Do you stick to a list for Christmas shopping?

I also make a list and try hard to stick to it when I am out shopping. Like you I find things that I just have to have for someone and there goes my budget and list. It is so hard to stick to the list during Christmas shopping.

 

I do make a Christmas list but it is not set in stone. I kind of use it as a basic guide line for what I'm thinking of getting people in my family. It gives me some direction which is a good thing. I tend to get very overwhelmed during the holidays season especially if I don't give myself enough shopping time. This was as I purchase things I cross them off my list and I feel a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes that is much needed especially since sometimes holiday shopping can make you feel as though your walking in circles!!!

Danyel

 

I need to start doing this this year because both my boyfriend and I have jobs (I'm part-time and he's full-time) so this means we can no longer be like "Ooop can't afford a gift!". I'm trying to think ahead to stuff I would get for people but it's so hard because people's minds changes all the time. It's especially hard to get stuff for his family, partially cause he always says "we don't have to worry about it NOW". Well...I either worry now and come up with a list to stick to, or we go broke.

A list is definitely good though. Or at least book-mark it on your computer so you can come back to it later, you know?

 

It's normal for most people to buy something they didn't budget for at Christmas time. For the Christmas season you can always allow yourself to spend just a little more because you won't be spending as much again for quite some time.

Like most people, I also tend to buy things I didn't budget for [ a last minute gift or something]. It's once a year after all. Why work, if you don't want to spend money?

 

I stick to the list I make because it's usually already good enough and I've already done some calculations by the time the list is completed. I only go over the budget if I somehow see some items I want personally that I would like to gift myself, which does tend to happen fairly easily. I'm okay with that though, but I try not to go overboard with gifting others because I realize it's mostly just the Christmas season hyping me up into gifting more than I normally would.

 

Yeah I do and I think the average person does as well. I very random go out and just spontaneously buy a gift for someone. I always know when and what I'm going to buy. In addition, I think having a list makes it much easier to keep up with everyone you are buying for and not slip up and forget who and what to get each individual. This year in particular, I plan on buying my gifts all in the month of Nov. I sick and tired of waiting to the last minute.

 

Yes and no. I make a list of the people I am planning to give gifts to so I know how far the money I have set aside for gifts has to go. Then, for the gifts I have to send to my family who live far away, I plan to make a single order of a number of different items from the same site and have one large package sent there with instructions to my mom on who gets what. That way I don't have to pay the unreal shipping costs I had to pay last year to send them their gifts. I don't have that kind of money this year. For the people who live locally, I will probably either purchase of make some goodies for them.

 

I'm terrible at sticking to lists. I always try to make one and plan it out just so but it never really works out. I like buying people stuff way too much.

 

I agree. The way I make my lists leave room for those kinds of adjustments. But I try not to stray too far. I think what I do stick to is the budgeting. I may find something more suitable for the person but it has to fall within the range that I set for this particular gift. If it's really more appropriate than what I've listed, I'll write it down and refer to it when I try looking for something similar but within budget. Make sense?

 

Thats the target but I always end up failing terribly. Christmas budget always tend to shoot up no matter what. If u can stick to the list, Kudos to u.

 

Christmas shopping is a fun thing, but could be a tedious one, if one is going for it without being prepared. To avoid all the hassle, forgetting and repeated recalling of what and where to buy, I make a list of what it is that I am going to buy. In fact, I always make a list of the things that I will get from the grocery during my ordinary shopping needs. This saves me time and of course money, and gives me a little of comfort.

 

I always start with a list aaaand then that list usually gets tossed out of the window at some point once I start shopping during the year. I will often find additional gifts that I think would be perfect for someone or I won't be able to find something that I originally planned on getting. What I end up purchasing and what I planned for are usually two completely different things but I do try to stick to my budget.