31 Days of Seeking Simplicity: Christmas Gift Giving



I was reading a magazine article about gift giving and it mentioned the idea of being completely done with all Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving. I love this idea and would like to give it a try this year. I typically buy throughout the year for Christmas and have a stash of items purchased by this point in the year. I don't have as many things purchased ahead this year, maybe because I don't go out shopping quite as much as I used to.
 
I am trying to figure out what I need to do to get our gift giving finished by Thanksgiving (or the end of November at the latest). We do usually email our families for ideas early, but often don't get too many replies.
 
So tell me: how do you handle Christmas gift giving? Do you try to have your shopping finished by a certain date? How do you simplify gift giving? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and advice!!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I haven't even thought about Christmas this year. I do try to pick up some things in advance, but I think the best idea for simplifying is to ask hubby to do the shopping this year. =) Isn't that a great idea?!?!? =)
Lindsay said…
I am pretty scared by what would happen if I followed Anita's suggestion! I do try to pick things up throughout the year, and I really like to be done early. I used to go Black Friday shopping, but it starts earlier and earlier each year, so now it interferes with Thanksgiving. I keep a spreadsheet (nerd, I know) for each Christmas so I know who I need to buy for and I can also keep track of my budget. I save them from year to year so that I can also look back to see what I got for someone last year.