1) Plan! When you do your Christmas shopping without prior planning you'll spend most of your time 'humming' and 'hurring'. Take a notebook and pen, list out the people you intend to buy a gift for, a rough idea of what to get them and the kind of shops you should look in. Use the list you plan your trip, get the single pieces first and drop them at home or in the car. You don't want to be carrying too much through the crowds. 2) Aim for the larger stores The smaller shops can be just as busy but less staffed than larger department stores. This means longers waiting in lines. You can also find more room to move in larger stores. Larger stores also carry a wider variety of products so you can get more in one go and find more of a choice while you're at it. 3)Don't be afraid to use gift cards! Younger people tend to be very specific in their desires but with older people, if you can't think of what to get them, get them a gift card! Most shops these days offer gift cards. From as little as 5 you can preload a card with credit for that particular store and give them an option of selecting the gift themselves. You can also get specialist gift cards offering things from grow your own grapes to skydiving, these gifts can vary widely in price but there are some pretty interesting gift ideas. 4) Enlist a friend Christmas shopping does not have to be done alone. By bringing a friend you not only make it a social experience, but you'll have someone to help carry the bags and give their opinion on gift ideas. The only downside here is, if you want to get that friend a gift you'll have to go separately or distract them. 5) Get delivery Enlist a friend Most of the larger stores offer a delivery service. A lot of this time this is free if your purchase is above a certain value. You can get an item delivered to your house to save on carrying or you can get it delivered directly to the recipient. Be warned, however, that the postage services are likely to be very busy around the holiday period. I would only use postage delivery if you get your shopping early enough. 6) Have some extra gifts We are only human. We've all been in the situation where we've either forgotten someone, or someone has got you a gift and you haven't got them anything. Don't rely on the 'it's in the mail' excuse, we all know it's fake. Have a few extra generic gifts wrapped but unnamed. If you need them, use them. If you don't then keep them for next year or even give them as additional gifts. 7) Use the internet We use the internet for everything these days, why should Christmas shopping be any different? You can get gift ideas, research products, compare prices and even do the actual shopping online. 8) Remember! Just remember the festive period is meant to be fun. Don't get too overly stressed, stop for a coffee and try and enjoy it.
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