Today, I finished my Holiday Shopping! It is officially before Thanksgiving and not only do I have the stress of shopping wiped off of my plate, but I did it on a tight budget ($200 total for 4 sets of Grandparents, 3 Aunts, 2 Uncles, B, and Hubby). I am feeling like Wonder Woman. I know how hectic and stressful the holidays can be, so I am letting you in on how I managed to mark this off of my list!
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Planning
I am a world-class procrastinator when it comes to the Holidays. I like to put them off and forget about them because sometimes the high-speed nature of it takes away the enjoyment of spending time with the family and sharing holiday cheer. Hubby and I discussed the other night that we really wanted to give gifts this year, even with a 20 month old and one due to March. We have had a lot of big expenses in the past few months and are on a tight budget, but it was important to us to be able to give everyone something to thank them for their love and support. It is nice that with all of our family, no one expects gifts, they are just happy to have us, but especially for Hubby, Gift Giving is one of his love languages. We figured out what our budget was and I set forth on coming up with gifts.
Shopping
Yesterday, I ventured into the world of Target, bound and determined that I was going to walk out with a cart full of gifts. That sort of happened – I managed to get all of B’s shopping complete. She is really into coloring and reading now AND she is 20 months old AND has more toys than any child ever would need. So in the dollar section at Target, I picked her up a couple coloring books, sticker packets, tattoo packets (she loves those), BandAids and then I went and got her a book! I completely knocked her gifts out for under $15 and she will love everything she is getting and use them on the regular. As soon as I got past the dollar section, the holiday anxiety hit.
Watch the Deals
It is the week before Thanksgiving and people are already cramming the isles looking for decorations and gifts. I am going to throw in here too that people were being particularly cranky yesterday and it wasn’t even a Full Moon! I decided at that point I was going to go home and do the rest of my shopping on Amazon. I don’t know which hashtag fits this idea best: #momhack #momwin , you can let me know! If you do not know, Amazon is having AMAZING sales right now, some of them are time sensitive, others are not. If you know exactly what you are looking for, literally just type it in to the search bar but if you are like me and like to window shop, you can go to the Home Page on Amazon and look at all of their different Gift Guides and watch all of their deals (you can do this both on mobile and desktop). But you can get some great novelty gifts on Amazon, have them delivered to your door, FREE SHIPPING on Prime eligible items, and you never have to deal with cranky people in crammed isles. I was able to find EVERYONE gifts, and spend under $200.
Hide Your Presents
Another great bonus on ordering presents online is that you can have them delivered to your home (or office, or moms house) and you don’t have to worry about snoopers! Amazon actually offers a Gift Bag/Wrap Option at check-out (for an additional cost) for those of you who hate wrapping and gift packing. I arranged for all of my packages to be delivered the same day and I will either wrap everything during nap time or I will hide the boxes in the office, bedrooms, basement….you know, until I have perfect opportunity to get everything taken care of.
Take Advantage of Delivery
I cannot express this enough! Like I mentioned above, when your packages are delivered to your house, it is super easy to bring them inside and hide them. The only time this is a downfall is if your kid or husband has X-Ray vision and there is just not covering what it could be. I have heard from a lot of my Moms, that they have family that lives out-of-town. When you order online, you can have it delivered directly to them (and even include a gift receipt if you like). You don’t have to wait for the next holiday or fight the lines at the Post Office to get them a gift in time for the Holidays. I have personally had mail and packages get lost in transit during this time, so I would prefer to take this burden off of myself.
Shop The Gift Guides
If Gift Giving isn’t your thing, do not be ashamed to shop Gift Guides! You can find them on Amazon, Pinterest, or even here! You might want to check out my Gift Guide for Expecting Moms, Breastfeeding Moms, and for Self-Care. You will be able to order from the links provided as well!
Conclusion
I am still navigating the Holidays with a Toddler and being pregnant but I am officially done with shopping. I am so excited that I do not have the pressure of shopping Black Friday and Cyber Monday! I have stayed within my budget and I do not have to stress on finances during these times that are supposed to be festive. All I have to do is figure out how to be in 4 places at once all while relaxing with my little family at home. I’d love to hear what your favorite holiday hacks are and if you are done with your shopping already! This is the first year I have been done this early and I am wondering why I didn’t do this every year before. Don’t forget to connect with me on Social Media – I will also be sending out exclusive savings on my favorite brands through email!
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