Already finished my Christmas shopping
It’s almost the end of August and only 121 days to Christmas which means I’ve already finished my Christmas shopping!
I’m not a big fan of the over-commercialised Christmas we have in this country. I much prefer spending time with people and doing activites together instead of briefly seeing each-other purely to swap gifts neither of us particularly require and are likely to just end up creating more waste. However I do appreciate that some friends and family will still insist on a gift swapping exercise and it would be unfair or too much effort to try and change that tradition.
I come from a large family which means there are alot of nieces and nephews to cater for. While I could begin to explain the wastefulness in exchanging gifts; I suspect it would fall on deaf young ears! Instead I plan ahead to ensure all of my gift requirements are fulfilled without breaking the bank come December time. Many will traditionally save a small amount each week/month into a Christmas fund and then go out shopping at the start of December. The problem with this is that you are still paying full price for everything, just spreading the cost over the year.
The best day for Christmas shopping
Want to know the absolute best time for Christmas shopping? Boxing day. I remember reading recently that Boxing Day was one of the biggest shopping days of the year and for good reason; Shops slash the prices on all of their gift sections! If you’re a risk taker then go shopping on boxing day for anyone you haven’t arranged to see Pre-Dec 25th. If you’re not much of a risk taker; still go out but with a mind to buying gifts for next year. Obviously food items are off the list but anything from bath soaps to children’s toys will be just as good in 12 months. I’ve even managed to pickup a load of the Christmas beer gift packs for 75% off! That’s even cheaper than buying regular cans at the supermarket. As long as you’ve got the storage space; grab as many bargains as possible.
Spreading the cost
Not the traditional method of saving £x each month to blow the lot at the end of the year. Instead I spread my Christmas shopping out over the year. Shops will frequently run limited time offers and heavily discount some items just to get you into the store. I seize this opportunity to buy items I know will be perfect for Christmas gifts, even if it’s still March. This is also perfect for picking up cheap online deals as stores tend to have more online deals during the slower summer months before raising the prices again in time for the winter holiday season.
Produce instead of purchase
People appreciate personalised gifts far more than generic crap. Combine this with the desire to save cash and the solution is obvious: produce instead of purchase! My partner has recently started a side hustle of customising shoes with stick on crystals. From this, she can personalise many items such as handbags, purses and phone covers. A cheap £5 purse becomes a personalised gift with far more value after just a little labour. She’s been doing this for several months now and has a nice stack of presents ready to give as Chistmas gifts. Personally I’m hoping to start homebrewing soon and will gift away some of this to my friends and family that I know appreciate a good ale.
By doing these 3 things, you’ll save yourself a tonne of cash and a tonne of stress. While everyone else is out stampeding around the local malls and being stuck in traffic during the snow storms, you can kick back at home safe in the knowledge that everything has been sorted months ahead… Leaving you with plenty of time to enjoy the holiday season.
How do you save for Christmas? Do you have any great money saving tips? Please let us know in the comments below.
6 thoughts on “Already finished my Christmas shopping”
I wish I was done Christmas shopping already. Nicely done. My side of the family changed several years back to we can only give 1 gift and it has to be from a thrift store or something of that nature and under $25. We go for creative and unique.
My wife’s side of the family still loves to buy lavish gifts. I prefer something edible or drinkable. Smaller is better than larger.
Nobody really needs anything. I’d much rather focus on just spending time together and worry less about buying gifts. But traditions are very hard to change.
Wade: that’s an awesome idea! I might try suggesting that to my family. I suspect I’ll have the same issue as you though with the other half’s family ;)
I also prefer to receive consumables. My house has everything we need already, No need for extra clutter.
I wish we could give up gift giving altogether except for the kids….that’s not a popular concept though! The whole commercializations of Christmas has become quite ugly almost… I think the stress and money you spend on gifts that people may not want is hardly worth it.
Until I can convince my family to give it up, I’m impressed that yours is all done, and quite jealous as well!
I have some family members who actually suggested themselves that we don’t both with the gift buying for each-other. Some however remain convinced that Christmas must mean purchasing a load of unwanted crap each year. Start shopping now and you’ll still be months ahead of everyone else ;)
I’m thinking everybody gets a nice slap on the back from me! Is that too cheap? :)
Depends if they return the favour! ;)