When does everyone start their Christmas shopping?

Lc jones

Senior Member
I usually wait until the last minute but I’m now retired and have the time to space out my Christmas shopping. I used to get pretty stressed out waiting until the last minute and then buy presents that weren’t the best pick for the people I was purchasing them for. I’m going to start in October and I’ve been writing down a list of ideas for my family and friends. I’m actually looking forward to shopping this time because I can actually get people what I believe they’ll really love! I don’t spend a lot of money but I do want the gift to be thoughtful.
 

I don't!! I only buy for my husband, and since my daughter lives abroad, I buy her a token gift.. and then send something like a couple of free return flights for trips to the UK or wherever she wants to take a trip!! She has everything she needs, so she's always delighted with those.

My o/h would let Chritmas go by if he could, he doesn't like giving and receiving gifts, but I insist cuz I love christmas so much, so he just accepts it !!..
 
holly made me smile --think men' think like that -maybe its all the money us wife's spend for glitter lol
it is with mine 'middle name is mr save it )))))) 🤭 but I give gran kids money 'saves foot ache ' and stress'
dont buy for hubbs if I do its small gift ' but I do start the card writing in November as I have a huge family living abroad 'and finding addresses is a pain in itself'
 

I still seem to wait until the week or so before, unless I'm ordering something from Amazon ;) But I only buy a couple of gifts. There aren't any little ones in my family, and we've all agreed not to send gifts pretty much. I do go down for our little celebration in the rec. area of our building and we will probably each get a small gift for just one other person (draw names) 🎅
 
I just do gift cards now as everybody can buy what they want. I buy the cards for their hobbies and interests. I buy at least 2 each month starting in January so I don't have any last minute gifts to buy. Through the year I buy stocking stuffers for the 2 girls. By November I am pretty much done except for the chocolate marshmallow Santas they like in their stockings. I will buy several of those as I like them too!!
 
I will confess that I am always on the lookout for something that my wife will really enjoy. I pay attention to what she seems to be interested in. We used to have a small women's clothing store with a very astute owner. It was rather nice to be able to ask her what my wife was lusting for. That saved a lot of guesswork. Now if it is something expensive, I generally take my wife to look at it before making the purchase just in case she would prefer something different. I think that I have this years Christmas gift narrowed down, but she is going to have to actually look at it.
I do my utmost to avoid going with my wife when she shops for cloths. This doesn't happen very often, but she can be pretty discriminating, and it can take a long time and most stores are not smart enough to provide husbands with a place to park and a magazine to read. I also tend to lose my wife in large stores. She can disappear faster than a two year old. My best bet is to park it.
I don't even try to guess what my adult grandchildren would like. A check is the best bet. My children are in their 50's and my struggle with them is to get them to not send me "stuff" that we can't use up like wine or cheese. I generally send them gift certificates to nice restaurants.
 
Would "never" be an option? Just kidding.

I buy for my mom (usually a gift card), my granddaughter (a check) and the grands and great-grands (toys). The Spousal Equivalent and I don't exchange anything but a token gift and after trying to run my daughter down until late January to give her her gift, I've just about decided to skip exchanging gifts with her.
 
I just do gift cards now as everybody can buy what they want. I buy the cards for their hobbies and interests. I buy at least 2 each month starting in January so I don't have any last minute gifts to buy. Through the year I buy stocking stuffers for the 2 girls. By November I am pretty much done except for the chocolate marshmallow Santas they like in their stockings. I will buy several of those as I like them too!!
Good ideasTerry
 
The ritual of giving and getting Christmas gifts ended quietly a few years ago with a little sigh of relief.

If at some point in the future a small child or two stumbles into my life I will happily jump back into the fray but I'm good for now.
I’m thinking I’m going to do gift cards like Terry but I still have to find out what stores folks like to shop at.
 
If you're not sure where they like to shop, there are VISA and Mastercard gift cards that are accepted everywhere so they can use them to shop, go out to dinner, use them online. I've given up trying to shop for gifts that will please, and now that the g'kids are grown, I do my "shopping" at the credit union and give them cash. Seems impersonal to me, but it's what they like to get. My DD/DSIL and DS/his partner get cash, too. They're at a stage where, like me, they mostly have what they need or want and "stuff" is just, well, more stuff! When they ask what I want, the answer is always the same: chocolate and gift cards to the garden center.

It was hard to buy for my MIL because she, too, already had everything she wanted or needed. As she got older getting out to shop was increasingly hard for her so we got inspired one year and bought her an assortment of greeting cards for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, even a few sympathy cards, and a roll of stamps. She told everybody she knew what a great gift we gave her because it saved her trying to get out to get cards and stamps and get them mailed on time.

Another thing she liked was jam, jelly, cheese and sausage from the Swiss Colony because they can be bought in really small sizes that are just right for one person so get used before they go bad.
 
I don't see my brother and SIL in Florida very often so I get the Mastercard or Visa gift cards for them. SIL does crafts but I don't know which stores she uses and brother is trying to find his way after retiring so the Mastercards work well for them. I think they use them to go out to eat mainly. This year I will make the peanut butter candy so the ones on the list will get that too. The grands love Amazon and one daughter loves Starbucks so that is covered. Son in law loves Dick's sporting goods so he likes that for his golfing habit. My daughter, his wife, says just get him a Macy's card so he will give it to her! No, she will get Macys and he will get his Dick's card. They all know to get me Walmart, Amazon, Visa or Mastercards for birthdays or Christmas. They will usually get me a small gift along with the gift cards and I do both girls the stockings as they still love them. I love doing the stockings for them also. They do a stocking for me and its my favorite gift.
 
The ritual of giving and getting Christmas gifts ended quietly a few years ago with a little sigh of relief.

If at some point in the future a small child or two stumbles into my life I will happily jump back into the fray but I'm good for now.

Me, too. I don't have much family left, and we no longer exchange gifts. Nobody I know sends out Christmas cards anymore.
 
My siblings and I don't exchange gifts anymore
Instead we give donation to our favorite charities instead
Every yr,I buy gift cards for the ladies in business office at church
The only people I buy gifts for our my close friends,Marcia&Dave,their 2 sons,since they are my 'buffalo family'
I'm usually done before Thanksgiving
 
My siblings and I don't exchange gifts anymore
Instead we give donation to our favorite charities instead
Every yr,I buy gift cards for the ladies in business office at church
The only people I buy gifts for our my close friends,Marcia&Dave,their 2 sons,since they are my 'buffalo family'
I'm usually done before Thanksgiving
I love that idea about giving to the charities, that’s the true spirit of the season isn’t it?
 

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