To start buying Christmas presents now?

[NeedingASafeSpace]

If you think about how many pay days you have before Christmas time, it isn’t a lot, honestly. Well, not when you have small children and birthdays to plan for, too.

I am planing to start extra early this year, so that I am not stressing about presents come the Christmas period. Does anyone else do this?

previously, I have tried to save but it doesn’t really work out for me. Only issue is, my children will almost definitely go off the characters they are into, currently. What would some good suggestions be, please?

I start buying stocking bits in the January sales! I find those sorts of things fairly timeless in terms of interest.
I also pay for a lot of my food shopping in cash, and every time I get a note back in change, that goes into a jar to pay towards next Christmas' big food shop.

This!
I put the money on Monzo so get interesrt added monthly.
Also have Rainy day, passports, glasses, dentist cars etc so no chance I will spend it on something else

The issue with kids is they constantly change their minds /interests so might not be into whatever it is by Christmas. It would also be pretty crazy to request Christmas lists now so you’d just be winging it based on what you think they like now, which as I say may change by then.

If you see some clear bargains obviously pick them up but other than that, I’d just save the money and buy closer to the time.

YANBU for a start the shops put away all the nice stuff and bring out the shit they cant sell and inflate all the prices from November and the cost of everything is ridiculous.
For the first time ever I'm buying my christmas presents now. Ive never done that before.

I save buying for the kids until later, because, as you said, what they like or need could really change by December. But I do buy parents and in-laws presents early - usually tickets for a show or something like that.

I’ve been buying now, I go on maternity leave in September and won’t have the funds then.

But why wouldn’t you just set the money aside….?

Because Ive noticed that everything in the shops in December is utter garbage.
You are much better over getting a great bargain at a good price at this time of the year.
And also no mad shopping panic in December when you already have enough to do.
It makes xmas so much more enjoyable when its all done early.

I do the opposite
In January/ summer sales for example its just tat left and lots of new ranges in make up/ toiletries / toys come out in the run up to Christmas ..Save, get the interest and set aside an evening late Nov/ early Dec, order everything and wrap as soon as it arrives
Unless you are utterly broke I find it a bit miserable buying so early, I like to ask what people would like not gift them an old gift set .

I save, I set up a separate savings fund and add to it from January. My kids tastes change constantly! They have a ‘Santa’ deadline of the end of Nov when we post our letters and then I buy it all.

I’m not really a ‘bargain’ shopper, so don’t relate to ‘garbage’ in December…the same things are there. I do shop early and am done by December, but start in October, not April!

Yes it’s not Christmas without a bit of M&S it’s always lovely and never disappoints us.