It’s almost Christmas and you’re back home for winter break. Unfortunately, that also means you have less than two weeks to buy everyone gifts. While that’s enough time for Amazon to deliver goodies to your doorstep, chances are it isn’t enough time for much else. Fortunately, there are ways to get organized and finish up your holiday shopping. From one holiday procrastinator to another, here are a few tips and tricks for last minute Christmas shopping.
Step 1: Make a list, check it twice.
One thing that is incredibly important in last minute shopping is to know exactly who you will be shopping for, their interests, and your price limit per person. You can type this up on your phone or actually write it out if that works better for you. The open-ended "interests" section will help you determine what kind of gift they would enjoy. A fashionista would like a different present than a Doctor Who fan would.This process does take a little bit of time, but it’ll help you in the long run when you’re actually in a store.
Step 2: Actually go to the store.
This seems like a no brainer, but people are lazy and prefer online shopping. Unfortunately, unless you’re using Amazon Prime there’s no real guarantee that the gifts will get delivered in time. Some of the best stores to go to for gifts are quirky local stores. There's a store called Planet in my hometown that is the holy mecca for fun gifts. They have everything from clothes to vintage metal signs. Going to small local shops will allow you to find unique presents that your friends will not already own.
Step 3: Start big, go small.
When you know that there will be some high price gifts for best friends or significant others, be sure to get those first. Starting with your largest purchases will allow you to budget for the smaller gifts and make sure that you’re using your money responsibly. With any leftover money, you can buy more stocking stuffers for friends and family in order to use up your budget. If that's not really your style then you can buy yourself something nice. YAS.
Step 4: Time limits are everything.
If you let yourself shop for a long time, then you will lose focus. Try to commit to one day of shopping if possible so that everything can get done quickly. This will afford you the choice between being proactive and wrapping everything quickly or being a procrastinator and waiting until Christmas Eve to wrap. The time limit also allows you to keep your momentum. If you take more than one day to buy gifts, you run the risk of getting lazy and putting shopping off even more than you already have. Let's be honest, if you put off shopping any longer, then gifts won't even end up under the tree.
So you can't go to the store…
If you absolutely cannot go to the store, here are a few presents from Amazon that can arrive in time for the holidays.
Astronaut Ice Cream: Astronaut Ice Cream is a fun stocking stuffer and is great for people who love dairy. This is a good gift for people who really have no interests that you know of or only have expensive hobbies.
Boyfriend Pillow: The Boyfriend Pillow will be the perfect gift for your friends who lack a significant other or are in long distance relationship. All in all, this is a pillow. So if you give it to someone, it will get used.
Though there are online options for last minute gifts, nothing beats the feeling of satisfaction that you get from physically going to a store to buy presents. Instead of letting the Internet do all of the work for you, I encourage you to go out today and buy your friends some quirky gifts from local stores.
