly enough, no one tried to steal it from me during White Elephant.
But I was sincerely excited about it. For real. I kept it in my desk and for years, whenever I needed a pen, I knew for sure where I could find one. Little by little, those pens stopped working, or disappeared, and now the file folder is empty. And we're reduced to writing notes for neighbors, filling out forms, and doing Tempe's homework in crayon.
So if you're looking for a useful gift for just about anyone, you know what I recommend :)

This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.