Christmas Shopping 101: Strategies & Techniques

There are a variety of opportunities for holiday shoppers, including stores, catalogs and the internet. If you're heading out to the mall this year, have your shopping list ready. It's a good idea to shop early in the season because, if you wait too long, that perfect gift may already be under someone else's tree. Always remember to be polite. The holidays are extremely busy and store employees are working overtime, so be patient as you wait for assistance. If you have a big list, but not quite a budget to match, consider a layaway. Many stores offer a convenient layaway plan, which would allow you to make payments up until Christmas. It saves you from having to charge up credit card bills or spend a lot of pocket money all at once, so consider a layaway if you have a big shopping list. If you're shopping from a catalog this year, be sure to place the order early. The most popular items sell out first, so get your order placed and on its way as soon as possible. There's no need to wait for a catalog to arrive in the mail because you can log on to the internet and find many catalog companies online with product photos, descriptions, size charts and special 'internet only' sale prices. If you do decide to shop on the information superhighway this year, it will save you a lot of time standing in line at the mall. You can literally shop worldwide with the click of a button. Browse photos, compare prices, read customer reviews and see a huge variety of products without having to leave home. Best of all, in some cases, you won't even have to pay sales tax on internet orders. Some stores offer free shipping, quantity discounts and all kids of other incentives to lure you into their site. In addition, several televised shopping networks have websites in which they offer an easy payment program on select items. This means that you make one payment, using a credit/debit card, and the product ships out to you immediately. The remaining payments are billed to your credit card, until the item is paid in full, for the specified number of months. If you have a lot of people to buy for, and aren't exactly certain of their taste, consider buying in bulk. You can purchase a nice package of scented candles, divide them up into multiple gifts and present them with a beautiful bow wrapped around the glass jar. These types of gifts are ideal if you have teachers, doctors, co-workers or other special people that you want to wish a Merry Christmas. Another terrific idea is to purchase small Christmas tins and several bags of assorted miniature candies. Divide the candies up into each tin and present them with a beautiful bow on top. These are ideal gifts because they are thoughtful, but also budget conscious. You can purchase a pre-designed tin similar to the one described, but you will get a much better deal if you make your own. As an added bonus, you get to decide which candy to include, which isn't always the case with pre-packaged gifts. Happy shopping!