I'm not into stockpiling non necessities. I don't know in advance if the people I had in mind will still be interested in that gift item if I buy it to far in advance, and most people I shop for these days don't need more stuff. Most of my gifts are consumables now because otherwise I am really just giving my family and friends more clutter to deal with that they will want to get rid of, but feel like they have to keep because I gave it to them.
Not exactly, I don't buy things without thinking they would be good for somebody, but if I see something that I know somebody would like, I'll get it for them. I tend to start my holiday shopping around thanksgiving.
