The problem with Christmas!!

So.... The problem with Christmas

 I find myself staring at my spread sheet from Christmas 2013, yes I really do have a spreadsheet, I am slightly OCD about organisation, and I think I would need to get my skates on. Bearing in mind this all starts in early September and the normal person hasn’t even thought on Christmas!

I have already bought a few little gifts for the kiddies in our family and friends circle, but all of our friends etc still need to be bought.

This brings me on to the always asked question “What will I get them this year?” Again panic sets in, I really need to just learn to kick back and enjoy the process don’t I, but no I am the type of person you see panicking over who gets what, and what kid has the most presents etc.

To me buying Christmas presents is a military task, that starts straight after the previous Christmas, when I always write down my ideas and anything I have heard my friends or families say they like etc. Yep as you have guessed this all goes on to my spreadsheet for further reference!

For my girlfriends I always try and think what would I like to receive, due to the fact we are all pretty similar we know what we buy each other we will love. It always revolves around pretty jewellery, scarves, candles, spa treatments and make up or skincare, apart from my fab friend Lou who loves dragons and more gothic stuff, so this year I have found her a fab necklace that incorporates her love of gem stones and dragons, but ssssh don’t say a word!

 For my hubby Scott, he is your typical man child, Xbox, Comics and Rugby, so normally his presents are a mixture of games, dvds, rugby shirts or leisure wear and graphic novels. He is pretty easy to buy for so I don’t get too stressed over his thank goodness!

My dad is a whole other story, I think he must be the hardest person to buy for and he is the one who causes my spreadsheet the most heartache. He doesn’t have a hobby as such in terms of golf etc, his passion is computers, I honestly think this is where I got my geeky side from! He is always updating something or always has bits of computers all over his office room. As a running joke when my mummy was still with us, we always got him 12 cans of lynx deodorant, so even to this day I still do the same, although I think at the last count he had over 30 left, so maybe this year I might cut down. He also gets slippers and a fleecy bodywarmer, so those are easy enough, but its always the big pressie I struggle with! It is always something to do with the computer, he picks and I pay!

Mum sadly isn’t with us anymore, but the year before she passed her and daddy bought me a set of goats from the Oxfam website, and from then every year I have bought a pair of goats in her name and give daddy the card.

Overall I honestly do feel people get so caught up in what to buy each other, and it really is hard but I do have some handy tips to help you pick pressies and to get you through the madness of it all:

1)      Make a spreadsheet or list, with several columns including ideas, idea settled on and a purchased column. I promise this will make life easier for you. If you don’t have access to a spreadsheet, do it on a piece of paper, or buy a little pretty notebook, so you can keep it for the next year.

2)      Think about the people you are buying for, don’t just rush out and see whats in your budget and buy it, you don’t want your gift at the back of a cupboard, goodness knows I have a few of these! Think about their hobbies, job, and interests. Make notes and if you are with them and they talk about something jot it down in your mobile for future reference.

3)      Try and set a budget either per person or an overall budget. I always work with a per person budget so I know exactly what needs to be saved etc. People always see it as more is better, but I am sure that even if it has to be a smaller gift it will still be appreciated. It makes me sad when I hear about people going into crazy amounts of debt for Christmas, this just makes the rest of the year hard for them.

4)      Start as early as possible, don’t worry if you are that person in the card shop buying your cards in January and wrapping paper, just smugly smile and know that come the rush you can sit and relax with a hot chocolate!

5)      Personally I try and do all gifts apart from Scott and Daddys before the end of October. This way I know exactly how much I can spend in November and December on the two main people. Other people would say do it the other way round, get the main ones first then work with the rest, just do whatever you feel is right for you and the people around you.

6)      Always keep an eye out for sales in September October time, some of the big department stores have good sales on around then, and I always find myself picking up a few bargains normally kiddies clothes and toys then.

7)      Finially just RELAX, at the end of the day, focus on being together or sending something small but heartfelt to each other.

I hope this article has been informative for you, please try not to stress, it will all be forgot about when its 3pm and we are all having our after dinner nap!