Christmas Gifts
'Tis the season for good spirit, good cheer and good tidings. Yet somehow Christmas shopping doesn't quite fit. For many, it is the ultimate challenge -- the deadline, the budget, the crowds, and the eternal question of what to buy for whom. Don't let shopping suck the joy out of your season. This guide will help lead you painlessly through the pre-holiday season so that you have time to focus on other enjoyable holiday activities: Decorating, planning parties, or just plain kicking back with your friends and family.
Read on to get some basic pointers on how to buy Christmas gifts, along with some ideas for traditional Christmas decoration gifts and alternatives to classic gift giving.
Basic Pointers
Who Gets a Gift
Before getting to specific gift ideas, you need to have a very clear and organized point from which to start. Otherwise, you can either A) forget to buy for important people in your life or B) spend much more money than planned. A simple way of tackling the gift giving issue is to sit down for about 15 to 30 minutes and do some brainstorming at least a month in advance (if not further) to the holiday season. The earlier you plan, the easier it will be to casually shop around for deals, receive any shipments that you order, and cautiously work within your budget. For a good head start, holiday planning should start around the end of October.
The first list you need to make is one that includes everyone you know you want to buy a gift for. This may include: - Immediate and extended family, or your in-laws.
- Coworkers, business contacts, clients, or your boss.
- People from your social circle, including friends, acquaintances, neighbors, postmen, and the like.
Categorize who is an A list (someone you HAVE to buy for), a B list (someone you probably should buy for, and a C list (someone you would like to buy for if you have the money to do so).
Unexpected Gifts?
It never fails -- you think you have finished your shopping, then low and behold, long lost Aunt May shows up at your door with a gift for you. To keep in good graces with all during the holidays, you might want to set aside a few bucks to get some "safety gifts". You'll never know who is going to stop by unexpectedly with a gift or who you might happen to forget to put on your list. A fail-safe way of keeping from making someone feel bad is to buy a few inexpensive, generic gifts to have wrapped and ready to go for when you have a spontaneous gift giving moment. Small gift baskets (pre-made or homemade), chocolates, wine or champagne, baked goods, Christmas ornaments, bath and body gifts, scarves, picture frames, or other small items can be wrapped without a tag or name on them so that you can give them on the spur of the moment.
How Much to Spend
Remember that it's the thought that counts. You don't need to spend an arm and a leg on gifts. Set your budget and stick to it! With that in mind, after you have established who you need gifts for, estimate what you can afford to spend. This is an important step in the process since staying as far out of the red as possible is key to a happy holiday. To stay within your budget, consider what you would like to buy for each person on the list. Maybe you already know, and maybe you are still guessing at what he or she wants from Santa. This ShopWiki guide, among others, will help you decide if you haven't got any ideas yet. - Estimate how much each gift you plan to buy will cost.
- When in doubt, always round up.
- Don't forget to include costs for shipping and tax.
- Tally up how much you expect to spend on these gifts and decide if this is realistically within your budget. You may need to cut some corners and recalculate how much you can afford based on your original budget.
- If you are an impulsive shopper you might want to set aside one credit card with a particular limit or a certain cash sum to use for shopping so that you know you can't go beyond your budget. Once it's gone, it's gone.
Traditional Gift Alternatives
Buying gifts is easy for the most part when you know what to get someone. But what happens when you are shopping for the person who has everything? The person who hates clutter? The person who says that they don't want anything? These can be some of the hardest people to shop for. In order to get around this potential road-block you have to think creatively. That means branching out of the box. Here are some non-standard gift ideas to try this holiday season. Check out BuyNothingChristmas for more ideas. - Host a Christmas party. Invite all your friends over for a shindig and specify -- no gifts. Prepare food, drinks, music, and entertainment either with the help of a planner or on your own depending on how elaborate you want the party to be. Again, make a budget before you start undertaking this project and as usual, plan well in advance. Check out SoYouWanna, Ehow, Party 411, and Office Party Tips. You might also want to see About.com for Children's Christmas Party Ideas.
- Make your own gifts. Crafts, homemade foodstuffs, and baked goods are fun, easy, and easy on the wallet. While they will cost you some time, your work will pay off as you can give your friends and family unique, yet thoughtful gifts. More homemade gifts include: mix CDs, a blown up photo in a nice frame, a Christmas wreath, or a sentimental poem in a decorative frame. Want more Christmas craft ideas? Check out this list at About.com.
- Put together a family recipe book.
- Record a series of audio books from your collection to give to a friend.
- Compose a song and play it for the recipient.
- Give out I-O-U coupons. These won't cost you a penny, but they could save someone a bundle. Plan to give your time to someone this Christmas instead of a physical gift. Set a date to do one of the following chores for someone you care about:
- Babysit or take the kids out to the zoo, park, etc.
- Dog or cat sit.
- Shovel the driveway
- Invitation to coffee and a conversation.
- Housecleaning coupon.
- Neck massage.
- Teach someone a skill you have.
- Make a donation. Spend money on a charity or fund that your friend or family member would approve of and put the donation in his or her name. For example:
- Be the bringer of a new experience. There are many gifts that give the gift of a memory, from sky diving, to a dinner cruise, to becoming a chef for a day, or enjoying a relaxing day at the spa. See experiential gifts for more ideas.
- Get them something out of this world. Let your gift recipient name a star or give them an acre on Mars or the Moon. Search for packages for buying on the Moon
 and Mars. Buy them a square meter of Queensland, Australia.
- Buy someone one unit of stock in a company that is related to his or her interests.
- Subscribe someone to their favorite magazine.
Gift Guides
Classic Gifts
Sometimes you just want to buy someone something that evokes the spirit of Yuletide cheer. Gifts gilded, green, or red fit the bill along with these classic Christmas d cor gifts that will make every Grinch a tad more apt to joining in Christmas festivities.
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