Holiday Shopping Tips and Gift Ideas

My holiday shopping tips can make choosing gifts easier, less time consuming and may even help you save money!

Top Holiday Shopping Tips

Divide your list into sections for ease

Your holiday shopping list can be divided to include:

• Holiday gifts for friends and family
• Gifts for December and January birthdays
• Gifts or tips for those who provide a service to you (hairdresser, cleaners etc)
• Clothing, shoes etc for special events
• Host/hostess gifts for dinners and parties you will be attending
• Food/ingredients for holiday baking and entertaining

Set a holiday shopping budget

Use the list you have created above to set an overall budget. Be realistic about what you can comfortably afford, and don’t give into pressure from the media, advertising and social media. No one wants a gift that makes life difficult for the giver when bills start arriving in January.

Gifts don’t have to be extravagant to be meaningful. Think about ways you can be creative instead – homemade treats make wonderful gifts that are always well received. Christmas craft fairs are fun to visit, a great way to support small businesses and they are often an excellent source of inexpensive handcrafted gifts and ornaments that make beautiful presents.

When it comes to food and entertaining, it is so easy to over-buy, especially with the pressure advertisers and shops place on us. Be as strict as you can about sticking to your list.

Shop Early

Not only is it less stressful to shop early, but it can also be less expensive. As much as the extended version of Black Friday frustrates me as it is just so commercial, I have had found some very good deals in early November.

Many credit cards are offering interest free, pay over time options if spending more early on is a problem. However, do not let this encourage you to get carried away – be sure that anything you spend fits into your budget and that you can pay everything off before you have to start paying any interest.

Beware of impulse buys

There is always something new and different, the latest, greatest thing that retailers want to tempt us with. Be careful not to be lured by the latest shiny things – they are often expensive, and can even lead to duplicate gifts as someone else will likely have had the same idea.

Do as much of your holiday shopping as you can with local businesses

While online shopping can be convenient, it is important to patronise local shops and businesses where you can. Consider giving gift certificates for local restaurants or day spas to your local friends and family. Many florists, like my favourite local florist Green Parlour, also offer flower subscriptions.

Get to know your local retailers. Some will even ship gifts directly to the recipients. This can save you time that might have been spent queuing at the post office. For example, Ninos Italian Deli in Pangbourne offer beautiful pre-selected and bespoke hampers, which they will also ship nationwide. Last year, we purchased several for family and friends, some of whom live far away. Nino’s made my holiday shopping very easy indeed!

If you giving books as gifts but cannot shop at your local bookstore, consider Bookshop UK. They provide online shopping convenience but support local bookstores. Not sure which book(s) to choose? Why not send a gift card? (affiliate link).

Give the same gift to more than one person

Or as I like to think of it – shop in reverse! Instead of matching the gift to the person, match the people to the gifts.

If you find a lovely, affordable gift that will suit several people on your list, buy it in bulk. One year, I found a neutral but gorgeous makeup palette that would suit just about anyone. Bulk buying can also work with things like cosy scarves and mittens. If you are on a budget, buy woollen scarves and mittens. Splashing out? Go for a cashmere scarf and/or leather gloves – or mix and match!

Other gifts that will work for more than one person include hampers, stationery, candles, hand wash and lotion sets etc.

Take advantage of free in store gift wrapping when holiday shopping

Many cosmetic counters and speciality stores offer free gift wrapping to make holiday shopping even easier. I almost always ask – the worse thing they can do is say no! Just be sure to write your gift tags on the spot to avoid confusion. I sometimes write gift tags before I go shopping and tuck them in my handbag to take with me.

Make holiday shopping and all year round task

If you see something that would make a great gift for someone – be it a holiday or birthday gift – and it is affordable, buy it on the spot. If it is not practical to purchase it right away, write the idea down before it disappears and refer back to the list every month or so.

I keep a gift drawer containing presents labelled with the recipients names and occasions, as well as a list of gifts to purchase later with links for ease.  This is great way to spread the cost of holiday shopping as well as shopping for birthdays and other occasions.

I sometimes even wrap the presents in advance too. Just be sure to label them and keep them somewhere safe (and remember where that somewhere safe is!!).

Holiday Shopping Tips – Gift Ideas

Give an experience

Afternoon tea, a spa treatment, restaurant gift certificates and travel or activity experiences can make holiday shopping easy and they are all welcome gifts. You can also buy courses and lessons to help your friends and family fulfil their dreams. With so many things happening online these days, location is no object. You can give singing lessons, cooking lessons and more!

If you are not a hundred percent sure what the person would like, you can often give gift cards that allow them to choose for themselves.

Give flowers and plants

A pretty flower arrangement or planted basket makes a wonderful gift any time of the year, but especially at Christmas. Get in touch with your local florist for great ideas. If you live near Reading in Berkshire, I highly recommend the wonderful Green Parlour. For friends and family further afield, I have had good experiences with Bloom and Wild.

Give to a charity on the gift recipient’s behalf

The perfect gift for the person who has everything, a donation to charity in their name can be just the thing. Many charities, like World Vision offer schemes where you can receive a small gift package to commemorate the gift for the person to unwrap. Some charities also sell gifts. Holiday shopping is easy with the gifts on offer at the Poppy Shop UK and  The National Trust.

Buy a couple of emergency cards or gifts that will suit anyone

Every year I choose a few gifts to have on hand ‘just in case’. Last year’s holiday shopping included two small sets of pretty cheese knives tucked away along with a couple of bottles of wine and a bottle or two of champagne in gift boxes. I also keep spare boxes of chocolates and a couple of gift cards on hand. Basically, there is something for everyone. If don’t use them all at Christmas, they will come in handy another time – and it is such a relief knowing you have something to reciprocate with if you are given an unexpected gift.

Giving is supposed to make you feel good too, and using my easy holiday shopping tips may even help you transform holiday shopping from something stressful into a task you actually enjoy.

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