As any New Yorker knows, you can’t go more than 5 blocks in Manhattan without running into a Duane Reade. While national drugstore chains have swept across the country, Duane Reade has remained distinctly New York – even while falling under their new parent, Walgreens. I find myself in Duane Reade at least once a week – there’s always something to pick up on my way home, and with Chase ATMs in all of them it’s made going to the bank pretty unnecessary too. Recently they renovated a bunch of Duane Reades and even built a new super fancy one right near me on the Upper West Side – with a beer bar and everything!
So, I knew it would be a cinch to write a sponsored post for Duane Reade and check out their holiday offerings as well as their new eco-friendly line of household goods – Ology. I am always looking for eco-friendly cleaning and paper goods options, partly because my daughter has crazy sensitive skin, and also because we go through a LOT of paper towels and tissues, and if I can make that impact smaller – on the earth and my wallet – I want to. Once I saw the offerings in their Happy and Healthy circular I was super intrigued.
I also took my girls along since Duane Reade is an easy after school snack destination, with a huge selection of healthier snack options priced very well. After perusing the danish/donut/muffin/not gonna happen display, they chose cinnamon yogurt covered pretzels from the delish line. I love these packaged snacks of nuts and other food because they’re portion controlled, inexpensive and easy to tote in my bag. Great for travel too.
When I take my girls shopping with me, even to the drugstore, they see all sorts of things I wouldn’t notice. Like the awesome Beanie Ballz for holiday. (Gift Guide hint – tweens LOVE Beanie Ballz)
I knew that there was going to be some fabulous Taylor Swift merchandise at Duane Reade – and had told my girls that everything they saw was “wish list” material. They already checked off a T-shirt and album.
One of the ways in which Duane Reade truly is an NYC store is the fact that they have Hanukkah items. I know that sounds strange, but you’d be surprised how many big chain stores completely ignore Jewish holidays, even when they open in NYC. BIG MISTAKE. Duane Reade had a really nice selection of Hanukkah cards and decorations. Plus, some beautiful cards from Papyrus – the high-end card company.
All in all, this was a very successful shopping trip to Duane Reade – they even have a wall of gift cards, which really is my go to gift when push comes to shove. It’s great to have a full selection in one place.
Check out Duane Reade on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and follow the #DRHappyandHealthy hashtag for lots of great posts and pics.
And you can see all of my pics on my Google Plus album too!
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™, but of course all opinions are my own. #CBias #SocialFabric
