So...have you started your Christmas Shopping?

Little_Chicken

I've done lots of mine - and bought birthday pressies for throughout the year. Am determined to cut the cost of Christmas 2009 by 30% compared to 2008.

homeaway

I bought christmas cards in the sale and my friends birthday present in boots sale. I might have more luck in the summer as i was only able to go out shopping for one morning( i dont live in the Uk).I do have a box in the loft which already has some pressies in for birthdays and i will recycle some unwanted gifts as well.

she_grinch

Managed to pick up a pink and black tool set in a pink canvass toolbag for £3.00 today in the Homebase clearance sale , another pressie for DD2 who is still getting her first home together

mdhughes03

when getiing ready for CHristmas it dawned on me that we had 25 people to by for, plus birthdays mothers' day etc etc :eek: :eek: :eek:

I managed last year to be quite MSE about it all but decided to make a concerted effort to buy a load of stuff in the sales for people.

I have so far bought 20 presents! I got our nieces all wrapped up in the woolies and superdrug sales for next to nothing, have bought a few boots gifts that I had mentally picked out before xmas for people and the rest have been bargains that I happened upon!

I have not bought anything tatty or that people wouldn't actually like, I have thought carefully about each gift but so far have spent about £3.50 on each gift!!!!

I am really really happy as in previous years I would have seen these things and thought "Oh that would be good for so and so, but her birthday is ages away lalalala"!:rolleyes:

yorksbabe

I have bought about 20 gifts and all my wrapping paper and cards so I am well on the way to being done then it can all go in the loft til december.

Flat_Eric

I have bought the following: -

xmas crackers (half price)
lots of wrapping paper (half price)
gift tags (75% off)
a few gifts in the boots sale (half price) to be used for mothers day presents or female birthdays
lots of crafting bits at silly prices to make my xmas cards etc for next year.

would like to have been able to stock up better but dont have the funds :mad:

Lucyxx

I have bought card making bits from lakeland in the sale, along with cough cough.....14 packs of 6 snowman stirrers for 2009 snowman soup!! (i'd bought 4 at £1.97 and then when they went down even more I bought loads more, I'm now thinking I actually like the colours of candy canes on them though, so not too sure I've done the right thing now!!)

also I found some expensive looking wrapping paper I liked in a cheap shop before xmas to put on posh friends pressies lol (OH had already got some lovely paper for everyone but it didn't quite match the little giftpack I made up for the posh ones), then decided I wanted that for 2009 xmas for everyone's pressies and would have it all matching so bought loads of rolls at 99p each (which was full price, but pretty good value) and have stashed them away (in my new 1/2 price wrapping paper holder from Lakeland sale) and can't bare to look in the shop to see if they have reduced them now!!! they didn't have many left though before xmas so I guess I'd have been more mad if they'd run out. Actually we paid with a £500 gift card OH was given from his work, so technically we didn't really pay at all. Hmmm.... only prob now is I can't very well use the same paper for posh friends again next year, so will have to buy something seperate after all.

I will be buying presents throughout the year, I have to as I am a SAHM and have no money! plus I hate having to ask OH for more and more money at xmas, as he already pays the mortgage and all the bills! I have already started on Mothers day's pressies lol!!! I don't usually tend to buy people's pressies in sales, (although did with the kids xmas ones when I spotted good deals) but I have just bought a rather lovely vase for my mum in the next sale for a total bargain, I think it just means they'll get nicer stuff for the same amount I would normally spend on them (I'm pretty good at cticking to a budget with 2 sisters and 1 brother just to keep things fair!).

I went a bit overboard with the stashing in 2008 though, and at the end had to move clothes out of the wardrobe to fit stuff in (did need to hide most from kids though)!! this year I am restricting myself to a large-ish box, and won't go crazy!!!

OOPs sorry for long rambling post.... must be past my bedtime

JailhouseBabe

Lucyxx wrote: »

. Hmmm.... only prob now is I can't very well use the same paper for posh friends again next year, so will have to buy something seperate after all.

Do you think they'll remember what paper you wrapped their presents in the year before? I think you're worrying too much and making more work for yourself. If they do remember and are rude enough to comment, just tell them it was so expensive that you didn't want to waste it

jembie

I don't understand how you can start present buying now. In our family, we like to buy each other things they want so no one is going to know what they are going to want for Christmas or even birthdays. Especially if there are any DVDs or Games they are going to want.
I wish I could do that but If I buy a load of stuff now and then when it comes to everyone's lists I have to go buy more stuff it is a false economy

charlies_mum

Thanks to loads of offers on the Grabbit board, I already have lots of presents for this year. I got some Olay and Dove gift sets on the Superdrug glitch, Jelly and Jam pram set for £1.74, and in Sainsburys last week they were selling off lots of alcohol gift sets, so bought some of them.

This Christmas was great, I was organised weeks before, and didn't have any last minute stress :T