Shopping for Christmas already

no-oneknowsme

I have made a good start for xmas already...

So far I have bought a gaming laptop for my Son , make-up , perfume and various other smellies and beauty products for each of my Daughters. I have also put aside 3x £300 in money envelopes for each of my Children.

I have now started saving (have £200 built up so far) for the new i-phone 5 once it comes out as this is what my 2 Daughters want as their "big" present.

I have bought a little tikes trike for my Nephew too.

I just like to be organised:D

beautybutterfly

Normally I don't start so early but I got 2 body shop gift sets or £7.99 in a glitch they had a week or so ago and i won a shamballa bracelet on a raffle so I've put that away too, not sure who they're going to just yet but I'm sure I will find someone.

j.e.j.

Indypop wrote: »

I have a lot of Dec/Jan birthdays in my family as well as Christmas so I am trying to get ahead of the game while there are still several pay packets to budget over.

Am I the only one gift shopping at the moment?

Same here, - lots of December/January birthdays, plus Christmas means autumn can be an expensive and stressful time of year. I was about to start my Christmas shopping, but felt a bit weird shopping for Xmas in August!

I think I will go ahead and make a start, otherwise come October/November I'll be panicking worrying about how I am going to afford it all. I am on a low budget but I don't have that many people to buy for, maybe about 15. I love buying the kiddies presents the most The adults, I think, pretty much have everything they need and most of what they want already.

lilmisskitkat

We have really cut down the amount of people we buy for in the past few years. My friends and I got together and decided not to buy for each other's kids at Christmas and just to do birthdays, same with 2 of my cousins and their kids. So quite a few less to buy for.

I start in the Jan sales, got pyjamas for all my 3 (new pjs is an xmas must-have in our family lol), hair clips/bobbles, stickers, mini bubble bath, temp tattoos etc for DD1's stocking. I got DD2's main present (Happyland cottage) in the sale at ELC, DS a Playmobil camper van in the Toys r us sale. It is easy to buy well in advance for the little ones, not so much now for DD1.

I just keep an eye out all year round and buy as and when i see things. Anything electrical/with a guarantee/warranty is left until Dec. I buy Xmas presents with a specific person in mind but i also have a general present box which has a mix of sale bargains and duplicate gifts which is great when kids get a party invite or need a last minute present.

K xx

chanie

I buy little bits and pieces as I seem them and make up hampers for people, so it only costs me a few pounds at a time which i don't miss:

Accessorize - pencil case, pens, stationary, purses.
Uniqlo - socks, vests, lounge wear
New Look - socks, jewellery
Aldi - colouring in books

marywooyeah

no-oneknowsme wrote: »

I have made a good start for xmas already...

So far I have bought a gaming laptop for my Son , make-up , perfume and various other smellies and beauty products for each of my Daughters. I have also put aside 3x £300 in money envelopes for each of my Children.

I have now started saving (have £200 built up so far) for the new i-phone 5 once it comes out as this is what my 2 Daughters want as their "big" present.

with respect I can't help thinking that you are setting a dangerous precedent for yourself in that the kids will grow to expect such a large amount of money and expensive presents each year.

lilmisskitkat wrote: »

We have really cut down the amount of people we buy for in the past few years.

I have too because I used to buy for all my husband's relatives but never even got an acknowledgment let alone a thank you so stopped it's just not worth it.

I got a lot of things in the boots 75% off sale earlier in the year which I plan to use for christmas presents for my husband's family that we have to buy for eg his mum and auntie as they are close to him. I got some yankee candle reed diffusers for £5 in the yankee shop too so will be giving those away too.

Cherry_Bomb

Christmas just gone I made a deal with myself that I'd start the shopping early for this year. It's now nearly September and I've bought nothing so it's going well so far! I'm extremely envious of all you well organised people.

I plan to get bang on it around [STRIKE]December[/STRIKE] November time :cool:

raven83

I am so chuffed with myself, just bought my first 2 christmas presents for DD3 from ELC, one was in the sale and half price, I used a 20% code I found online and ended up paying £32 with free delivery for the Rosebud Tree house and Rosebud Nursery! How MSE is that, not to mention organised

dizziblonde

I'm cutting right down this year - I'm not buying for the cousin I dislike and her child anymore - not after last year when she showboated what a fabulous parent she was by laying into me that I didn't sit and read to my bump every night yadda yadda yadda... she overstepped the mark so badly - not to mention that my immediate family (who brought her right into the fold and have put up with theft, lies and all sorts of crap from her) showered her little girl with presents and she couldn't be bothered to get her daughter (who can talk) or even say it on her behalf to thank a single one. There's been year after year of her behaving appallingly and gift buying is just going through the motions - so I'm drawing a line in the sand and trying my best to cut contact altogether.

I'm not going OTT on our little girl either - she's of the age where she's going to be more interested in the lights on the Christmas tree and shiny paper (plus at that nice age where present piles look impressive anyway since everything comes in massively oversized boxes)!

Think lots of people will be getting things from the factory outlet village as well - the Thorntons and Whittards there normally does us in good stead for a few people. Oh and Boots advantage points which generally save my backside a bit when it comes to a grim year financially! (The roof's knackered on the house so this year we're literally saving to keep the roof over our heads!)