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Monday, November 9, 2015

Gift Shopping Week - A Christmas Countdown



I hate crowds. And I hate last minute stress. My goal each year is to be finished with Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving. I don't always meet the goal, but at least I can be close to completion.

I get a thrill out of seeing Black Friday sales and knowing that I don't need to worry about fighting crowds to save a few bucks.

We don't do a lot of Christmas gift buying compared to some, but starting early is a way to make sure we make wise choices and not just desperately grabbing anything that will possibly fit the occasion.

Prepare - Gift Shopping Week - Last year's preparation inspiration on making plans and praying for grace in the set-backs.

Gift Worksheet - free printable

I'd love to hear your hints on how to make gift shopping more painless.

6 comments:

  1. I too like to shop early, although it doesn't always happen. My one tip would be to buy gifts for men at Father's Day, I know that's really early but you can find some great buys.

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  2. I'm with you as far as crowds..and I have never been "black Friday" shopping. Since my hubby retired in 2014,spending has to be considerably less. I made many of our gifts last year,and am doing the same for this year. I went to a local church bazaar this past weekend and found some very nice gifts! I love finding those as well as helping the church. I have found that the less we spend,the more the gifts seem to mean. I admit to enjoying the decorations in the stores,but I steer clear of the toy aisles. Today's toys (most of them) are so strange..we try to encourage meaningful things,be it books,puzzles,etc. or a homemade stuffed toy or doll. For our grown kids,I try to make them something related to their interests and I make them a tray of assorted baking and candies that I make. Everyone seems to be happy as long as we're together!

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  3. I find it helpful to keep notes on what I buy for whom. Once things are wrapped, I might not recall what I bought, especially when I buy gifts throughout the year. It's easy to accidentally buy a duplicate gift when something is on sale. Keeping notes means, for example, that Junior gets only one toy yellow dump truck, not two, or that I don't keep buying the skein after skein of blue yarn for Sis.

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  4. Hi Gina, I am like you, and the sooner my shoppng is done the more content I feel. I have 11 Grrandkids and 6 of those grandyounguns have birthdays between Dec1 and Jan. 27. ( I buy or make thier gifts, or both) I Write, the childs name on paper and the gifts and colours (in case I need to add something) Then I wrap them as I get them. and put them in a shopping bag that I purchase at the dollar store. I have done this all the years my kids were at home. I found it a great way to keep things from piling up. BUT don,t forget to hide your list, or your little snoopers will know what they are getting.

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  5. Most of our gift buying is for our children, and we have made it a tradition that they each get 3 gifts like the wise men brought Jesus. Each child gets 1 gift that he/she asked for, one gift that helps him or her learn something, and one gift that is just fun or a surprise. We also fill their stocking with 3 or 4 small inexpensive items that they may or may not have asked for. I keep a detailed list of the gifts, dividing a paper into 4 columns, noting the gift and the price so that everything is as fair and square as possible.

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    Replies
    1. I love how you organize your gift giving to your children.
      Thanks,
      gina

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