How do you organise present buying if you are in fact organised?

[CloudyVanilla]

Like a lot of people I've started planning Christmas extra early this year.

I really love Christmas but even though I start thinking about it at the end of Aug, I don't do any hard planning.

I have young DC who can't really express what they would want in any meaningful way, and in the past I've usually just sort of picked a day, come up with some idea over the previous weeks and gone shopping.

Problem is, I feel like I'm not shopping thoughtfully enough and I'm focusing more on having the right sized pile or spending the right amount of money.

If you feel like you have a good shopping system, what do you do? Do you have set ideas that you follow like want need wear read? A numerical target to hit in terms of number of presents for each child? You use a spreadsheet??

Arghhhhh these ideas are amazing thanks so much for taking the time to share! I've got some really great ideas now :)

`No kids and I don't do Xmas (I buy about 4 presents) but I have a reputation for giving good gifts.

1. If I see something and think X would love that - I buy it, even if it is in January

2. think about the person and what they might like, some of the most well received gifts have been free - a make over for a 12 year old booked in her school holidays.

3. gifts you can add to - I bought 2 charm bracelets for my nieces so if I was stumped for a gift I would buy another charm (I bought shares in Signet so got 10% off in H Samuel)

4. Never underestimate the power of groups of teenage girls shopping on a Saturday. I've asked groups of girls a few times to help. I say I'm buying for someone X age which of these would be better and why. For younger children I've asked parents if I can ask a younger child for advice.

5. Back to thinking about the person if you are buying an experience, not an voucher, then check times / dates eg I bought theatre tickets for a student but I booked them for the Wednesday matinee because I knew she had no lectures, I checked they could be changed but she was happy with the date.

A lot of students find returning to uni hard after Xmas, and this year it's going to be worse so something to look forward to in their uni town makes it a little bit easier.

I have a list. And throughout the year I jot ideas down if I think of something someone might like. I have massively scaled down who I buy for too.

Once I start buying (usually about July/August) then I add it to the bought list.

I roll over my spreadsheet in January, making a new sheet for the new year, allocating a general budget etc.

I note things I think I would like to get for a person as I go along. And buy if I see them on sale etc. (There is a column for the overall budget, already spent, yet to spend, and the "what it is" column too).

As December comes around, I move from that "whats to Y, W, S categorisations (Yes fully bought, Wrapped, Sent), with the exact what's of each person in the ideas column - makes for easier reading of what I still need to do.

I tend to pick up stocking fillers and things I think specific people would like as I see them during the year. And also more generic things that would make good gifts for more than 1 specific person that have good offers/are on sale - not just generic toiletries sets, but nice things that I know at least 2 people would like and I can decide later who will get it.

We only ever had 1 DC to buy for, and tended to get things over the course of autumn. I'm not a big fan of Smyths toys or similar, so visit a local independent toyshop in October for things for DNieces and DNephews. But I also spend time during the year crafting presents for various people as a way of unwinding for myself - knitting, sewing, making sweets/cookies in December etc.

I used to work in the city centre so would often have a few people in mind when I would go out for a walk at lunch, and pick up things from September onwards. My aim was normally to be more or less finished buying by early December (and crafting too), so I could enjoy the festive season and the mania of year end activities in work and elsewhere, doing wrapping etc at home on quiet nights but not under pressure to spend hours in heaving shops. It will be different this year, having to do online or a big trip (due to WFH for Covid).

Preparedness does sound key then! I love that other people also seem to use gift buying formula type system to avoid overbuying. I definitely feel better doing it the other way round rather than going into shops and trying to cobble together plans that way.

Also @Copperblack I absolutely LOVE the idea of theme bags! I wanted to do 3 gift boxes each for my non baby DC but I couldn't quite get it to fit the right way. Themes sound amazing!

I start in the January sales buying any stocking filler things I think will still be age appropriate in a year's time. My kids are young so they all like things like mini magic tricks and christmas socks. I then buy through the year as and when. I hide everything in the same place which the kids cannot reach and have not yet worked out anyhow so I know where it all is. That is where I also keep any christmas cards I bought in the sale and left over wrapping paper. As soon as the kids go back to school in September I get it out and make a spreadsheet so I know what I have and what I have left to buy. I also buy things for their birthdays and my nieces and nephews as I see them throughout the year - actually my kids and my nieces and nephews all have their birthdays within a three month window at that time of year so there is a lot to buy. For example I have bought my nephew a branded jacket for his favourite football club that I saw in the sale and bought a size up.

From about June I start paying attention to what they say they would like if they see adverts on tv or we are chatting or in the toy aisle at the supermarket. I also keep a watch on ebay from about then for anything that would work eg I bought ds last year an amazing imaginext aircraft carrier that had been long discontinued in shops, for about £30 as his main present and he was thrilled and it was cheaper buying in summer than it would have been with everyone competing in sept. But I have loft space and cellar space and a big wardrobe with a high up cupboard so I do have a lot of storage space for hiding things.

In Nov they will write to santa and they are allowed to ask for three things they want and then, if they are reasonable, I set about sourcing those. They are the only things I have to buy in Nov/Dec but sometimes i have guessed already and these have already been bought by me on ebay. Ds2 loves PawPatrol for example and I am sure he still will in Dec so I have bought some good paw patrol things on offer when I have seen them and I have no doubt this is what he will also ask santa for.

I also maintain a list for the GPs who like my suggestions for the kids, and I keep this in my notes folder on my phone. These are the ideas I have that I know the kids would like but also won't be too disappointed if they don't get eg new duvet sets with their favourite character etc.

Our tree is artifical so we don't need to buy that and I have the same decorations every year and usually buy one or two more if I love them when I see them.

I stock up on christmas wrapping paper and sellotape as soon as shops get the christmas stuff in and start to buy some of the christmas treat foods and out it away as an d when I see it in shops.

This year in anticipation of lockdown I have also done a lovely shop of craft supplies form Baker Ross including christmassy arts and crafts stuff as I guess we will be home a whole lot more.

This is the only area of my life in which I am this organised btw. Just with three birthdays and the birthday parties in a normal year and christmas I just feel like i would drown in it all if I was not on top of it.

I have a savings account that is specifically just for Christmas. Every single payday I put a bit in and that does my entire budget for Christmas including all gifting, any decs, taxis for the work do, food, everything. Done it last few years and it really takes the pressure off.

I just started buying a few bits this week for dc stocking. Nothing else bought yet.

I have an app on my phone to write lists that I can lock with a passcode.

I've listened to my son when he's with his friends to see what stuff he's into and anything he's spoken about a lot has went on his list. Dd is only little so likes lots of things.

I've just finished Christmas shopping for dd, ds and husband and I put money away at the start of each year to pay for it.

I switched from ordinary lists on paper to a spreadsheet yesterday and it makes things much easier and neat and tidy!
Got most of my shopping done yesterday, as per PP I opened up a second tab in the spreadsheet and moved those items to the bought list, has made it much cleared to see what I have and what I still need to get, and added in rough prices too which excel easily adds up for me, saving me time.

I start buying now and look out for things in supermarkets or online sporadically.
I do try to focus on a theme - this year both kids need new books and one is keen on Lego so that's what they'll predominately get along with a few other bits. We don't go mad though

And for the rest of the family, we have said we won't buy for each other (and me and DH don't buy for each other). Everyone sticks to this. It was so worth the conversation as no one really wanted to struggle with Christmas shopping for the sake of it (& the cost!!)

I use a spreadsheet too. I find it particularly useful with the kids to make sure their gifts are reasonably equal.

I keep track of Birthday gifts the same way!

I don't have a budget and never have had. I probably should have! My ds has asked for the new PS for Christmas between me and dh. I then do ds's stocking and a sack for larger presents. He is 15 now and as they get older the pile gets smaller but the price of gifts increases! My challenges is not to but items just to make up the pile. I'm determined not to do that this year. My dh has had his main present already, a new case for his bass guitar but i will get him some surprises. My mum and i do stockings for each other but about 12 larger gifts like calender, book etc. Other than that there's my brother, sil, sister, Niece and Great Nephew to buy for. I hsve ideas for most of them but again don't have a specific budget. I have done a lot of my Christmas shopping already this year due ti thr current situation.

I do an equivalence list for my kids. They are very close in age, 7and 9, but the 9 year old is so easy to (over) buy for, I want to make sure in my own mind that I'm being fair. So I might decide on one big present (eg dolls house / car track) and 2 mediums, then 7 smallers (aka stocking fillers). So one year they each got a watch in a money box, branded paw patrol or mlp. They are obviously equivalent presents! Tube of jelly tots is clearly the equivalent of a tube of Minstrels. Treehouse book series / wimpy kid book series. I've also in my own head had to be like 'these hot wheels cars are equivalent to this set of Hama beads; this remote control car is the same as oonies'. I know the kids won't compare, but I could buy something my daughter would enjoy doing every time I leave the house. My son's main hobby is playing with water. We have an outside tap and he's got lots of tubs, there is nothing he needs to enhance that for him. I still can't buy her half of Hobbycraft and leave him out, so I do a page with a line down the middle. Writing it down makes me realise how much I have bought, as it is hidden out of sight.
I buy nephews and nieces one present each. My brother has a huge family, so sometimes it is some sweets each and a tenner in a card as buying equivalent presents for half a dozen kids with over a decade age gap is tricky. Some years I've got them all onesies or t-shirts; the years I've done toys were hard as if one kid gets something with amazing Wow factor you don't want someone else to have something a bit meh.