14 of 15

Write now Article Tools

The best thing to do is to start in August with your holiday shopping. OK, the trees and decorations aren't the shops then yet, but you can already start with buying Christmas gifts. Start making a list in May, so that by August you know what you want to buy. You might not get the newest gadgets that way, but the newest isn't new anymore during the first week of January, so it's not something to bother about.

Another very important thing is to set a limit to your spendings. If you have a long list with people that you want to buy presents for, then write behind every name the maximum amount you can spend for that person. And then stick with that. The same goes for decorations, cards and other things that most of us consider necessities in December. Just set a maximum amount that you can spend and you won't get problems later. Of course you must make sure that the total amount of all presents, decorations and other things isn't more than you can afford. If so, take another look at the list and adjust the amounts.
First when this list is done you can start shopping and not one day earlier.

Of course you can also shop on line, but you can't always find what you want there. But if you have a lot of people on your list "that have everything", then I have a great tip. Order a life changing gift on www.worldvision.com or one of the other charities that offer similar options. You donate a certain amount for a certain project (or whatever they offer) and you get a card home with the information and an envelop to give it to someone. This way you help someone in the third world, you give a unique gift, you can order it on line and it's even tax deductible! This year our three young nieces will get the gift of a school set for a child in the third world. Once they understand what it is I'm sure they will love it!

Of course I could give the best tip of all, but I don't think a lot of people think it's a useful one: forget about all the shopping, use the decorations from last year, don't give any gifts at all, don't send any cards and have a simple Christmas dinner. That way you save yourself an awful lot of stress (and money) and you might have a much nicer Christmas. You should try it once and you might be surprised!

Learn more about this author, Rixta Francis.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Helpful holiday shopping hints?
We want to hear your view. Write now!