Be Still, My Frugal Heart: The Best Online Sample Sales for Moms and Kids

The Mini Social — This site, published by moms, is updated daily and offers savings up to 60 percent.  Designers include milkdot, lola et moi and One Ruby Lane.  Sales only last a few days and shipping, though reasonably priced, can take up to two weeks.  Although the site states it is invitation-only, you can crash this nonstop sales party and still sign up for an account without an invite.  Best of all:  A portion of all proceeds goes to UNICEF and Shoe4Africa.

Zulily — As their tagline states, the site features daily deals for moms, babies and kids — up to 90 percent off.  With everything from clothes to toys, to household items to designer piggy banks (we kid you not), Zulily also offers access to five special shopping events each weekday.  One drawback: The site doesn’t usually accept returns or exchanges.  So be sure you really want that silver toddler cup before clicking on “PURCHASE!”

Kids.woot! — An offshoot of the popular techie sale site, woot!, kids.woot! is dedicated to — yes, you guessed it — kids. Every day, the site features one product at a deep sale price, and sells, sells, sells until it’s gone.  Next day, next product.  You get where we’re going with this.  The latest product up for grabs is a DVD collection celebrating Generation X’s childhood:  The Best of the Electric Company Volumes 1 & 2, baby!  Normally at least $75 for the set, kids.woot! is selling it for only $39.99.  With products for all ages, past sales have included a plush musical rocker, an alarm clock, and Baby Genius CDs.

Totsy — With seriously cute kids’ clothes, toys, books and culinary items — at seriously discounted prices — this site would get two thumbs up from our staff, if only we weren’t too busy using those thumbs to scoop up the site’s exclusive sales.  And for every purchase you make, they’ll plant a tree in the name of your child to reduce the effects of deforestation.  Dress your child, save the world!  One drawback:  Shipping can take up to four weeks, so you’ll have to be patient with your purchase.  And maybe buy a size bigger for your ever-growing kid.

BabySteals.com — As the publishers of this site reassure us, they are not stealing and reselling babies, but rather selling “one quality baby or maternity product every day at up to 80% off until it sells out.”  So the discount just feels like a steal.  BabySteals.com drops one steal a day — from organic blankets to stylin’ baby hats — at 9am MDT and another at 9pm MDT until it’s gone, and, as we can attest from experience, they sell out fast.  On the weekends, the sales don’t stop — they simply give you a second chance on steals they still have.