éliseChristmas Gifts: 3 Steps to Plan Wisely!
Summary
– Step 1: Christmas gifts: getting organized
– Step 2: Department stores or online stores for gifts?
– Step 3: You’ve found the right gift: don’t wait!
Like every year, Christmas is approaching, and you’re going to buy all your gifts at the last minute in crowded stores.
What if, for once, you organized yourself in advance to have a more serene Christmas? This post will help you plan your Christmas gifts wisely this year!
1. Christmas gifts: get organized
To make sure your Christmas shopping goes smoothly, the first thing to do is to get organized.
Think about:
– make a list of the names of the people to whom you want to give a gift;
– indicate next to each name the gift(s) associated with it.
To get even more organized, copy this list into an Excel spreadsheet and add the price associated with each gift or the price range you can put on it.
This is a quick way to plan the overall budget, spread out expenses, and see what gifts can be made together.
Good to know: if you are short of ideas, don’t hesitate to go online to find inspiration and an original gift.
2. Department stores or online stores for gifts?
If the question did not arise a few years ago, today you can easily do all your shopping on the internet. What are the advantages of shopping in a supermarket or online store?
Department stores
The advantage of the department stores or stores in town is that:
– you know what you are buying, and you can choose more quickly because you usually have the product in your hands;
– if there is a problem, you can easily return the gift. Very useful for watches, multimedia and anything that needs special care.
The downside is that such a trip to crowded shopping malls will sometimes cost you a day of your time and energy. You will also be subject to additional temptations generated by the organization of the store space: the way the shelves are arranged is very conducive to purchase! Don’t be fooled anymore. The only solution to this problem is to prepare well in advance and go there, if possible, outside the peak days and hours.
Online stores
Online stores are the exact opposite of department stores:
– no loss of time;
– the possibility of staying at home;
– an infinite range of choices.
On the other hand, beware of nasty surprises:
– late delivery of gifts;
– exorbitant delivery fees;
– pure and simple scam;
– shaky after-sales service.
Good to know: there is no way to be 100% sure of a website, even if a URL (page address) starts with “https” instead of “http” and the appearance of a padlock in the banner at the bottom of your page are indications of reliability. Finally, do not give out your four-digit secret code under any circumstances.
3. You have found the right gift: don’t wait!
You can’t wait to return to the beach when Christmas is nearing. You have found yourself on vacation, between two shelves, with a trinket in your hands, and thought to yourself, “he would like that so much! No matter! A heartfelt gift is the surest way to hit the spot.
So, when you have an idea, when you spot a good lead or when a loved one tells you that “he would like it so much”, write it down in the corner of your head (or in a notebook, or on your Christmas Excel for the more organized).
