How to Get your Christmas Shopping Started and Finished Early

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How to Get your Christmas Shopping Started and Finished Early

Shopping early for Christmas gifts not only helps avoid the last-minute rush but also saves you time and money. The tips outlined below should help you stress-less by planning ahead for the coming Christmas.

How to Get your Christmas Shopping Started and Finished Early-Christmas Shopping mall

1) Identify whom you wish to gift

Christmas gifts aren’t meant for friends and family alone; you can also give gifts to co-workers, your hairdresser, dog walker, plumber, or even your kid’s teacher. Identifying the person, you wish to appreciate should help you choose a gift good enough for them. Here are some great 2018 Christmas gift ideas from Yellow octopus.

2) Have a budget

Set a budget on how much you wish to spend on the gifts. The budget should be manageable and not hurt your personal or household budget in any way. Most people start saving for Christmas gifts many months before. Decide on how much you will spend on each person. Try this free Christmas budgeting spreadsheet.

How to Get your Christmas Shopping Started and Finished Early-Christmas gift ideas

3) Brainstorm gift ideas

The gift should be based on what the other person loves or adores. This could be a book, movie, game, or even a getaway. One of the best ways to get a gift idea is by listening to people talk and what they have wished to have. Write their wishes down, then narrow down on what you think is best for them, based on your budget of course. Keep the list tucked away in an easy-to-reach place such as a notebook, wallet, mobile app or Pinterest wall.

4) Start shopping early

Shopping early gives you the privilege of getting the item/gift at a much lower price, which is compared to buying the gift just before Christmas time. You, however, don’t have to buy the presents early if the prices don’t change. A good idea would be to purchase the gifts immediately after the holiday season. Most stores will offer these gifts at extremely low prices.

If you don’t have enough money to purchase a large family present, like a new TV, computer, mobile phone or white goods, you could try renting to own. By next Christmas, your family will own the household good outright.

5) Stop procrastinating

Don’t wait until the last minute to start shopping for Christmas presents. Make a plan instead with solid goals and dates to ensure the gifts are ready before the D-day. One way to do this is by setting aside two days a week to shop for the items. Doing this should enable you to have all the presents even before December 20th. It also won’t hurt to have someone keen and good about shopping helping you out.

6) Have a plan

If you lead a busy life and rarely get enough time to shop, you might then want to plan ahead of time. One way to do this is creating time during the weekend simply for shopping for Christmas presents. You can even schedule a shopping trip to do all this in one day. It would, however, be advisable to have a list ready to save time and possible frustrations.

How to Get your Christmas Shopping Started and Finished Early- Christmas planning

7) Keep a journal for the same

It’s easy to lose track of what you bought, and for who. To avoid a disaster, consider labelling each present for the designated receiver – a removable sticker would do. Be sure to cross off the names from the list after making the purchase. It would also be advisable to store these presents safely away from anything that could damage them. Mice, mould, humidity, and extreme temperatures are some of the factors that could damage the presents. Consider keeping the items in the attic, a section of a closet, or a tote.

8) Keep the gifts hidden

One of the downsides of buying gifts early is having to keep them hidden away from anyone’s reach. This shouldn’t, however, be hard if determined to. You can keep the presents hidden in a toy box, a craft cupboard, or even at the back of the wardrobe. Leaving the presents in opaque bags or backpacks until ready to send them or give out. Hiding gifts from someone you live with, in the same house can be particularly hard. You need to be unpredictable in this to ensure they don’t see the gifts at all.

Surprise those you love with just the right presents.

Sarah Miller

Sarah writes about her personal journey, learning, life optimisation and her passions. For more thoughts and ideas, you can connect with Sarah on Twitter

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