There was a time when I used to buy (and I'm not lying) about 30 gifts for each member of my family... thankfully we were only four members in our family, LOL However it came the time when I was not able to buy at least a Christmas ornament for the date, having to recycle those I had already until they wore out. Overtime I did not only learned to make my own Christmas decorations, but found that many people discard these as soon as the season is over, and many of these are practically new. Past Christmas was not the exemption and I have already almost all my holiday "shopping" done by getting these items without having to spend a single cent. Even though I still buy some stuff, but wait until the very last days before Christmas to get the best deals. Now my family is made of three members as my father passed away, but either way the insanity of 30 gifts per person was left in the past and we better spend time together and use the money for desserts and sweets to round our Christmas dinner time.
I usually start christmas shopping after halloween. Sometimes I wait until black friday. If I find a good sale I might hold on to the item until christmas. This christmas I want to go to a cabin with the kids instead of buying a bunch of gifts.
I try to get myself to begin Christmas shopping early and before Halloween but circumstances always come up and my plan never quite pans out. So I would say any time after October is when I start shopping for gifts. This year I wanna buy my mom the Note 5, as she's having some trouble with her current Huawei phone. Might buy it as soon as it comes out next month and put it away for her.
A lot of my family has moved so thankfully I don't have to buy as many presents anymore so I could just relax and not worry as much. A while back I would have to start shopping way in advance because our family gathering is huge but I do most of it online now anyway so I'm not really too pressured or anything. There was a time when I had to shop physically in stores and during Christmas it was a terrible experience since the mall was always packed.
Thanks for reminding me that I need to start. I don't buy anything extravagant for my friends, so getting caught in the Christmas hassle will save me at most $20. To me, it's not worth the stress of the shopping season. I'm just going to order stuff from Amazon, grab a gift card, and write a personalized note for everyone.
I started my Christmas shopping this week! I already have a few gifts on lay away for my kids and plan to add more I want to be done with my shopping before dec 15 so I am hoping it works out that way, LOl
Congratulations on getting it started! I recently heard that Walmart decided to activate their layaway process early this year, so others may have started, as well. I think it's good to knock it out in advance, so you can spend the time near the holidays with family and friends, and actually enjoy what you're doing, rather than having to constantly worry about whether a store has what you're looking for, or whether you'll have to substitute something else at the last minute. I'd rather sacrifice some time now, and get it all done, then be able to live in the moment and enjoy celebrating with loved ones.
Wow the summer is not even over yet and we are already talking about holiday shopping. I have to admit that it did come to mind. Primarily because the stores started filling up with fall stuff already and by next month you will find winter and Christmas things out. I have found some stores all out of Christmas ornaments in the first week of December in the past.
I've been picking up little bits and pieces here and there throughout the year. But now that we are nearing the Christmas months at a faster pace, I find myself actively looking for things to buy for my loved ones. I am only going to keep it simple this year. I am only purchasing gifts for my mother and my older sister. I have little things for them, but I don't have either of their big gifts yet.
Yes, I have a friend who went in search of an artificial Christmas tree at his local Walmart store last year in December, and there were none. He asked a clerk, and was told that they had shipped the ones that hadn't sold back to the warehouse. That was ridiculous, in my opinion. Many blended families I know don't even celebrate on the actual holiday, and in some cases, the celebration gets pushed into January, and the young children all expect to see a Christmas tree. I can see the stores not holding onto them after Christmas, but some people don't even put a tree up until Christmas Eve.
I big YES for this question. I have already started my Christmas shopping last month. There was a mall wide sale recently and I grabbed the opportunity to buy items at discounted prices. I made a list containing the names of the people I need to buy gifts for and included the age for the younger recipients. I wanted to give age-appropriate gifts for the children. I have always been a last-minute shopper and I always end up exceeding my budget. I am happy that this year I have changed that bad habit.
Last August 31, we saw in the mall some Christmas decors being readied. The prices are all discounted up to 30% said the clerk. But it's really too early for that so my husband said that we just buy them by November. I had been checking the decor that looked like real candies and my husband said we do not know the real price of those new designs and they may be cheaper in the months to come.
I completely agree! I was very happy to hear that they were doing lay away early this year. It def makes it a lot easier to get my shopping done! Lol.
I was like you back in the day. Now we've all grown up and the party giver has passed away. Now Christmas is only Mom and I so there's not much buying. Mom doesn't like stuff any longer too. When we were younger we had a Christmas tree with all the trimmings too. The family party was just great with our favorite foods and all the catching up with family news on Christmas eve party time. I do my Christmas shopping in December now. Though things change for Christmas I'll always have the memories of Christmas past.
I used to only buy gifts because it was mandatory like those exchange gift thingies or if someone had bought me a gift, so I usually shop in the midst of the holiday rush. I don't like shopping around those times though because of the crowd.
Yap! I had started my holiday shopping for Christmas. And now looking for a destination where i can make it more remarkable.
I haven't began Christmas shopping but I do plan on doing a layaway in a couple of weeks. I mostly shop for my son but I do try to get my family a gift. Once I start in a couple of weeks it will be so much easier and I won't get behind.
