So they made Mission Impossible 3? (Tips For Hassle-Free Christmas Shopping)

Member Name: gothiron

Product:	Tips For Hassle-Free Christmas Shopping
Date:	11/12/01 (300 review reads)
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Advantages: Gets your shopping done, Leaves more time for Christmas drinking, You'll get less next year

Disadvantages: Costs more than if you'd planned it out, You tend to get a reputation for boring presents, You'll get less next year

Well if this was to be really helpful, the category should have appeared in the Summer allowing you plenty of time to make lists, check it twice, find out whose been nuaghty or nice etc etc. As it is now mid December and if you haven’t even started the Christmas present shopping then you probably starting to get a bit twitchy, well settle down and appreciate the Gothiron Guide to Good Christmas Shopping for People Who Aren’t As Organised as Me! (cue ironic laughter from the wings)

So, where do you start in this Mission Impossible task?

1. Make your list of people to buy for.

Sounds blindingly obvious, but whilst it’s easy to remember Mum, Dad and Gran, sometimes the further reaches of the present-buyee list tend to get forgotten. Have you included your godchildren, are you buying for Aunts as well as the nieces, what about cousins, your neighbours, kid’s teachers, friends off-spring. When you consider the permutations, it’s a frightening list (and you haven't even seen the in-laws!)and no wonder people can get left out. Way that I find best is to sort them into family groups, friends and “Others” and check you’ve got them all covered – this also focus your mind on things like cost, location and how many cards to get and whether you can make any 3 for 2 type savings when buying things. (I’ve assumed that you won’t be going down the home made hamper route this late in the year!)

2. Timing!

Know when the last posting dates are for abroad (hint: you’ve missed it for most of the world - Airmail Western Europe is 14th December according to www.royalmail.com) as well as UK (21st for 1st, 18th for 2nd). If you’ve missed the dates for relatives abroad then don’t put your feet up thinking “one less pressie to buy” but investigate online money transfers (Western Union for example) so they can buy something themselves (how e
ver much we complain about giving money being an easy cop out, I’ve yet to find any one give it back to me!) The other alternative is to buy something online from a company based in the country they live and see whether they can ship it direct for you. Will be cheaper than it coming to you and then you sending it out. A lot quicker too – you don’t have to wrap it!

The second timing thing is: decide on a day to do your shopping by and stick to it! It’s easier to do your shopping in one place (or joy of joys one shop!) than flit around. Choose your location, hit it early to get a car parking space near the shops, and do that shopping!

Alternatively, make a large coffee, get a comfy chair and log on! Online shopping is less hassle than battling around those pits of hell called shopping malls but you do need to know what you are after otherwise you’ll going to waste as much time with aimless browsing. Check that presents are going to arrive in time though! Online shops rarely have the irritating 28 days for delivery thing but they might not be able to deliver in time for you to then send stuff out unless you are prepared to hire a courier to then whizz presents around the country (believe me, it has been done!)

3. Decisions, Decisions

Hardest one the lot – have a list of what to buy! Include in this the dreaded paraphernalia needed to wrap the darn things. Sticky tape (or a glue gun), paper, pens that actually write on wrapping paper, gift tags (if you are into that – white computer labels are just as handy and much cheaper). Don’t forget jiffy bags and brown paper if you are sending things through the Post. In fact, abandon wrapping paper and invest in mega loads of brown paper. With a couple of gold and silver pens you can doodle on the paper and it will look just as good as wrapping paper but ten times cheaper!

A quick but pricey alternative is gift bags,
simply sling everything in them, seal the top and there you go. Of course if you were super organised you could have made these yourself but Just In Time planning comes at a price, what you save in time you pay for in the purse!

Knowing what to get people is fairly difficult when you’ve loads of time but is actually easier when time is against you. You are focussed on needing to get things by the cut-off date and therefore you might not get exactly what people really want but at least you get them something. So here are a few hints for that last minute shopping spree.

Find out people’s preferred perfume/aftershave.
Hardly the most original idea or the cheapest but hey we are talking lastminutechristmas.com here. Most big department stores do good deals at Christmas and if you are really lucky then you might get a bonus gift which can either go to the recipient or be used as another gift!

Magazine subscriptions – again you need to know what mags they like and whether they already get a subscription (not likely!) but Good Housekeeping is a good choice!!!! Again you might be lucky in getting a gift for yourself/recipient as part of the deal. Another bonus is that your recipient will be sent a card notifying them of the subscription getting you off the hook in posting things to them

Chocolates
Track down your local Thorntons, buy nice chocolates, again check out the 3 for 2 offers. Even better, Thorntons will ice a message onto some of the larger Christmas gifts, thus proving that you aren’t a heartless person who has run out of time and ideas this Christmas! Again, husbands out there – Chocolates are not an acceptable offering on their own, only as a supplement to another present!

Vouchers!
If you are really strapped for ideas, vouchers are appreciated (although not by wives from husbands!) but do try to think about what can be bought for what cost. My Dad’s compa
ny always used to give him a £15 for Harrods (no joke) there isn’t a lot you can get for £15 in Harrods although I did a small fluffy hippo from the toy department. Woolworth’s vouchers are good choices for kids as are Boots & WH Smith. Adults, well Debenhams are safe but boring bet and I’m always happy for M&S Vouchers..

Black and Red are not good ideas for underwear (unless specifically asked for!)
I just can’t stay away from bras can I? This is more of a guideline for the blokes out there who have come up with the idea of undies for their loved one than a present idea. My personal view is that unless you know the exact style, size and brand that is the desired then don’t bother! Do not think that underwear is a treat for you lads! If you are venturing into the realms of flimsies then remember the following:
All black is fine, black and anything is probably likely to see your beloved in the returns queue at the earliest chance.
Cream/Ivory/Lavender are good choices in preference to white. Neon pink, blue and gold are probably best reserved for fancy dress
Bridget Jones may have made big knickers publicly acceptable, however be prepared for a face like a boot if this is what is unwrapped on Christmas morning – practical isn’t always the best answer.
Don’t even think about putting stockings in a stocking as a subtle suggestion (nudge nudge wink wink know what I mean) – you may end up wearing them yourself (whatever turns you on!)

Flowers
Order a bouquet from Inter-Flora or a local florist and arrange for a date nearest to Christmas, costs a bomb but useful standby. Alternatively, bulk buy amaryllis bulbs in pots, assorted poinsettias or hyacinths in bowls and distribute to the florally minded or garden-bereft people on the list. Another advantage with plants is that you don’t have to wrap them up.

Alcohol
Again, a boring present but one
rarely refused. Obviously you need to have an idea what people like, Champagne is a good choice, tie a red bow on it and it looks neat, sling it on a bottle gift bag and another present is solved, likewise judging by the current trend on Dooyou, a large bottle of Bailey’s would be the No.1 gift. Again, 3 for 2 offers abound in supermarkets this time of year so no need for that booze cruise to France.

Writing Paper, Notelets, Stamps!
Well you do expect a thank you letter don’t you for the lovely present that you’ve sent them!

5. Delivery

So that’s the no-brainer presents done. Get them all wrapped up, write the gift tags/computer labels out and then work out which need posting and which you are delivering by hand and store them separately. Decide upon a convenient time to trek to the post office for anything that needs posting, avoid pension day, Saturday mornings or half an hour before closing time and prepared to shell out a fortune in postage costs. Have a blank cheque to Post Office Counters written out and sign your life away. Always ask if things are cheaper by parcelforce rather than standard mail and resign yourself to the fact that some won’t arrive before Christmas! If you can find out whether sprawled out members of a family will be congregating in one place then you can send the lot to one address and get someone else to play Santa!
For hand delivered presents, remember that it’s never too early to give presents! If anything it makes them feel guilty that they haven’t got you one yet and will help them organise their shopping! The other benefit is that the more you give out, the less you have to post!

6. Disaster! I’ve been given a present and haven’t got one for them!

Well, either accept it graciously in the spirit it was intended – that they like you well enough to get you a present and that’s all that matters or ensu
re that when you buy the chocs and booze to keep a couple ready wrapped with a blank name tag on it, ready for writing at short notice. Panic over.

So that’s the cheats way of cutting out the hassle at Christmas as far as present buying goes. There are advantages to planning ages in advance (you have no reason to enter a shopping mall in December and retain your sanity) and doing your present buying online throughout the year but there are downsides to that as well. Namely you forget what you’ve bought, you have to be in for the postman to deliver parcels unless you fancy a trip to the sorting office and something else always looks more tempting in December, but I really would recommend not leaving present buying to Christmas Eve, unless you are a total sadist (or my husband!)

Now that those useful hints are out of the way, what I’m looking forward to the Hassle Free Guide to Families at Christmas, any takers?

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