Holiday Shopping Tips (From a Former Holiday Shopping Procrastinator)

I know, I know, I haven’t been around much in the last few days.  We’ve had a bunch of family in town, which hasn’t left much time for, well, anything else…unless of course, it involved cooking a turkey, eating left overs, or shopping.  Oh, the shopping!  Yes, I was one of those crazy people out on Thanksgiving night shopping.  Over the course of the night I found myself outside, in line more than once, until we (my mom, my sister, and myself) finally decided to call it a night at 2am, only to wake up the next day and shop some more.  And then shop again on Saturday.  And there might have been some shopping yesterday.  Even today, as I sit at my desk and try (very hard) to be productive, it’s impossible to ignore the barrage of Cyber Monday emails in my inbox.

At this point, I’m so ready for the holidays, I’m almost scaring myself.  You see, I’m normally one of those last minute shoppers.  I hit the mall a day or two before Christmas to try and find the perfect gift, only to discover that others have beat me too it.  Lucky for me, my girls aren’t old enough to really have their heart set on the “it” toy of the season, but that time is coming.  And there have been plenty of times when I’ve had to settle for a great gift, instead of the perfect gift.

So now that I’ve been on both sides of the holiday shopping equation, here are my holiday shopping tips:

1)  Make a list of everyone that you need to shop for.  Everyone.  Family members, friends, co-workers, teachers, Secret Santa, everyone that you can possibly think of should be on the list.  The last thing you ever want to do at Christmas time is forget someone.  Putting pen to paper often makes me remember the people that I might otherwise forget.  It also feels great to cross people off the list as you purchase their gifts – it’s a visual accomplishment board.  Also, if you have a gift idea for a specific person on the list, make sure to jot that down on the list as well, that way you won’t get distracted when you eventually get to the mall or website where you plan to purchase gifts.

2)  Shop early.  Okay, I’m a total hypocrite since I’m normally a holiday shopping procrastinator, but I’ll admit, I feel so much better now that I’ve already picked up some of my holiday gifts.  Plus, I feel much more in the holiday spirit than I ever have before.  Normally, I sit there before the Christmas Eve church service thinking “How could it possibly be Christmas?  Where did all the time go?”, whereas this year it’s still November and I’m thinking “Bring it on!  I can’t wait for Christmas!”.  I’m pretty sure I’m a shopping convert.

3)  Gift cards can be the best gift.  So many people find gift cards to be impersonal, but I totally disagree.  But if you’re going to buy a gift card, buy a thoughtful gift card.  Consider the person’s likes/dislikes, current situation, hobbies, talents, and buy a gift card based on that.  Have a friend that just moved?  Certainly they need some decor for their new place and a gift card would help.  Have a friend who loves to read, but don’t know their favorite type of book?  Let them choose with a gift card.  Know someone who just started knitting?  Get them a gift card so they can buy supplies or a book to learn new stitches   Gift cards fit just about every and any situation, but choose carefully and thoughtfully.

4)  Create wish lists, share them, and ask for friend’s wish lists.  Whether it’s for yourself or your kids, wish lists are a huge help to people buying gifts.  They can tell people exactly what you want or can give ideas.  And although my kids are already well shopped for, I know that there are lots of people that will be asking what they want or need.  I can tell them nothing, but let’s face it, they’re going to shop for them anyway.  Because kids are fun to shop for.  They are what the holidays are all about.  So I created this eBay wishlist for the girls this morning.

1. Crayola Magnetic Double-Sided Easel – Pink
2. Minnie Mouse Headphones
3. Imaginarium Dough Play Table
4. Play-Doh Sweet Shoppe Candy Cyclone Playset
5. You & Me Kiss and Babbles Baby Doll with Accessory
6. You & Me Baby Doll Care Accessories in Bag
7. LeapFrog LeapPad2 Explorer Disney Princess Bundle
8. Disney Princess Cinderella Carriage Vanity
9. Fisher-Price Little People Disney Princess Song Palace
10. Step2 Whisper Ride 2 Buggy – Pink

All the fun of shopping, without actually spending money!  And trust me, my bank account really appreciates that after all the shopping this past weekend.

Speaking of that last tip – Did you know that eBay has a Toys-R-Us Store?  I always knew to look on eBay for those hard to find toys, but a Toys-R-Us store front?  A place where I can get all the toys from Toys-R-Us without ever having to leave eBay?  What a great idea.  They even have a gift guide and mobile app to make shopping even easier. Because not even I was crazy enough to go to Toys-R-Us on Black Friday (or anytime this past weekend!).  Online is definitely the way to go when it comes to Toys-R-Us, and now eBay makes it even easier!

Have you ever used eBay for your holiday shopping?  What did you get?  If you haven’t used eBay before, what are your holiday shopping tips?
http://youtu.be/ibJHFCEUcoE
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of eBay. I received a product sample to thank me for taking the time to participate.”