When I was younger (and it seemed like I had more tolerance), I would start my Christmas shopping as early as June. I had an idea of what I wanted to get each person on my Christmas list and I would find it and get it as I saw it (on sale, of course!) Although I always ended up overspending (I would see something else later on in the year that I wanted to get for the person too!) it was still a good experience to be able to get people exactly what they wanted. I have one friend of mine that exchanges names with her adult family members. When they have their Christmas dinner, they do it for the next year. This keeps each person from having to get a gift for each sibling (she has several) and they just purchase a really nice gift for that person for the next year. What is the extent that you buy gifts for friends? If you have a large friend list, do you put a limit on the purchase price of the gift? Do you have an overall Christmas budget? One for family? One for friends?
I have a small group around me it's just my sister her three kids, myself and two friends. I have other family members but im not really in contact with them. I usually spend my Christmas shopping on my sisters kids seems most of the gifts go to them. Its really hard shopping for them cause there always changing there minds of what there into. With my sister and friends i can shop way early in advance around October , so im not going broke i try to limit at least one gift per person.
I only have to do Christmas shopping for my fiancee and our two cats. Other than that, I don't have to shop for anyone else. I usually do my Christmas shopping in the first week of December. I also listen to what my fiancee would like but cannot afford so I make mental notes.
Unfortunately, there isn't much planning when it comes to my christmas shopping! Although I do have good intentions. every.single.year. I tend to panic about money, spend a good couple of months trying to work as hard as I can to make sure me and the kids have a good Christmas and end up doing all my shopping, gifts and food in the last week before!! Its good because I can usually afford to buy what I need, bad because some things may be out of stock or unavailable.
For years we bought gifts for everyone in our family. It was about 30 people. Now we do a gift exchange for the adults, and I have my kids make ornaments for everyone. Just something simple. I prefer just buying a few gifts. We get gifts for our own kids, but it's been much more enjoyable to buy a few things and spend the rest of the time with family.
I don't usually plan for Christmas far in advance. I usually end up panicking a month before Christmas about how to afford gifts to get for my family. It's always a big deal because not only do I have to get Christmas gifts I also have birthdays right after Christmas in January. I really need to think about taking a few bucks from each paycheck to save in advance.
I used to do a lot more for Christmas but I don't have the funds for it any more. I focus mostly on my nuclear family and possible partner at the time. I don't really exchange gifts with friends any more because we're all tight for money, but we might do something small and special at times.
We buy for our two kids.. and then each other.. and then other kids in the family. Usually, we do not buy anything for our siblings (neither of us have siblings very close by) or our parents. Mainly because we cannot afford it and because both my mother in law and my father seem to have everything they need!
I start in October to make sure I get the best deals. I have only bought one gift so far and I feel so behind even though most people say I am way ahead of the game. I do already have my tags, bought some cards and am getting my wrapping paper this week. Now I just have a lot more shopping to do. I have my coupons and I am ready to go!
I come from a pretty large family so we definitely enforce a budget when it comes to Christmas shopping. Also, many of my close relatives have birthdays in December, so what I have been doing the last couple of years is getting a "bigger" birthday gift for said relative and buying/making them a smaller gift for Christmas. The only "baby" in the family right now is my 19 month old daughter and my nieces and nephews essentially have "three Christmases", so I don't feel bad getting them something small. For friends, we just make something edible or make a special visit. We budget ~$400 for around 15 people. I intend to complete my Christmas/birthday list this week. I hope I can get it done! I usually wait until early December, but I want to be ahead of the game this year.
I christmas shop in 2 ways. First, if I know exactly what a friend or family member wants and I can afford it, I buy it for them. This type of shopping is so much easier. I can go in and then come out without having to second guess. The second way I shop is l consider what my relations have worn or expressed interest in that year. If they've been talking about trying a new exercise, I may get them an exercise tape that's different than what they are used to. If they bought a new house and are still decorating, I'll buy them something for their house like candles -- something that they can use and enjoy at the same time.
I only do Christmas shopping for my family (Dad, Mom, little brother), my boyfriend, and my really close friends, which are about 20 people. It's a lot, but I'm glad OP brought it up. It's better to get it done early when prices are still a bit okay. You guys know how prices just shoot up during November-December.
I do my shopping year round if you really want to know and then I might get last minute gifts if I forgot someone. I also go about this in order for example, I write down my list and which stores to go to and as I do that, I am marking off my list and it is faster and quicker that way.
I usually just keep the people I'm giving gifts to in ind so when I do come across some products I think they would like while strolling or browsing online then I'd know to pay attention. It helps that I give to the same people every year so by now I'm kind of used to it so I don't have to make as much effort to organize a list anymore, but finding the perfect matches can still be kind of a chore as it takes a lot of creativity to come up with unique gifts every year.
Most of the gifts I buy have to be shipped overseas, so I have certain constraints that keep things in check for me. Customs forms only have so much space, and so do the envelopes I use, so I often end up sending different variants of fairly inexpensive items (say, two or three different lipsticks, a couple of small bags of different candies, etc.) which helps keep costs reasonable. As for timing, I tend to shop in bits and pieces throughout the year, particularly for one friend. For some reason it seems easier to find things she’d like when I’m not actively looking for them. Not sure how that works, but it does.
It's always advisable to buy anything you know you'll need for Christmas at the time when you'll get great deals on the items. Some seasonal items that will be expensive in December for example will be cheaper if bought on certain months. In any case you won't have to spend too much money in December. That's how I normally plan my Christmas shopping — buy the stuff I'll need through the year so I can get the best deals.
My first step for shopping, whether Christmas or any other occasion, is the list of recipients. For Christmas, it is a long list because of the relatives and friends that also include neighbors and colleagues plus some more. When the list is finalized, that's the time to add the item with corresponding amount. And what follows is the segragation, some gifts to be bought from the mall, some from the market and some in trade fairs and street markets.
I will never start as early as June, however I will start to pick things up in October. I am a freelance writer, so I don't have a "salary" as such to rely on, and as a result of this I simply need to start thinking about Christmas a little earlier than most so that I can fit it into a couple of payments rather than just one month. I actually only need to get one more thing this year and then all of my Christmas shopping is done, so I am looking forward to being able to say that I have finished it.
My siblings, husband and I are all either teens or adults, so we draw names and do a Secret Santa each year, with a $10 limit. It usually results in fun, clever ideas as gifts to each other, and it saves us each money. My husband and I also purchase gifts for our parents, my husband's siblings, each other, and our son. Also, I make Christmas cookies and candy each year to give to family members as gifts. We set a limit each year and try to stick to it as best as we can. I usually start stashing gifts away months in advance as I find good deals.
