Get Christmas Shopping Done Before Black Friday: Tips and Tricks
Updated: Dec 2, 2019
If you’re the kind of person who waits until Christmas Eve to shop, this post probably isn’t for you. While you may want to make some changes to your shopping routine, making a drastic change isn’t the way to go. Start small; maybe try one of the suggestions here instead of all at once. Then next year add some more of these ideas. For the rest of you who start shopping on Black Friday and continue all through December, wouldn't you rather spend time with your family and experience the holidays without the pressure that shopping deadlines create? Here are some handy tips for getting all your holiday shopping done before Black Friday.
*Disclaimer: Some of the links you see may be affiliate links. All that means is if you click through and end up making a purchase, I’ll earn a commission.
Start Early
At this point it’s a little too late to start shopping in January for this Christmas, since it’s only a month away. That’s how I get done early--shop the after Christmas sales and get a few things at great prices that you know your loved ones will go geek over.
It’s not feasible to do this for everyone. If you’re shopping for kids, their sizes will change by next year. People’s interests change. Many things happen that make some gifts obsolete or less interesting. Food and perishable items can’t be bought a year in advance. But starting early is a good way to begin the process, get your mind thinking about next year, and spread out the budget a little.
When you shop a little every month, it stretches your Christmas dollars over an entire year. If you’re like me and saving is difficult, then adding more money to a big pile every month is just going to be tempting, instead of helpful. Yet you can achieve the same idea by just spending the money every month on gifts, instead of trying to save it up and spend it all at once at the end of the year.
If you’re buying gifts in January, February, and the early parts of the year, make sure to label everything with the intended recipient so you don’t forget (believe me, it happens). Make sure you hide them where no one will find them. And double check that you’ve got them in a place where you’ll be able to find them again when Christmas comes around.
Plan Ahead
You won’t know what to shop for if you don’t plan ahead. While some of the pleasure of shopping includes wandering around and waiting for inspiration to strike you, that can also drag the process out way too long. If you want to finish up your Christmas shopping before Black Friday and avoid the rush and the crowds, you have to make a plan. I just so happen to use a spreadsheet to keep track of this every year, and I’ve created a template to share with you if you need some help with organization. You can download it for free here. It’s easy to use with suggested color coding, and you can download the Google Drive and Google Sheets apps to use it on the go while you’re shopping from your smartphone. You can also add as many columns and rows as you have need of.
P.S. If you need other help with organization in your life, check out this post about making lists, or this one about using templates to stay organized).
Double Up
Choose gifts that many people would like. This usually includes trendy things, techy things, or consumable things. Then buy many of those gifts. This makes it easier to use my free download spreadsheet, above, as well as easier to keep track of. There are a couple ways to make this fun:
Buy different varieties of the same thing, so gifts aren’t identical. This allows you to personalize items and make them more specific to each recipient.
Wrap gifts in the same paper so they look like twins, and facilitate the opening of the twin gifts at the same time. It makes the experience of opening part of the gift, and lends some excitement to the process.
You also may get some discounts this way if you’re buying in bulk.
The holidays are coming! We are pretty excited to decorate and hang the stockings in this wild household, and that means we have a great gift guide coming your way (look for it before Black Friday, of course). Happy Thanksgiving, and happy shopping!
*UPDATE* Here is our perfect gift guide for everyone on your list!
Did you find a great deal? Have shopping tips you want to share? Tell us about them by commenting on the Instagram post or on Twitter.
*Disclaimer: Some of the links you see may be affiliate links. All that means is if you click through and end up making a purchase, I’ll earn a commission.