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The holiday season can be a hit or miss time for travel deals. Already there are reports that airfare is climbing, while some hotels in exotic vacation spots already are waving deals to lure travelers who are cutting their spending.

An interesting Roanoke hotel deal came across my desk this week. The Holiday Inn Express, off Orange Avenue, is offering free one-night room stays on Thanksgiving Day and on Christmas Day to people who visit friends or family members who are in the hospital or at a local nursing home.

This is the first time that the hotel has offered this "Home for the Holidays" program, and it's a direct response to the tough economy, said Carol Bing, sales manager at the hotel. Bing told me that she has heard sad stories from people whose families cannot afford to visit them for the holidays.

This free-room deal applies to people who live 50 or more miles outside of Roanoke. Those who qualify for the free rooms must show identification to prove their residence, Bing said.

Also, the Holiday Inn Express will prequalify people for the free rooms by verifying that their friend or family member is at a particular hospital or other health care facility.

The Holiday Inn Express only has a certain number of free rooms for this program. Bing said she does not know how many rooms will be available for free. That number may fluctuate, depending on demand, she told me.

Also, people who stay for free will receive a discount for the nights surrounding Thanksgiving or Christmas Day.

The final date to reserve rooms for Thanksgiving is Nov. 24. The cut-off day for Christmas reservations is Dec. 23.

Several nation chain restaurants with local locations are rolling out the red carpet in the form of free food in honor of Veterans Day, which is on Wednesday.

If you're a veteran or an active duty military personnel, Applebee's and Golden Corral want to give you a free meal.

At Golden Corral, there will be a free buffet meal from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 16 for current military and veterans.

At Applebee's, active-duty military and veterans will receive a free entree from 11 a.m. to midnight on Wednesday.

Restaurants with other kinds of Veteran's Day promotions are Outback Steakhouse and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

According to this story, you'll also receive a 10 percent discount at Lowe's and Home Depot if you're a military officer or a veteran.

This story also shows a breakdown of the states with the most veterans.

Everywhere we turn, retailers are trying to entice us with some kind of deal. Lately, these promotions seem to flag items that are less than a certain dollar amount.

For example, there is Walmart's 100 toys under $10 promotion. 

Valley View Mall also is advertising 20 items under $20. Some of the ideas, specific to the fall season, are Charlotte Russe plaid shorts for $19.99, J.C. Penney necklace sets for $18.99 and Old Navy cowl neck shirts for $16.50.

Click here for more of the mall's 20 under $20 suggestions.

What other promotions like this have you noticed?

It's not often that you will find great deals on designer jeans.

But designer denim will be priced at between $45 and $100 on Thursday at a Charity Denim sale, held at Roanoke College in Salem. Charity Denim is a non-profit organization that partners with different groups to sell inexpensive pairs of jeans and raise money for various charities.

Charity Denim can sell denim (made domestically or under safe working conditions) at low prices because the jeans are last season's overstocks and samples.

For the Thursday event, Charity Denim is working with Delta Gamma, a sorority at Roanoke College. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will go toward Service for Sight.

You can shop for denim deals from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the college's Colket Center.

Craving ice cream? Cold Stone Creamery will give away free ice cream today from 5 to 8 p.m. for its annual Make a Wish Foundation event.

Cold Stone locations in Christiansburg and Roanoke, along with others nationwide, will take donations for the foundation as well as give away 3-ounce cups of ice cream, called Jack's creation. This selection mixes sweet cream ice cream with brownies, sprinkles and caramel topping.

Click here for more details.

Sunday are the best days for landing a cheap rate on a hotel room.

January's the best time to find low prices on linens and bedding.  

And when dining out, choose Tuesdays for quality and Sundays for price.

There are certain times of the year or the days of the week when landing a deal on a specific item is better than others.

Click here for an interesting run down of the best times to shop for 45 different items, from baby clothing and air conditioners to airline tickets and even bicycles.

To learn how to get free chicken and ice cream, keep reading.

Tomorrow is Chick-fil-A's national cow appreciation day. If you don a cow costume at any Chick-fil-A restaurant nationwide, you win a free combo meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Not sure what to wear? Click here for some costume tips.

Starbucks is offering free ice cream coupons via Facebook. Through July 19, you can sign up (if you have a Facebook account) to send a coupon for a free Starbucks ice cream pint to a friend or family member. Just sign up and enter their mailing address. Up to 20,000 pints will be given away each day.

The ice cream flavors include Caramel Macchiato, Mocha Frappuccino, Coffee and Java Chip Frappuccino.

Or course, if you really want the ice cream, you could send it to yourself!

Here are more details.

Warm weather has arrived, and this is the time of year when we're likely to see more deals on ice cream, my favorite dessert.

So, you might want to mark your calendars for an ice cream give-away this Saturday. Wal-Mart stores nationwide are hosting an ice cream party. These stores will be providing select free frozen treats from many brands, including Blue Bunny, Ben & Jerry's, Breyers and Klondike.

The party takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in 2,000 Wal-Mart Super centers nationwide, and this mega discount retailer estimates that it will give out 1 million frozen treats.

Also, Wal-Mart claims to have the scoop on American's favorite ice cream flavors. Here are the top favorite flavors:

Vanilla

Chocolate

Butter Pecan

Mint Chip

Neapolitan

Click this link for more info on the free ice cream party.

Also, in other frozen treat news, click here to read about a franchisee's plans to bring three Rita's Water Ice locations to the Roanoke Valley. I wrote about this in last Sunday's retail roundup column, in case you missed it. Rita's sells numerous cool treats, from Italian ice to frozen custard.

Have you ever tried a Rita's Water Ice treat? If so, what did you think about it?

Two for one deals. Free hotel nights and spa treatments. Shorter lines.

Need a vacation? Even while the nation's recession continues, it apparently is a great time to visit your dream vacation spot, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Travel deals abound this year as businesses try to fill up cruise ships and hotel rooms, enticing people to travel and spend.

AAA Mid-Atlantic, based in Richmond, claims that people are waiting later this year to book vacations because of fears of job losses and general economic concerns. As people wait, the bargains are getting better.

Still, you may want to act now if you want a super vacation deal. Travel rates likely will creep higher this summer, AAA Mid-Atlantic says.  The deadlines for landing the lower rates, such as cruise specials and dining packages, are creeping up.

So, are you getting a super deal on a vacation this year?

Here are a few examples of the latest low-rate travel packages, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic:

1) Cruises: Some cruise rates are less than $100 per day per person. For example, Panama Canal Cruises (Celebrity Cruises) are $69 per person per day for bookings made in May for fall sailing dates.

2) Disney: Walt Disney World Resort vacation packages are offering free Disney dining plans. You have to book by June 21 for travel starting in August.

3) Las Vegas: Nightly rates are $86 at the Paris Las Vegas Casino Resort if you book a trip by May 30 for travel this year. Also, if you stay four nights at this rate, you'll get the fifth night free.

Attention shoppers: If you like to land a good deal and shop in the early morning hours, Belk's charity sale this Saturday may spark your interest.

This week, for $5 at the store, you can buy a ticket admitting you to a charity sale at local Belk stores this Saturday. By presenting a ticket, shoppers receive 20 to 50 percent discounts on store merchandise, excluding cosmetics and fragrances, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday.

You'll also receive $5 off your first purchase of $5 or more. Belk cardholders receive double points for purchases using the card.

Proceeds from each $5 ticket will be donated to local charities, schools and non-profit organizations.

At the Valley View Mall Belk store, these are some of the local charities and non-profits that are signed up to benefit from the Saturday shopping event:

Rafiki Foundation, Springwood Baptist Church, India Heritage Society, Children's Discovery Center, Commonwealth Catholic Charities, Fountain of Life Church, Sabrina's Place, Grandin Theatre

Here are some of the local charities that will benefit from this shopping day at the Tanglewood Mall Belk store:

CHIP, Virginia League of the Roanoke Valley, Bonsack United Methodist youth group, Birthing Center of the Roanoke Valley, American Cancer Society, Sea Lion Rescue & Adoption League, I Can of Southwest Virginia