To really hate Christmas shopping

[Oysterbabe]

Thought I'd get started today on my lunch break. I don't understand how you can walk amongst the piles of tat and feel anything other than dispare. I'm going to retreat back to the office and do it online I think.

*despair

But then you hazard the risk that it gets delayed, wrong item and all the other sorts of faff that come with online delivery even if you factor out christmas.

Cutting it finely methinks. Brace yourself and get out there. Elbows sharp, narrow eyes!

Online with a cup of tea while the toddler is sleeping is the only way. If I liked mince pies I would also eat a mince pie for festiveness. Sod battling a million people in the shops.

Make a list and go forth with purpose! I've done most of mine online, but have to brave the local shopping mall on Saturday. Eek!

I do it all on-line. A madness descents if I don't, I buy the first halfway normal thing in the midst of the Christmas singing blinging tat.

Once, having looked at bonkers patterns at pink for an hour, I bough the first normal looking shirt. In the cold light of day it was a red and white check like you'd find on a tea towel.

I pretty much avoid town as much as possible from mid-November onwards! I hate crowds. And I hate the abundance of unimaginative 'gift sets'

I just keep wishlists of ideas all year round and keep an eye out for discounts on those items. I do mostly shop online now, particularly the last few years as I am unwell, but make special trips to places like my favourite indie board game shop which I want to support.

DH smugly announced that he's finished the other day.

Cutting it fine? It's one or two trips or one big online shop which will deliver in a few days. Christmas is over 2 weeks away. I haven't started yet. Too much fuss made about Christmas shopping.

Your DH went to the big tesco and bought 3 gift sets of smellies, a scarf, a video game, three selection boxes, a tin of biscuits and the Star Wars annual. It took 25 minutes.

I do it all online at the beginning of October. I love Christmas shopping!! But then I only buy for my DC

Start early. I mean, really early: I bought the last few bits the other day.

I hate fighting through the crowds, I hate buying something okay-ish because I haven't the time or brain-space to think of something nicer. I also hate wrapping it all up in a burning hurry.

A brief spell of Christmas shopping, tacked onto a regular trip to the shops in, say, July, is actually quite fun...

I do 99% of my Christmas shopping online. If I do brave the shops I only do so if I know the exact item I'm going to buy.

I have started doing as much of my present shopping as possible out of town ie On-line, local shops, small nearby shopping centres mid week. I go to one large shopping centre early in Dec to get a couple of the bigger presents and avoid the city centre completely.

It really has removed a lot of the stress. I hate rushing around busy city department stores and thronged streets the week before Christmas, bashing into people, panic buying, trying to hang onto half a dozen carrier bags and not lose any, and bad temperedly buying stuff with the attitude 'I just don't care anymore. This'll do'. It just didn't feel Christmassy at all.

I love Christmas shopping but do most of it online. I do some in town because it would feel wrong otherwise, I quite like the rush to get everything - it feels nice when you get home with the bundles of gifts for people

However, I always know what I'm going to get but do often get twitches when I see something that someone would like and end up with far too many presents

Doesn't happen so much when I do it online!

I always love the idea of christmas shopping.
in my head I'll amle around smiling as I chose my gifts, I'll stop for a coffee and a cake inbetween and get everything done.
Reality? I forget my list, I'm too hot as I've worn the wrong coat, I panic buy crap and buy a coffee to go and then can't carry it and my bag splits!
I'm going tomorrow wish me luck

I really wouldn't do it online now. Unless it's stuff from john lewis, that you can get delivered to waitrose the next day, for example. I wouldn't rely on amazon!

It's awful, I couldn't even get a parking space in Morrisons today , and it's only the 8th. I like the safety and comfort of online at home .

It's absolutely fine doing it online now.. I've been using Amazon up until 23rd December for pre-Christmas delivery for a few years now.

It's only the 8th! Plenty of time for online shopping.

Still think online is risky if you are relying on it for lots of things. I am quite risk averse though, and also quite pissed off with amazon who are late delivering something I ordered ages ago!

Good grief I haven't even started yet! Such a lot of fuss about cutting things fine. DH and are going to blitz most of it in one day this Saturday. Then we can pick up any final bits the weekend after. Shopping early is not a virtue in and of itself!

mark your calendar for next year, start in September.

People who shop early, do it because they find shopping late, stressful. Or to spread the cost. They don't do it to be virtuous

What are you ranting about Ghoul. No one said shopping early is a virtue. Some posters were wondering if stuff ordered on line will definitely arrive before Christmas, that's all.