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Christmas Shopping: Bargains For You!
by: Matthew C. Keegan
This Christmas season promises to be one filled with exceptional
sales and across the board bargains for eager shoppers.
With fuel prices running high, interest rates climbing,
and consumer sentiment mixed, merchants know that they
must slash prices in order to move merchandise. Let’s
take a look at some of the types of sales certain to greet
price conscious shoppers this holiday season.
» Learn
More
Inexpensive Christmas Gifts
by: Rick Chapo
The holidays are quickly approaching, which means it’s
time to buy gifts. If you’re a little light on funds,
following are ideas for inexpensive Christmas gifts.
If you’re low on funds heading into the holidays,
stress becomes a problem. Don’t sweat it. Here are
some inexpensive Christmas gifts that will be hits with
everyone.
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Does hearing the terms Christmas shopping make you cringe
and feel stressed out? Find tips and articles here to
help make your Christmas shopping a breeze!
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Christmas Gifts
Christmas Gifts - Making Your Shopping
Easier
by: Alison Thompson
Buying Christmas gifts can either be a pleasure or a pain
and the deciding factor is often centred upon whether
you know what to buy for your recipient, or whether you
are simply wandering aimlessly in search of inspiration.
So to avoid the pain, a little prior gift planning can
pay dividends and can really help to reduce some of the
seasonal stress you have to cope with.
It always helps to start your Christmas shopping preparations
by writing a list of those you need to buy gifts for.
It focuses the mind and can also assist with budgeting,
as once you know how many recipients you have, you can
allocate your funds accordingly. At this point, you will
have a better idea of the type of presents you should
be seeking too, as you will have a price range for each
gift on your list. It's not mercenary to think like this,
it is a sensible and practical measure, as the joy of
Christmas can make even the most budget conscious person
lose control of their finances during the festive season.
Once you know how much you can afford to spend on presents,
don't set off to buy them until you have a few ideas for
each gift recipient. Even if you plan to do your shopping
offline, make use of the Internet to browse through Christmas
gift sites to get an idea of what is available and what
the prices are. If you are comfortable with shopping on-line,
it can save you a lot of time whilst opening up a whole
world of gifts that you may not have previously considered.
To reduce postage costs, check out presents for your entire
recipient list before you place orders as you may find
that several presents can be ordered from the same company.
To decide what gifts to buy, have a good think about each
recipient and what you know about their personality. The
key to buying gifts that people love is to buy something
that they will appreciate, rather than something you like
yourself!
Start with those you know well, as you will come up with
ideas more easily and this may spark ideas for those recipients
you find it harder to buy gifts for. Unless you know someone
very well, avoid gifts for the home, as personal tastes
can vary wildly in this area. A luxury treat or 'occasion'
present can be an excellent choice though, as they don't
require the recipient to keep them on display for months
afterwards to avoid hurting your feelings. For instance,
if you know someone likes to cook, a gift basket of exotic
spices and cooking oils will probably be well received
and your recipient needn't be a chocoholic to appreciate
beautiful handmade Belgian chocolates or a chocolate club
tasting box, so these make excellent choices.
Despite our electronic awareness, traditional favourites
such as board games can still bring great pleasure when
received as a gift and chosen with care, are very suitable
presents for friends and relatives. They are also ideal
to give as a shared gift for a couple or a family.
One of the latest trends in gift buying is the 'experience'
or 'adventure' gift. These can be superb choices if you
really are stuck for a gift item as they come in a vast
range of prices. For instance, a ten pin bowling session
for two is very modestly priced, making it suitable if
you have a limited budget, whilst an exciting driving
adventure or a luxury spa day will be more appropriate
if you have more funds. The beauty of such gifts is that
they last long after Christmas, so recipients have something
to look forward to long after the wrapping has been discarded.
If you know what someone really wants for Christmas but
you simply can't afford it, don't be tempted to buy an
inferior quality or similar product. The chances are that
despite your good intentions, it won't be used and your
money will have been wasted. It is far better in such
circumstances to buy something completely different, which
is within your budget providing you have applied the principles
above to try and select a gift that they will love to
receive.
As a final bit of planning, if there is a chance that
you might be invited to visit friends over Christmas that
you haven't seen for a while, consider buying one or two
small token gift items such as books, wine or tree decorations.
Have them ready wrapped with a blank gift tag ready and
you will always have a little gift ready for someone if
you need it unexpectedly.
About The Author
Copyright Alison Thompson 2005. Alison writes for The
Christmas Site http://thechristmassite.co.uk which provides
ideas, information and inspiration for Christmas gifts,
food and entertainment.
You may use this article on your website only if the author's
resource box is included in full. |
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