Easy Tips to Save Time During the Holiday Shopping Season

The holidays are a busy time. Once Thanksgiving hits, you only have a month or less to finish your Christmas shopping, find gifts for everyone on your list, and wrap those gifts. Add in holiday parties, work, and events with the kids and you barely have time to sleep. What you need are a few ways to save time during the holiday season.

Start by writing down a list of everyone you need gifts for, including family, friends, neighbors, your child's teacher, and your paperboy. Create a second section on the list that shows any events or activities you have planned during the holiday season. Write down anything you must do during this time period, such as baking cookies for a work party or buying and addressing Christmas cards. Mark anything that your spouse or kids can do that takes reduces your time.

Divide the amount of time between now and your last holiday event into weekly or daily sections. Write down each time frame and determine what you can do in each one. For example, make a note that you do baking during one week and send out cards during another week. The schedule lets you break your activities into manageable amounts spread out over the holidays.

Jot down a few notes on your list, regarding potential gift ideas. Determine where you can get specific gifts, shopping from the same store or area whenever possible. Instead of visiting dozens of stores in one day, visit one store and buy many of your gifts there. When the store is sold out of a specific item, ask when it comes back into stock or ask if other locations have the item. This cuts down on the time you spend running around town, trying to find one thing.

Take advantage of early season sales on clothing, toys, electronics, and even food. The more things you get now, the less time you spend battling shoppers in the stores later in the season. You can even save time by mailing Christmas gifts in the beginning of December, as the lines and crowds get worse later in the month.

Save time on your gift wrapping by wrapping many items at once. Lay out the items on the floor and arrange your wrapping paper, gift tags, tape, and ribbon nearby. Work through the gift pile, pretending that you are on an assembly line. Wrap the gifts and add a nametag first. Then, wrap a ribbon around each one and add a bow. The process is a lot faster than wrapping gifts as you buy them or wrapping a few gifts here and there.