Christmas shopping blues

[danzig6767]

Christmas is the one holiday that i really like above all others. I'm not rich by any means, but i love buying gifts for people that they really like and within reason, i don't worry much abut cost. Last year for example, i bought my mom this awesome picture in a beautiful frame of Lambeau Field for her remodeled basement because she's a huge Packers fan. It was 175 dollars which was more than i'd like to spend, but i knew she'd love it and i hate buying boring typical gifts just to get something. Gifts cards and/or cash i almost never do.

 

This year is becoming a real drag because all the people i have left to buy for, i either have no clue what to get them or they want clothes and/or stuff for decorating their house. That stuff is so hard to pick out because everyone has their own tastes. Christmas is 9 days away and Christmas Eve is 8 days away. Unlike many guys, i don't dread shopping in general, but i do dread shopping for gifts when i have no clue what i'm getting someone or multiple people.Just wandering around a mall or driving from store to store with no plan on what you're looking for is plenty annoying and stressful.

 

Now i'm feeling a some stress building that Christmas is so close and i still have 5-6 gifts to buy, but am clueless as to what to get. My daughter never gives me a list or hints for birthday/Christmas because she loves my surprise gifts, i'm stumped this year though. As each day goes by i know i'll get more stressed thinking here i'll be in some mall on Dec. 23rd frantically trying to buy anything to get my gift shopping done or having to suck it up and give out cash/gift cards which i hate. Many don't mind giving mostly gift cards, but IMO it's kinda lame. I'll see multiple people give out gift cards and they get some back. May as well stand up and give say your brother 50 bucks and then a few minutes later he stands up and basically hand you the 50 bucks back. Merry Christmas bro.

 

Anyone else get stressed in years where Christmas is getting very close and you still have multiple gifts to buy and no clue what to get them?

[Oldcity]

I haven't bought a Christmas present yet, so I'm probably not a person who should offer advice/insight.

[Fatter than Joey]

Christmas is the one holiday that i really like above all others. I'm not rich by any means, but i love buying gifts for people that they really like and within reason, i don't worry much abut cost.

 

I hear you -- I have a lot fun getting gifts, and take a lot of pride in trying to come up with good gifts... I have three children and I usually take each one out to buy gifts for the others and have a lot fun doing that. The interesting dynamic in my family is that we have one birthday on the 23rd and one on the 29th.

 

If you need help brainstorming for gifts for your daughter, let me know as I have 2, and they are by far the hardest people on my list -- but probably the most rewarding for me.

[JoeHova]

Yeah, shopping can be stressful when people either have very specific tastes or tend to buy a lot of crap for themselves during the year. My parents are always very difficult to shop for, as is my sister. I think I usually end up getting them something they like, but some of my better finds don't always work out as well as I would hope.

 

I think the keys to good gift giving are to get something you would like yourself if you were the person you're giving a gift to (ie- no candles or towels or long underwear or things of that nature) and something that they would actually use (no infomercial waffle irons, no golf balls for someone who golfs once a year, etc.). I think if you follow those two maxims, you can never go too wrong. Maybe the person won't always be in love with whatever you get but they should always at least get some enjoyment out of it.

[burniebrewer]

I hate shopping so I either knock it all out (in one trip) early in the season or wait til the very end. This year, I've waited. I know what I'm going to get, but I've got to get motivated. I will likely do all of my shopping very late at night next week.

[jason21nl]

Christmas shopping for my Dad and my Mom is always easy. Getting something for my brother is always a little more tough. Whenever I ask him what he wants, It's always something very expensive(new stereo receiver, entertainment unit, truck box) so I'm stuck, I have no idea what to get him.

[AmyintheSouth]

I had that problem this year. Like you guys, I always try to pick out the perfect present and put a lot of thought into it. However, I haven't seen my parents since last Christmas and my sister since last March, which makes picking out a present a lot harder. Throw having no money into the mix, and I was feeling like a pretty bad daughter and sister for not being able to keep up with their interests. I ended up going in on a couple presents with my brother and sister, which I feel is kind of a copout but at least it's good stuff.

 

That's more commiseration than help, but -- not to be too cheesy -- your family is pretty lucky to have a dad/brother/etc who puts so much thought into and finds so much joy in in this time of year.

[hawing]

Danzig, I think I may have developed a similar reputation in my family (of coming through with great gifts). I don't hang out in malls, but I do enjoy making the effort to find gifts that I think recipients will especially like.

 

One thing I've noticed over time (to use some baseball analogies) is that I can't hit a home run every year with every recipient, and somehow these people remain my loved ones anyway. Your mother is probably not expecting a totally perfect $175 gift every year, and is going to love you whatever your gift to her is. (OK, I hope she's going to love you anyway - I don't know your family dynamic.)

 

For what it's worth, I think gift cards are a reasonable choice sometimes. The people you cite who want to decorate their house, I think, are a good example. You should not be expected to know their taste in decorating. It helps if you can find out where they'd like to do their home decoration shopping, and find a card specifically for that place. Then as they open it, say "this is to help you decorate your house to your taste" or something. I enjoy actual gifts, but I've also come to enjoy gift cards, which make me feel like I'm having a mini shopping spree. My long-winded point is, I think there can be times where a gift card is not a copout.

 

As for general Christmas shopping, I'll pass along an idea my S.O. used to employ when he still had to buy for his whole family: Gifts within a theme. Everyone gets something similar that is at least generically useful. If you choose a theme wisely (a big IF that I will explain shortly), it can make your shopping relatively easy.

 

Examples of good themes:

Fancy/gourmet food (go to an upscale grocery store, buy fancy pasta, soup mix, other specialty food; pack nicely in a gift bag, and present. Everyone eats food.)

The Safety Christmas. We went to the Red Cross for the first aid kits you keep in your car - family or individual size, depending on the household - and to Menards for carbon monoxide detectors. Everyone could use a little more safety.

Christmas for the birds: Each family got a bird feeder, or fancy bird food for households who we knew already feed birds. If your family has other pets, make it a pet accessory Christmas.

Warm and Dry Christmas: Fleecy hats/scarves/mittens for everyone. Who couldn't use another set of warm stuff in December? My nephew still wears the hat he got that Christmas.

 

Examples of bad themes:

The sock Christmas (everyone got a pair of socks). I would like to point out that this theme was selected by the S.O. before I knew him. However, I have heard the stories.

The 2000 Christmas. We looked for gifts that had "2000" in the name. That was reasonably imaginative, but hard to carry out.

 

Hope that helps.

[gypcasino]

I did 90% of my shopping on Amazon.com. It doesn't solve your problem of what to get "hard to buy for" people but it does solve the problem of fighting the masses if you know what you need to buy. I'm buying my parents some Rubbermaid containers and I'll just be going to Target for that. Amazon doesn't ship that themselves so it's not eligible for the Super Save shipping.

[logan82]

Sorry dude I was done before Thanksgiving. I usually try to start thinking around August so I don't buy whatever last minute.