Christmas is coming very soon. You can see and feel the spirit as you notice the Christmas décor almost everywhere, in different houses and establishments. As you approach the Yuletide season, you may also get frustrated if you are not yet prepared for the holiday season. As such, you will end up doing your last minute Christmas shopping.
To lessen the hassles that your last minute shopping may cause you, below are some tips you can do to handle and get everything covered.
1. Prepare your list and budget.
The first important thing to do is to make your list of people that you plan to give gifts to. On your list, you can indicate the total budget you are willing to spend for their gifts. You can also rank these people according to how close you are to them and what are the kinds of presents you want to give or what types they might want to have.
When you have finalized your list of persons, you can assign a specific budget for each. Indicate an amount for each person and add all to get the total amount for you to be able to check if you are still in your budget. This will help you to ensure that you are not exceeding your budget.
Before going to the mall and/or shop, make sure that you already know what to buy or at least you have an idea on what to give to each person in your list. Make sure that it is practical and within your budget. You can also consider asking these people for their wish list if you don’t have any idea on what they need or what they want as Christmas presents.
2. Identify where are you going to buy your gifts.
Where you are going to buy your gifts depends on your budget. If you are on a very tight budget but want to buy a lot of presents for your loved ones, you may opt to go to Divisoria, Baclaran or Quiapo. You can buy affordable gifts, most are really cheap ones and you can even haggle for it if you are buying in bulk amounts. But you have to put in mind that since these places offer these affordable gifts, expect a lot of people swarming all over the place, also doing their shopping. You can consider going to the malls if you don’t want to get bumped by other people roaming around. The malls may have a lot of people too but at least lesser than the ones in Divisoria, Baclaran or Quiapo.
3. Be creative and check other possible gift ideas.
You may consider checking your room or your closet if you have any unwanted gifts or items you have bought but never used. Check if any of those items might be appreciated by any of your friends or loved-ones. Ensure that they still look new and still intact and presentable. You may change its gift wrapper if you want to.
You can also consider giving coupons or gift certificates. There are some establishments who are offering coupons and gift certificates that you can give as presents to your loved ones. Some salons and spas are also selling gift certificates that you can choose from. Giving coupons or gift certificates can help you lessen your problems on where to buy your gifts and what presents to buy.
Create your own gifts. If you are artistic, a good cook or baker, you can make your own gifts. If you can create your own accessories or jewelry, then you can also make some for your friends. You can also bake or cook some goodies like cakes or cupcakes, cookies, brownies for your friends’ families. You can also create other personal stuff like Christmas cards, or other crafts that you think your loved ones will appreciate.
You can also consider giving money to your loved ones. You can just write a note and buy cards, then insert the amount of money you want to give to your loved one. Like coupons and gift certificates, this will give you less hassle and your loved ones will have to chance to buy what they want for themselves. Also, you don’t need to go to rush in the mall and bump with other people doing their last minute shopping.
There are a lot of things you can do for your last minute shopping to avoid the stress and pressure relative to it. Presents need not to be so expensive. What’s important is that the gift you give is sincerely from your heart. Happy Holidays!