So, how’s your Christmas shopping coming? With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Green Monday, and all kinds of special sales behind us, I’m getting close to being done, and it sounds like a lot of Sisters and Misters are in the same boat. That should be good news, right? It is, but being done with Christmas shopping early can lead to overspending if we’re not careful.
How? Well, the retailers are nowhere near finished trying to tempt us into their stores. This can be dangerous when we already have our list checked off, and we spot things our family and friends would like. A little organization can help us make sure that we’re not over buying when new deals pop up in the next few weeks, and that we’re not going over budget just because we something interesting is on sale.
Be like Santa—make a list of good girls and boys who are receiving gifts from you, and check off the ones who are done. Shop only for the ones who aren’t checked off, and be aware of your budget. If you tend to get creative with stashing gifts so the kids don’t find them, give yourself a few hints about where they are, so that you don’t forget any (not that I have experience with that one or anything…) 😉
Starting this week, I usually have sort of a “staging area“…as I finish up making teacher gifts, I have a tote that’s headed to school. Another tote will have items for this weekend’s festivities, and so on for all our different destinations and celebrations throughout the next two weeks. Gifts for my parents’ celebration, gifts for the in-laws’ celebration, gifts for the extended families…as I start gathering those things, I try to pack a bag/box for each place.
If you still need to do some shopping, be sure to check out all our great holiday deals. We’ve got great Amazon deals, online shopping sales and codes, photo deals, and much more. Remember to keep an eye on shipping deadlines too–you don’t want to score a great deal and end up having to pay big bucks for shipping!
Any other tips for staying organized and under budget for Christmas? We’d love to hear them in the comments or on Facebook–join the conversation!
