5 Ways to Be Savvy During Your Christmas ShoppingÂ
Christmas is a festive season and itâs time for families to gather around the Christmas tree exchanging gifts. Itâs also a time of stress and last-minute shopping for that aunt you forgot to buy a gift for. Of course, giving cash is the easiest way to solve your Christmas shopping dilemmas, especially if youâre pressed for time and your gift-wrapping abilities always end up taping your fingers together. But, if you want to stretch your dollars’ worth, giving cash is not the most economical since you canât give $5 to your sister who gave you the latest Dyson hair wrap.
However, there are five ways you can shop for Christmas gifts without dipping in your emergency fund (no, Christmas shopping at the last minute when everything is full price does not constitute an emergency).
Bonus: Here’s a playlist of the top 100 Christmas songs of all time that you can listen to while doing your Christmas shopping.
Make a List of Whoâs Naughty and Nice Before Christmas Shopping
When doing your Christmas shopping, buy only for those you want a gift to, not have to. You donât have to buy a gift for everyone you work with. So, what if they found out everyoneâs received a gift from you except them? Maybe this year, they will realize itâs a âthem problemâ and not a âyou problem.âÂ
Stick to Your Budget
Once you have a list of all the nice people in your life, set a budget for each gift (depending on how nice they are… just kidding!). If you have a friend who appreciates the small stuff, you wouldnât need to buy them an expensive gift since theyâll appreciate it no matter what you get them. Set a higher budget for a friend who is high maintenance or who you know will give you an expensive gift (again: kidding!).Â
When it comes to deciding how much to allocate for each recipient, consider their interests and hobbies. Even if their interests are expensive, you can still give them a related gift. For example, if they play golf, instead of a pricey golf club, consider gifting them a golf glove. That way, you’re giving them something they can use for their hobby that is still within your budget.
Regift
Desperate times call for practical measures. Thereâs no harm in regifting, especially if itâs a gift you know you wouldnât use. However, there are cardinal rules that you need to follow to make sure your regift doesnât end up the topic of your family or officeâs next Christmas party.
- Make sure you donât regift to the âgifterâ: Talk about awkward! Not only will this hurt the giverâs feelings, but they will also not give you a gift anymore since youâll come across as someone ungrateful. To make sure this doesnât happen, once you receive a gift you know youâll regift in the future, make a list. List the item you received and who gave it to you.
- Six degrees of separation (or more): Aside from avoiding regifting to the sender, ensure that youâll give it to someone outside of the giverâs social circle. Say, you receive a French press from your Aunt Debby, but you donât drink coffee. You can re-gift it to your officemate stationed in Canada who only comes to your office once in a blue moon.Â
- Donât regift just because: If you receive a shirt thatâs your size but not your style, donât give it to someone smaller or bigger than you. The key is for them to not notice that what theyâre receiving is a re-gift.
Go Handmade
Thereâs no shame in giving gifts that you made. Not only is it affordable (youâll only pay for the materials), but itâs also personal and thoughtful. You just need to sacrifice some of your Netflix time to create your gifts. If you bake, bake cookies, or whatever your specialty is, buy nice pastry boxes, tie them with a festive bow, and your Christmas gifts for this year are done.Â
Look For Buy 1, Get 1 GiftsâŠ
Then give them to two different people. Boom! Two gifts for the price of one.
Itâs fun and yes, stressful to shop for gifts especially if we are on a budget. However, we need to remember that besides stressing about the material gifts, we need to be reminded of the reason for the season.