Strategy for getting xmas shopping done?!

[Piccalino3]

Over the years I've tried various strategies for getting the shopping done early, I'm not a last minute shopper but it always goes on later than I'd like. I've long given up the notion that I'm going to enjoy wrapping and card writing by the twinkly lights of the tree, because if I leave it that late I end up pulling nights till 2am in December desperate to go to bed, surrounded by tape, scissors lost under the bits of paper and then too grumpy to enjoy a lot of the festivities I look forward to.

With this thought in mind I would LOVE to have everyone's presents (apart from my kids and maybe DH) bought and wrapped by Dec 1st. This is the goal. I have little time as will be starting a new job in Sept and my kids are young.

I have 45 people to buy for so that's a lot of presents, I will look who I can cut out again but it'll probably only be a few. This year I thought if I make a list and start by choosing one present a day I could be done end of Oct, leaving Nov for wrapping, sending international packages and card writing, then Dec to largely do things I actually want to do.

No idea if this is actually achievable. Does anyone else have any methods that work for getting things done early? I find it hard to get inspiration early and quite like to see the things and catalogues released closer to Christmas but this really doesn't work for my stress levels. I'm determined it's going to be different this year and moving forwards!

I’ve just counted and I shop for 36 people, however, some of those are children who I will only buy selection boxes for, or staff at work who will receive a bottle of Prosecco and a box of chocolates.

I have a list of names, budget and items I’ve already bought on notes on my phone and amend that as and when I buy things, as well as a note of items I think they might like or may have mentioned to me.

I spread my shopping across the year so if I see something I know they will live in February I’ll buy it then and update the list.

I aim to have everything bought by end of October, and have dedicated shopping afternoons at particular complexes where I know they have a good variety of shops to cover all tastes.

If I need to on those days I will buy everything I need. I’ll make a day of it stopping for lunch if needed… I love it especially carrying all the bags at the end of the day, with tired feet - sounds strange but the feeling of satisfaction knowing it’s all done it worth it.

I always have an annual shopping day with my mom in early December so any last minute gifts can be bought then if needed, however, she tends to leave her shopping until the last minute (compared to me) so I try to have nothing to do myself so I can help her with her shopping.

However, if I achieve my aim of getting everything done by end of October it means I can then wrap, write cards, put my tree up in November and then have December to just enjoy Christmas.

My tip would be to start now!

@Piccalino3

Thanks everyone, lots to think about!

@JayAlfredPrufrock I have 3 young kids so I think that adds a lot to my 45. Some are their friends, lots are DH family (I do their presents because it's easier than asking what he's got and being stressed nothing yet!) a few my family, I buy for a few of friends too. It just all seems to add up quickly!

I was also 😲 at 45 people and was wondering how many were on the DH's side.

Honestly, just leave his side to him. If no one gets anything you can explain that your DH is the idiot who didn't do it. 🤷‍♀️

Falling that, Amazon gift vouchers for all.

Our list used to be small, three kids, dad and in-laws. Since my children are older it's now grown to us, e kids plus two partners, 5 grandchildren plus one due in Jan. On top of that we have 6 extra Dec to Jan birthdays and next year 7. We have a set budget and never go over(unless it's a Dec or Jan birthday then we adjust the birthday budget) even if it means splitting a pack of chocolate bars.I'd leave it but we suspect DH has autism and he can't cope with things not being equal.

@BiddyPop

Also - for any Nov birthdays, could you link the presents for birthday and christmas?

And a trip to a good Christmas department/store could reveal lots of really lovely decorations that are unusual - you could get a lot of people, especially the more "bottle of champers" type, a lovely decoration for their tree instead.

As someone with a December birthday I suggest DO NOT LINK BD AND XMAS PRESSIES! Had enough of that when I was younger. It will not be appreciated!

Buy less stuff!

I find shopping is easier now my siblings and cousins all have kids. When we were young adults I used to really think about presents and have £20-30 budget for each individual. I’d spend hours browsing trying to find something nice but reflected the person’s personality.

Now we have kids, adults get a nice bottle of wine (per couple), parents & grandparents get a bottle of spirits (bourbon for my dad, gin for my mum). Nieces & nephews etc have £20 budget and I directly ask their parents what to get them so I know I’m not buying a duplicate. If they play the ‘I don’t know’ game they end up with a WH Smith’s voucher.

Easy Peasy 😆

Thanks everyone for all the tips. I've sat down and written down themes which seems to be: cull the list, start now, buying the same thing for same ages and similar people if possible, book a day off to do shopping in person and day to do wrapping, buy less, wrapping as you go, use work journey to pick things up, batch buying - couple of hours a week research and buy in a batch, Christmas gift list app, lists - (ideas, bought, shipped, delivered, wrapped), buy more vouchers, check obligation, check division of Labour and get presents done by end of Oct, cards written and presents wrapped by end of Nov. I wrote this list as a summary of responses - for myself to come back to but if it's helpful for anyone that's great!

I've actually made a list of everyone I buy for and split them into 5 categories on an A4 grid: Family adults, family children, friends adults, friends children and other (nursery, school etc). This was really useful as I can see most of the present buying is family children and friends children. I've identified between 4 and 8 people I can cull depending on how ruthless I'm going to be.

I'm going to try a lot of the tips above, I've started buying stocking fillers, ordered one of my children's main presents and identified the other two. Let's see if I can keep it up....

Have a look on Amazon and poundtoy for children and quirky gifts for adolescents

Do you follow the Christmas bargain thread? It’s really good. People post ideas throughout the year so I pick bits up as I go & stash them so there’s less last minute panic. Been some lovely things this year inc some bargain Xmas candles, sprout ketchup, curry making kits etc. It’s worth keeping an eye on as people come up with really good ideas.

Yeah 45 is way too much! I’ve discovered that people often don’t mind if you cut down. Every year I whittle a couple off. My siblings and I just do presents for kids and something eatable like a bottle of wine now, and I’ve really cut down DC’s friends. (I find they do Christmas gifts less as they get older anyway).
My tips:
Eatable generic presents wherever possible - bottle of Prosecco, big panettone. Order online for delivery as much as is feasible! Either to be delivered to your recipients direct; or order a case of Prosecco and a load of bottle bags and stick them somewhere and you’ve done that lot.

Older kids in the family - switch to vouchers or a book and chocolate/sweets. They prefer vouchers over the age of about 12 anyway.

Younger kids / preteens - book/Lego/chocolate Santas. Buy a bundle from a discount book site or when Amazon is doing 2 for £7.

Very young kids/token presents - agree on a book from The Works plus a net of chocolate reindeers or something.

Make as many presents into opportunities for crafts etc. if your kids are old enough. Eg. get them to help wrap by stocking decorations or stickers on a bunch of brown paper bags from eBay; get a job lot of Xmas tissue paper and just scrunch it up and get a kid to help you stick the pressie in and scrunch some tissue paper on top. No backbreaking evening of kneeling on the floor scraping at the end of a sellotape reel. Similarly get your preschoolers to cut old Xmas cards into shapes and hole punch them and put a bit of ribbon through to make gift tags.

Replace family gifts with a joint experience/day out or similar wherever possible.

Don’t stress about teacher/nursery presents. Buy a bunch of bottle bags and a bottle of Prosecco each, job done.

Gifts for DC friends anyway you don’t really need to get much. Get ten chocolate reindeers from Tesco or bake some Xmas biscuits. Now my DD is older (8) I only get a token little thing for about 4 of her closest friends - this year it’s a multipack of lip balms split up, and put in empty plastic baubles with a scrunchie each. Looks cute but not expensive or elaborate and I’ll delegate the putting together of it to DD.

Also cut down on sending Cmas cards. I knock ten or so people off my list each year!

I try to get my presents done as early as possible - I’ve got most done now, and then I’ll be posting some vouchers to niece and nephew and getting some kind of present delivery online for the parents. I hate having a last minute rush and always seem to end up doing that so every year I try to get it all finished up a little bit earlier!

I use the Santa’s bag app. You can list out all of the people you buy for and set a budget. Then you can put ideas in allocated to each person. Then you reclassify each idea to buy/ordered/, collected, wrapped, given.

I really like this app. It gives you a nice summary so you can see where you are up to.

Also I think the key is in the preparation. Before I buy any presents I really try to gather some ideas for each person then I order as much as I can online.

Thought I was hard done to with 30!!

I use labels you can print out for addressing the envopes for cards. Takes a while to set up but makes it easier, just have to sign in the card, stick on label and stamp.

I use the Santa’s Bag app. You can create a list of recipients, and add gift ideas, change the gift status spot tells you if it’s to buy/ordered/to wrap/wrapped and to send. You can set budgets, it gives you a running total and you can even add where you’ve hidden the present!

A few years ago we culled our list, so stopped buying for in-laws and just agreed to buy for nieces and nephews. Saved us the swapping of bath sets gift exchange! For friends kids, we mutually agreed not to get presents - they all get plenty as it is. However, if you still wanted to buy for them I’d go for book/game/voucher and selection box.

I’d be firm with requesting ideas off people - when DS2 was born less than 2 weeks before Christmas, I couldn’t be bothered with scouring shops (rough pregnancy), so I asked people what they’d like, asked for links etc, and if they didn’t give me any idea they’d get a voucher. It’s a policy I’ve stuck with ever since!

Took me that long to type I’ve x posted with XjustagirlX 😂

Forgot to add that I order pre printed sticker gift labels for DC. You can choose designs and saves having to write out gift tags

My goal is usually to have everything wrapped by the I'm a celeb final.
I start planning in October, do a lot online and it is fairly straightforward. I've decreased the number of people I buy for.

I used to wrap and store gifts at work. I have a fab Dymo label printer that is fab for gift tags and Xmas card envelopes.

@ByThePool2021

I don’t have a specific Christmas app, I just use the notes one that came on my iPhone. You can add little tick boxes and I write notes in italic. Nothing fancy at all. What do you buy most years for these people? Is there something you can buy every year like plants, booze, etc? Might make it easier if you just buy the same kind of thing. You could also say buy all under 10s a Lego set and selection box, 10-18yrs a selection box and gift card, and 18+ Something alcoholic and simplify your shopping like that

For 45 people this is a great idea. Fixed rules for gifts to cut the thinking time right down.

I cannot get my head around this - you need to aim to cut 10 people a year off this list!!

I would:
Give DH responsibility for his family and then NOT WORRY ABOUT IT. If he fails to buy presents so be it. Maybe warn them in advance!
Buy family presents. Eg cinema voucher for whole family to go to cinema, pack it up with microwave popcorn and a DVD if you feel the need.
Agree with getting the same thing for each family/kids of similar ages.
Do a subscription gift box or monthly subscription that you can rollover each year and gets delivered direct. Eg box of craft beer, kids magazine.

45?! Cut that down right now. You do not need to buy for your cousins, their kids, or all your friends kids - it’s insane. Just text them all now and say “let’s not buy for each other (grown ups) and only uncles/aunts need buy for each other’s nieces/nephews (if you wish) and I’ll do the same”.

Or buy families a joint activity like a board game, jigsaw or box of chocolates to share.

I've also thought I NEVER buy gifts for DC friends and no-one has ever bought us one back. How many of you do that and how did you get stuck in that routine??