Christmas Shopping Tips

In My Humble Opinion
1

Now that it has officially started, thought it might be time for others to share their tips for Christmas shopping.

One that I learned years ago that has saved me lots of time, effort and money:
If you are buying gifts for someone out of the country (or even out of state), the best approach is to go online and find businesses in the area where that person lives.

For instance, I wanted to buy something for friends in New Zealand - went online, found some cools shops not far from where they live. Finally decided to send them a huge box of chocolates from a specialty chocolate shop a mile from where they live. I simply ordered online, paid with my debit card and the day before Christmas, my friends got it delivered to their house. No postage on my part (saved a lot!), no wondering if it got there on time (picked the day for delivery) and if they had any problem whatsoever they could quickly drive over to the shop to return it.

I have since done the same for friends in Canada and Germany - simply find a shop in their area, order it online (or call if you have free Skype) and have it sent from there. This really does save the rush of buying something, packing it, waiting in line at the post office, paying for postage and hoping it arrives in one piece on time.

The above suggestion has also made shopping a lot easier - no running around 5 malls trying to find something at the last minute. I can do all of this during my lunch break at work or from home on a Saturday.

If you buy gifts for people and have any great Christmas shopping tips, feel free to share!

2

I’ve always been happy with Amazon as far as selection and delivery dates. I have Amazon Prime so most stuff I buy gets shipped 2nd day air, and it usually arrives on time. Most recently I bought a pair of earrings from a NON-Prime seller on Amazon to be delivered to my mom’s house (in Arizona–I was visiting for her birthday but live in Massachusetts). I told her ahead of time that I was having something shipped in case it came after I’d left, but it arrived while I was there, about 2-3 days after I ordered it, even though it wasn’t Prime eligible.

That particular item wasn’t gift-wrappable, but many of the things bought on Amazon can be delivered gift-wrapped, which means I don’t need to ship it to me first, then wrap it, then ship it to the recipient.

I know some people don’t like Amazon because they’re “big business” but I have found them to be reliably good in the areas of selection, availability, price, and shipping.

I’m far more likely to find something I think a person wants through searches on Amazon than I am by wandering around in the mall, too.

3

If you’re going for a big round of shopping in a brick-and-mortar mall, and you’re driving there? Leave your jacket in the car! Seriously, the crowds and the bad-taste music are bad enough without being overheated. A few chilly minutes walking across the parking lot will be amply repaid once you’re indoors.