Christmas… Are you Prepared?

Once a year, there’s a common theme among Americans.  On November 1st, the second Halloween is over, all of the stores and merchandise are converted to a winter holiday scene.  It’s an amazing transformation, and always seems to come too quickly for me.  I like to focus on one holiday at a time; I don’t want to loose sight of what Thanksgiving is all about either!  However, I’ve found that if I really do get organized early (even if it’s before Thanksgiving) I have a more relaxing and enjoyable holiday season.  I’d like to share with you how I get prepared for the holidays.

First off, I start by making a list of everyone that I’d like to buy gifts for.  This list includes my children, husband, parents, in-laws, brothers & sisters, grandparents, and even cousins!  (I have a very large family, and we all still get together every Christmas at my grandparents’ houses.)

Next, I budget.  Beside each name on the list I write down the amount that I have set aside to spend on them.  After I’ve done this to the entire list, I brainstorm ideas for each person.  Make sure that when you’re making your list, you have enough space to list several ideas.  Also, I ALWAYS use pencil.  Ideas change, your budget may change, or you may simply not have enough money lying around to get your long-lost friend a gift this year.  Don’t make your list permanent!

Thus begins the shopping!  But, it doesn’t have to be hectic!  Shop BEFORE Thanksgiving to avoid the masses of people at the malls and in the checkout lines.  You may save a couple extra dollars by shopping after Thanksgiving, but I would venture to say that it’s not worth the extra stress this will cause you.  Plus, when you’re shopping with your list of ideas, the experience will be much less brainracking.  You’ve carefully thought out what each person would like and can easily shop for that specific person without wandering all over the department stores wondering about what to get that person.

So, you made your list, you’ve budgeted, and you bought the gift.  Mission accomplished, right?  WRONG!  We’re not done yet!  When you’re shopping, make sure that you keep all of those receipts.  For a couple different reasons.   You may find the item at another store for a significantly lower price and want to return the other.  You may later discover that the person already has the item that you purchased.  And to make sure that you’ve stayed within your budget.  The second I get home from my shopping excursion, I get out my receipts and my list.  I highlight the item that I purchased, and then I calculate the amount that I spent on each person and item.  This way I can guarantee that I won’t over-spend and regret the purchase later.  I doesn’t mean that if my budget was $15 for my cousin and I spent $16.87 with tax that I can’t purchase it.  There’s bound to be another gift that I spent $13.13 for and it averages out to the $15 budget that I planned on.  Once all of the shopping is done, I like to be very close to or under my budgeted amount.

By the end of the season, my list looks something like this:
Nathan         $15     Cookbook, Belt, Tie, Socks $14.78
David           $15     ITunes, Blacklight, Plasma Ball, CD $16.24
Grandma      $15     Knitting Needles, Magazine Subscription, Candles $13.97

You may wonder why I write down what I’ve bought each person.  The reason is this: When I write down on my list what each person is getting, I can wrap the present and put it under the tree right after I’ve bought it without having to try to remember later what is in that box.  That’s my last tip for you; when you get back from your shopping trip, wrap up the presents that you bought that day or the next.  This way, you won’t find yourself up until midnight several nights in a row wrapping presents.

Trust me, if you follow my tips, you’ll have a much more enjoyable holiday season!  Do you have any tips for your holiday shopping?