Planning Christmas presents early is a great way to remain calm during the Christmas season. It’s also a great way to set up a budget of how much you would like to spend. Try to start buying at least a month in advance, so you have enough time to return if your unhappy with your purchase.
Tips For Planning
Christmas Budget: In the first two weeks of November, you should set a present budget of how much you want to spend on family and friends. We can all get too carried away in the Christmas spirit and end up spending way too much. By planning how much you want to spent, you will keep your purse/wallet and yourself happy.
Create A List: Once you have your budget in place, start listing who you need to purchase gifts for. Usually the main part of your funds will go to close relatives and friends. Make a list of all the people you have given gifts to in the past or people you’ve received a gift from.
Prioritise: Create a list of people you are buying for and put them in order of what you can buy now and some you can leave till later. Try to shop in stores and online as you can find a lot of sale items which will help with your shopping budget.
Avoid Peak Times: The main reason why Christmas shopping is stressful is due to the amount of people buying presents at the same time. Avoiding peak shopping times can make a big difference to how you feel and how much you actually buy. There are times in the week which are busier for shopping than others, these times are usually when people aren’t working. If you have the option, try to avoid shopping on Saturdays or late night shopping events.
Don’t Leave It To The Last Minute: As tempting as it is to leave everything until tomorrow, it’s not a good idea to think this when Christmas shopping. The sooner it’s completed the better, as the shops get busier and busier the nearer we get to Christmas. Also your perfect gift could sell out, starting early can save you from forgetting or missing out on presents.
Box Or Wrap In Advance: In order to hide gifts from family members and friends who may visit. Create a special box or place in your wardrobe to store your Christmas gifts. If you pre-wrap them; remember, it’s important to keep a list of what you have bought just in case you forget. If you like to save the wrapping for later, keep all your gifts in a box where no one will find them.
Keep Receipts: Keep all receipts for all gifts until you have wrapped all of your presents, or you can keep them until after Christmas, in case the person wants to send the gift back. You may also need to return any damaged items.
Gift Ideas
Gift Cards: Gift cards are great if you’re unsure on what to buy the person. Buying a gift card to their favourite store or restaurant is a great way to put a smile on someone’s face. This also helps you to figure out how much you would like to spend on the person.
Gift Sets: Body/make-up gift sets look great when wrapped and it also makes life easier because you don’t have to buy more than one item. You can get gift sets for anyone at any age, which is perfect when you’re unsure of what to buy. The prices will depend on the amount of items the gift set holds.
Stocking Fillers: Sometimes a collection of smaller presents are more appreciated than bigger ones. Everyone loves unwrapping more than one gift, so having a few to open will put a smile on anyone’s face.
Make Your Own Gift: In order to make your own gift, all you need is an empty jar, box or basket to put your presents in. There are plenty of items you can buy from the pound shop and other shops that sell accessories and small gadgets. Creating your own gift is thoughtful and also lets you keep to a budget on how much you would like to spend.
Stay stress-free this Christmas, the best part about starting to plan early is that it enables you to enjoy the holiday season and avoid the Christmas shopping rush.
It means you can focus on the fun things in December, like the Christmas work party or catching up with friends and extra time to decorate the house of course.
Words by Savannah Lloyd-Smith
Zest For Life 