Are You a Last Minute Shopper?

It’s December 20^th and that means that there are only four days left to finish our Christmas Shopping.  Let me ask you a question…Is your Christmas shopping already finished, or have you not started your shopping yet?

I am happy to say that as of yesterday, my Christmas Shopping is complete, my presents are wrapped, and they are all under our Christmas Tree.  I really love wrapping Christmas gifts even though my presents look like they could have been wrapped by a 6-year-old; sometimes they are upside down, and sometimes they are ripped, but as they say…it’s the thought that counts.

Planning Ahead vs. Shopping at the Last Minute

My younger sister and I both usually travel home to our parents homes (they are divorced) for the holidays; and we both have very different holiday shopping strategies.  I start my shopping early, very early.  I usually make my Christmas List and set my spending budget in early November, and then I start shopping.  I enjoy taking my time to plan my gifts.  Then I mail my gifts to my parent’s home so that when I arrive on December 23^rd all I have to do is wrap the gifts and put them under the Christmas Tree.  In the past few years I have also started shopping online and having all of the gifts delivered to my parents address for free.  I love my Holiday Shopping Strategy because it spreads out my costs and I don’t have to travel home for the holidays with lots of gifts in my luggage.

My younger sister has a completely different Christmas Shopping Strategy.  She arrives at my Mom’s house on December 23 with a mental list in her heard and her credit card in her hand.  Every evening of December 23^{rd, my sister goes out to the last minute to shop} for everyone on her Christmas List.  She recruits everyone to assist her with the wrapping of her gifts and then on December 24^th she places them all under the Christmas Tree.  My sister loves her last-minute shopping strategy because she travels light, she buys great gifts for everyone on her list, and she doesn’t have to wrap all of the gifts by herself.

The Pros of Being a Last Minute Shopper

– Our Gift Prices May Be Discounted.

– We save a lot of time because we get all of our shopping done in one shot. We don’t have to spend weeks planning and visiting different stores to buy gifts.

– We can get our Gifts Wrapped at the Mall.  Gift Wrapping Kiosks come out in December.

– People may feel inclined to help you out because they feel bad that you have limited time.

The Cons of Being a Last Minute Shopper

– Stores may be Out of Stock of the Gifts that we want to Buy.

– There may be a lot of Crowds.

– Sales Help may be Limited.

– You won’t get to see your Gifts Under the Christmas Tree.

Photo by RobStephAustralia