Make Your Christmas Shopping Easier

As the days of December continue to move, they seem to go faster and faster. Maybe it is because I am procrastinating to get my Christmas shopping done. Every time I turn around, there is another friend or relative coming out of the woodwork sending me a Christmas card or wanting to hang out. Of course, we all know that means another present on the list. But this year, I have come up with some strategies to make things go by a little quicker, easier and cheaper for me.

My first trick is to buy online, certain sites like Amazon.com have free shipping for certain items and you can find great sales. So for the people in my life whose stuff I know exactly what to get, if I can get it online for a better deal I will. This of course means buying way ahead of schedule just in case the ups guy feels like losing your package in the back of his truck. So this can be a problem for some. But again it can be really convenient if you do not have time to actually get yourself out to the store to buy your friends and family gifts.

The next thing I learned is to buy all year long. If I see an item I think someone would like I will buy it. I keep a box in my room of all items I can give as gifts that I have bought throughout the year. Sometimes around Christmas you will notice that same thing you bought a month ago is now double in price thanks to the holiday season. So pick up that figurine you saw for your aunt in August now before its gone in December. Another trick to save money is to go buy wrapping paper and bags the day after Christmas. I have gotten Christmas cards and paper for fifty cents at some stores. No one is going to know if you bought the paper a year earlier.

My final trick is to buy universal gifts for just in case occasions. I always keep a few extra wrapped presents for those unexpected people who give you gifts. Universal gifts can be something as simple as a bottle of wine, a basket of body lotions, or a best seller book. This way you do not feel like a total idiot when your distant cousin shows up with a gift for you. This way you look like you had them in mind the whole time.