3 Steps for a Stress-Free Christmas Shopping

Hey Hivers! I know that most of us had been saving money for December because this is the perfect time to give our loved ones the best gift they want for the year. I know we’re so rapt if there’s a mall sale or even considering buying second-hand items just to save money.

But how about saving time?

Before I’m used to shopping almost every week but now that I have my little daughter I want to spend more of my time with her than allotting more time for shopping. Also, with this Covid-19 pandemic, I learned my lesson last year on how to maximize shopping for a day.

Is that possible to do shopping in a day?

Well, I love to challenge myself if I can do it and with that, I want to share my secret about how I managed to shop for a day without stressing myself!

Christmas Shopping Tip No. 1: Have a Checklist!

Every year I always make it a point to update my Notes (I’m using my phone notes) their age, the number of children, status if married or still single. So I have here a category I would like to give a gift to.
• Families (both sides)
• Godchildren (separate girls and boys)
• Friends
• Work colleagues
• Close Neighbors
• Spouse (it’s in my last category because I find it the most difficult to look for a gift)
So with this list that I have, I will determine per category what are the possible gifts that I will buy and set a budget. I also need to have a checklist as to what are the things that I can purchase online and what shops will I visit to buy Christmas gifts.
How do I make a checklist for what gifts to buy?
I follow the rule of 4.

Here are some of my recommendations for gifts that I usually buy during the Christmas season:
For our families, I usually follow the “what they want” rule because every year it’s our tradition to do exchange gifts so I know what exactly they want.

For Godchildren, I always stick to the rule “what to wear” since I’m the type of person who likes to buy matchy-matchy or twinning styles and I usually buy these at H&M, Uniqlo, or in the Department Store.

For my friends, it’s more of “what they need”. I usually give personalized items and last year I gave them a personalized mask holder and alcohol spray bottle.

For work colleagues and neighbors, it’s more on “what to share”. I usually give wine or fruitcakes because this will last for a while or maybe give them a Noche Buena baskets (food for Christmas Eve). Sometimes giving them kitchen essentials or home living fixtures is also a nice gift items.

For my husband, it’s all of the above! So this is the part that really challenges me.

Christmas Shopping Tip No. 2: Go Shopping in a Day!

In choosing a store to shop in, I always have this rule first to shop on a weekday because it’s most likely to have fewer shoppers. And I always make sure to shop as soon as the store opens because you will have more options to choose from the display. If you want to enjoy unique finds, with huge sales and fuel discounts plus a free haircut then I would highly recommend shopping at Landers Superstore. They have a wide range of selections of products.

Another store that I always shop at is a shopping mall and I usually buy gifts from boutiques because they have paper bags for the items, and I’m saving myself for doing gift wrapping because that’s another thing that I’m not good at. I know gift wrapping is fun but spare me from that because it will just add stress to my life. LOL

If shopping at the mall, here are my suggested boutiques that you don’t have to pay extra for the paper bags plus they have good quality items at an affordable price.
The Body Shop (you can ask for their mini pouches especially if you’re buying their set products) – I’m usually buying their hand cream because it smells really good.
Uniqlo – they have the best quality for shirts
Terranova and Forever21 – have items that are good for Barkada gifts like (T-shirts, crop tops, accessories)
Rustans – usually have marked down prices for kid’s apparel
H&M – I usually buy most of the twinning shirts for kids and socks here but they don’t have free paper bags instead you can ask for an accessory pouch in replacement to their paper bag and it’s for free.

Christmas Shopping Tip No. 3: Shop Online!

For me, shopping online is the most convenient way if you want to avoid crowded places. Here in the Philippines, we have LAZADA and SHOPEE both are online shopping sites that offer all sorts of products may it be clothing to electronics. This is a life-saver for me because anything that you won’t find in the mall they have it here, TRUST me!

But hey, don’t expect to have it ALL done in a day because after all, it will still depend on you. Sometimes we can’t make up our mind or decide immediately to the things that we have listed and sometimes we still seek opinions from others if it’s worth buying for.

Well, if you just stick to these 3 steps, definitely you will complete most of your shopping list! No more panic buying and less stressful for me. I hope this will help you guys, please let me know in the comments down below your tips in Christmas shopping! Bye 💚