It’s a lovely fuzzy feeling buying gifts for people that you know they will love! However, Christmas can be a stressful time for gift buying, and how many of us have ended up in the trap of last minute buying?!
This year, let’s avoid the stress and bring the JOY back to buying beautiful prezzies. Take a bit of time to follow these tips and Christmas shopping will be less overwhelming and stressful. With a bit of planning, it can be more manageable and even (dare I say it) enjoyable!
- Create a plan
If you get overwhelmed buying Christmas presents, it really does help to create a plan. And if you are one of those people (like me) who buy things through the year and hides them away, only to forget where to put them, having a plan that can be continually updated is a game changer. Not only will having a plan save you time, but it will reduce the panic and save you money too – no more trying to remember that great idea you had to get dad for Christmas 3 months ago, and no more going over budget!
What should be in your plan? – think about when you can schedule some time for your Christmas shopping. If it’s in your diary, it will be more present in your mind and you are more likely to honour that time for your intended purpose. Think about where you want to shop – is it in person (if so, which town/what shops do you generally like) or online (and do you have a go to list of fav online shops?). If you are shopping online, make sure you factor in last dates to order, dispatch and delivery timescales (especially if you are looking for custom/personalised items). Make sure you remember to include wrapping paper, tags and cards in your plan! It’s super helpful to use something like a christmas gift list planner, in which you can include information that you gather from the steps below. This will keep all your ideas together and keep you on track.
- Set a budget
Set an amount you want to spend on each person and stick to it! Make sure your budget is within your means. Having a budget will help prevent impulse buys and ending up with too many presents!
- Get inspired
What do you know about the people you are buying for? What is their style and personality? What are their interests and hobbies? White everything you can think of down and see what gift ideas you can come up with. This will really help you to stay focussed when you start researching your gifts. It might help to start with a general list of categories that you can start to draw ideas down from e.g.
- Beauty and skin care
- Jewellery
- Food/ hampers
- Books
- Board games
- Clothes
- Calendar / Diaries
- Voucher / Gift Cards
- Do your research
Look around at what gifts are available before you buy. List potential gifts, then narrow the options down. This will help prevent panic buying!
- Support independents
As you probably already know, I’m a huge supporter of independent businesses. Even before I started my own business, I loved to peruse independent shops and I absolutely love handmade items! So, my last tip is to support independents when you can. Why? Here is my take on why buying independent is so special:
- Small businesses CARE about their products and their customers.
- They are bursting with creativity, originality and personality!
- For original and quirky gifts.
- GREAT customer service with a personal touch.
- Custom and personalised orders.
- Feel good factor – by supporting small businesses you are supporting the local economy.
If you enjoyed reading this, maybe you would like a copy of my FREE Christmas Guide for 2021? The guide is a great way to help with your research – it’s jam packed with goodies from fabulous independent small businesses in Yorkshire. These are all businesses that I love and highly recommend.
There’s something for everyone – prints, jewellery, mugs, scarves, hair accessories, food, personalised items, stuff for the kids, skin care…ooh, there are so many ideas for you!
So grab a cuppa and follow the link to get your FREE copy here https://bit.ly/christmasgiftguide2021
But that’s not all…once you sign up, you will also receive a FREE copy of my Christmas Gift List Planner!
Have a fabulous festive season everyone!