Christmas Shopping

Hello again folks, I promised you two posts in one day and here I am, delivering on a promise (for once!) I'm well aware that it's still only October, and that Halloween is only a week or so away, but I thought I'd give you guys a little insight into how I plan my Christmas shopping. 

I'm far from crazy organised and I will happily admit that for most birthdays, even for my closest friends, I can be found rushing around Boots and Topshop in the last few hours before closing in an attempt to find something brilliant. I do generally give great presents, and I've spoken before about my obsession with perfect wrapping, but as I said- I'm not usually super prepared for every occasion. However when it comes to Christmas, the festive spirit takes me to a place of extreme (verging on manic) organisation. From as early as the start of October, I start cracking out the lists and notebooks and start dropping hints with my friends and family to see what they might like. Nobody suspects you to be snooping out future presents in October, and even November- so it's ideal for me to gauge the kind of thing that people might like. 

Tips

1. Plan Ahead

Maybe I am taking this to the next level but joining the throngs of people wading up and down your local highstreet come the middle of December takes 100% of the fun out of Christmas shopping. The start of December heralds the perfect opportunity to get your ass in gear, whether that involves one mammoth shopping trip, or several slightly less bank account destroying ones, you need to get this done before the mass hysteria takes over. 

2. Secret Santa's are you best friend

Without sounding like a massive twat, I have a large group of pals, most of which are female and without our yearly secret Santa- I would be forced to offer each one nothing more than a Terry's Chocolate Orange or a Toblerone come December 25th. Gather all your pals together, set a sensible target for spending that everyone agrees on, and then you can really focus on picking a proper, personalised gift for your given person. 

3. Offers

I dread to think of the sheer amount of cash Boots must make from their yearly 3 for 2 offer, but it never hurts to take advantage of a bargain. While I'm not suggesting that you try and give your boyfriend a Soap and Glory makeup set, just to make sure you secured that glorious saving- but if you have the right gifts to buy, then make sure you take advantage of these offers. Christmas can be crippling financially if you're not a little savvy. 

4. Try Online

This links in with the offers tip, but I cannot stress enough how much you can save by shopping through Amazon. Even if it's not cheaper- it's always better to cheap amazon, ebay and other such sites (Play.com is also good) just to make sure that you're getting the best value.

5. Personalise

DIY and personalised gifts make for the best and most memorable presents- and while I'm not meaning the kind of macaroni and glitter photo frames that most unfortunate parents have received at some point in their lives, homemade can be brilliant. I love making cookies or biscuits for my neighbours and family friends, boxing them up and taking them round as a really cheap way of wishing them a happy holiday, and they always seem to love them? In the same way- some of the new personalised gifts that sites like 'notonthehighstreet' offer are brilliant. 

I'm not Martha Stewart or Kirsty Allsop, but I do tend to get people presents they like and I'm yet to stop enjoying Christmas because of gift buying, so I hope my tips can be of use to some of you- and if not, then I enjoyed writing this regardless. I should have another post up tomorrow, so until then- take care!