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Start Loading Up That Sleigh
Sure, you’re just about done sweeping up the Easter grass and finishing off your chocolate eggs but it’s never too early to start your Christmas shopping! Let’s look at some great ideas for getting Santa’s sleigh loaded up well ahead of the Black Friday rush.
Buying 🎁 Happiness
Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping. ~Gertrude Stein
Waiting until the last minute to do your Christmas shopping is often stressful since it can make it nigh-impossible to find the perfect gift for everybody on your shopping list. Procrastination leads to settling for whatever’s available or impulse buying rather than putting any consideration into your purchases.
Another downside for those who wait until the last minute to finish their Christmas shopping is the enormous hit to credit card balances. Shopaholics might get a merry buzz from holiday shopping, but January brings a hefty burden of buyer’s remorse.
For these reasons, it makes much more sense to get your Christmas shopping done early!
Among the benefits of shopping early, not having to deal with crowded shopping centers is one of the first to consider. How much more enjoyable are your holidays going to be if you can stay home and enjoy time with friends and family instead of jostling through raucous throngs of desperate, last-minute shoppers?
There are also financial benefits to starting and finishing early. You can take advantage of sales occurring throughout the year, spreading the cost out over several months instead of getting that huge bill in January.
Considering these benefits, it’s certainly “buying happiness” for yourself and for those who are receiving the gifts you’ve bought.
They’re happy because they’re receiving a present that you’ve taken the time to pick specially for them and you’re happy because you weren’t hunting through stores at the last minute trying to find it.
With these benefits in mind, you may still wonder how you can get all of your Christmas shopping done early.
Think of Christmas shopping as a year long event:
- Sit down shortly after the Christmas season to make a list of each person you plan to purchase gifts for next year.
- Jot down a few gift ideas for the folks on your list.
- Creating a list right after Christmas gives you an entire year to search for the perfect gift, beginning with the massive discounts on clearance items on December 26th!
If you plan on getting your Christmas shopping done early, always keep your shopping list handy.
You can go the old-fashioned route and keep a notepad and pen. You could always use that miraculous little computer in your pocket to manage your list because there’s definitely an app for that.
These will help you keep a running inventory of who you’ve already bought for and who still needs to be considered.
Dollar$ 💰 and 💸 $en$e
Starting Christmas Shopping Early to Save Money
Besides keeping a list (and checking it twice), it’s a good idea to track the amount you’ve spent so far to ensure that you’re not blowing your budget.
The only thing worse than winding up with a huge credit card bill in January because of frenzied shopping in December is looking over your annual Christmas shopping totals and realizing you’ve raced well past the jarring January total.
Whether you aim to be done your Christmas shopping before Labor Day or you’re the shop-til-you-drop type who braves the Black Friday crowds, you can get so many great deals if you plan your shopping around major sales events.
Planning makes a definite difference between getting the best deals to save on your Christmas list and spending more than you have to.
While retailers have their own formula for when to run sales throughout the year, there are certain annual events that are guaranteed to have sales for you to take advantage of.
The best way to start is to make a list of the days when sales will be happening. Determine which stores or sites are having sales. Compare their sales offerings to your Christmas list to see who has the best deal on each item.
Don’t forget to include the cost of shipping from an online retailer. That can make a present cost more than if you hopped in the car and picked it up from the store.
Also, take into consideration whether the site or store is offering any bonus items with the purchase. Complementary gift cards make great stocking stuffers or free money to use to finish up your shopping.
Planning your sales days, check the advertisements to see who is offering time-sensitive deals such as Amazon Gold Box Deals, Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals or Doorbusters. Offers of this sort need to be addressed in a timely fashion or they’ll be gone.
Doing this is a great way to save money, to get the gifts that you want and even to spoil yourself with a few gift items!
WOW!🎄Dollar Tree Christmas Haul!(shocking & genius ideas for Christmas 2022!)
A 🎄 Little 🎁 Something 🎉 Extra
Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone. ~Charles M. Schulz
You know your friends and family best, so it shouldn’t be a problem to shop for Christmas presents that you know they’ll love. Of course, the best gifts are personal and should come straight from the heart.
Consider giving personalized items to your family and friends this Christmas. Since you’re starting early, you’ll have time to find a site where you can design a garment, mug or knicknack specifically for the people on your list.
Personalized gifts are a great way to tell someone you put a lot of thought into it. Major retailers like Walmart have the ability to transform a beloved memory into a custom keepsake.
If your loved one has a favorite band, entertainer or author, you can order autographed copies of albums, promotional photos or books. By starting early, you’d also have time to find them at a concert, fan convention or book signing somewhere. You might even talk them into recording a special Christmas greeting to go with the present you’ve purchased.
Another advantage of starting early is that you will have time to account for the delivery of your customized gift. Having a great idea the week before Christmas is generally a deal killer.
You’ll need to factor in a few weeks to have the retailer make it and ship it to ensure you have time to wrap it before it needs to be under the Christmas tree.
We hope this guide to pre-holiday shopping has helped to lighten your seasonal load and provided some valuable tips for spreading the joy of shopping for Christmas presents throughout the year.