Finding the perfect gifts for your family and friends has always been a challenge, and this year is no exception. Economic worries have many families spending fewer dollars during the holidays, and retailers are offering steep discounts to encourage people to spend more. Here are some shopping tips and gift ideas to help make this year’s shopping season more affordable and less stressful.
Planning ahead, looking for the best values and sticking to a realistic budget are essential strategies for avoiding overspending and holiday debt. Without careful planning, you can find yourself paying off winter credit card debt months after the holidays have passed.
Train yourself to keep an eye out for gift ideas throughout the year, and consider purchasing your gifts months in advance. Post-Halloween sales are a good source for cheap candy you can use in Christmas stockings. The week after Christmas is among the best times to find clearance sales on gifts and wrapping supplies for special occasions throughout the year.
When compiling your Christmas shopping list, determine how much money out of your monthly budget can be set aside towards holiday gifts without putting you in debt. Make a list of everyone you intend to buy gifts for and set spending limits on each person, adjusting those limits to fit within your total budget. Be mindful of how much gas money it will take to shop for every item on that list.
Avoid making special trips to the store for gift purchases. Instead, allow extra time for gift stops on your way home from work or while out grocery shopping. By design, gift receipts do not record the price of your purchases, so write down and keep track of your spending as you’re shopping to avoid overspending.
Shopping online can save you money and a trip to the store; however, you should carefully review sites’ return policies, insurance options and tracking availability. Customer reviews and price comparison sites like www.pricegrabber.com are a useful tool for scrutinizing gift ideas before you commit to them. Online purchases should be made months in advance as most delivery methods become less reliable as the holidays get closer.
Home-made gifts
The best gifts are often the ones you make yourself. Making your own gifts can save you a lot of money, and it’s a good way to flex your creativity. If you’re buying someone a cake pan or cookie platter, consider baking them something and make it part of the gift. You can create a photo album or DVD slideshow with photos you’ve collected throughout the year, or with older photos that you’ve scanned and improved with image editing software. If your family has an old slide machine hiding in their closet, have the slides digitized professionally, or research how you can do it yourself for greater savings.
Recipe jars can be made for about $3 – $6 per person when you buy the materials in bulk, whether it’s for soups, baked goods, potpourri or candles. Cookie jars filled with ingredients and cookie cutters is one way to add variety and personality to your bulk gifts. Avoid buying gift baskets and other gifts in a store when you can make them at home for far less money. Etsy.com is a great source for homemade gift ideas, and serves as a storefront for thousands of people looking to sell their creations online.
Last minute gifts
The last thing you want to do is to wait until the final days and hours before Christmas to do your holiday shopping. Not only will you end up spending more money, but whatever you end up with will be impersonal and will show the person you’re shopping for how little thought you spent on them. It’s a terrible feeling driving around town on Christmas Eve with an unfinished shopping list watching the stores close early. With that said, here are a few buzzer-beater gift ideas that will get the job done and may even win you some brownie points.
Popcorn tins – These are always a crowd pleaser. They are usually easy to find and come in a variety of flavor combinations. Find tins that are decorated like Christmas wrap and all you’ll need is a bow. For extra savings, offer to take back the tins later and give them out again the following year with popcorns you make yourself.
Kid-Tough Digital Camera – Children will get countless hours of enjoyment from this fully functional camera from Fisher-Price for $59.99. It features a waterproof rubber casing, 1.5” color LCD preview screen and two-eye viewer. The camera’s 64MB of built-in memory lets children take and store up to 500 photos. It comes with a USB cable for quick editing and viewing on a PC or Macintosh computer.
Memory foam pillows and mattress toppers – They double the comfort of any bed you put them on, and you can find them in most department stores.
You may also consider buying them an electric blanket. Either way, you’ll want to know what size bed the person owns.
Back to Basics Egg and Muffin Toaster – This all-in-one super toaster prepares breads, eggs, cheeses and meats simultaneously with the press of a button. You can buy the standard model for $39.99 or the deluxe model for $59.99.
N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 – This is Nerf’s biggest dart gun ever released in stores. The Vulcan comes with 25 belt-fed darts and fires up to three darts per second. Wal-Mart is offering a value pack with an extra ammo belt and darts, and a shoulder strap for $34.99. Costco has its own value pack that includes a shoulder strap, tactical light, dual-mode light beam, extra ammo belt and 50 additional darts for $49.99.
Online donations – There are countless worthwhile charities that allow you to give a donation online in some else’s name. The Wildlife Adoption and Gift Center at www.defenders.org, for example, help care for and preserves an animal species of your choosing, including whales, penguins, polar bears and snow leopards. Heifer International, www.heifer.org, lets you purchase farm animals that are given to struggling families, who in turn promise to pass on an offspring of their gift to someone else. Be sure to scrutinize and learn more about whichever charities you choose to ensure your donation will be used properly and your personal information will remain safe.
Family portraits – Even if you haven’t purchased a single gift for your loved ones, you can still surprise and impress them with this gift that is thoughtful and will last a lifetime. If it’s affordable for you, consider giving out gift cards they can use to purchase frames for the portraits once they arrive in the mail.
In an emergency, consider wrapping a few things you own that are clean and in new condition, such as new DVDs, unopened bottles of wine or spirits, or unused gift cards and energy-efficient light bulbs. Gift bags reduce waste and save you valuable time. Newspapers make excellent wrapping paper in a pinch.
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