Some Practical Tips in Buying Gifts This Christmas
By: Jocelyn Soriano
Tags: Life, Christianity, Advice, Christmas, Catholic

No matter how much I try to prepare for Christmas, there always seems to be something I forgot to buy or to consider. Sometimes, the scrupulous person in me would think again and again whether the gifts I bought were good enough. Should I buy another? What have I failed to consider?

If you’re a bit like me, here are some tips you may wish to consider when thinking about your Christmas gifts:

1. Buy early and avoid the Christmas rush

This may be a little late now, but you may benefit from this one if you remember it next year.

As early as November, you can already do some window shopping so you’d know which gifts to buy when your paycheck comes!

2. Go personalized

There are lots of stores offering personalized gift items — personalized mugs, personalized shirts, personalized keychains. You can even make one yourself, save some money and yet be able to give something that has far more sentimental value than gifts you’ve put no effort into.

If you know how to use some simple video editing tools, then you could make a personalized video for that special person in your life. Just drag and drop her photos and then choose background music that will render her speechless while watching it.

3. Buy a gift the person would not have bought for himself

Have you ever wished to buy yourself something, say a rather costly comic book, a make-up kit, a cute stuffed toy or a bag, but you’ve felt so guilty if you bought it for yourself? How would you feel if someone bought it for you?

4. Consolidate your gifts

If you are short in cash and yet desire to give a person something he would really like to have, you can pull your resources together to buy that gift for that person. Instead of giving many small gifts, you buy this gift the person would never have expected to receive.

5. Buy a gift according to the taste of the person receiving it

Consider his hobbies, his likes and dislikes, and his personality. Think of something you would really appreciate if you were in his shoes.

Image by Emily Heidt from Pixabay

6. Buy a gift according to your taste as well

People often say that we should buy gifts not according to our wants, but according to the wants of the person receiving them. This is not totally correct. It’s true that we must consider the desires of the recipient, but we should never forget the desires of the giver as well.

Gifts are tokens of love, a manifestation of the overflowing affection of the giver and should carry with them a sign of this love that will forever be a reminder to the one receiving your gift.

7. Make a list

From this list, check the ones you’re able to buy from time to time.

Image by Tesa Robbins from Pixabay

8. Avoid buying gifts in just one shopping

If you have spare time during lunch break, you might peek in at the nearest store and do some window shopping. Who knows? You might be able to buy gifts as well.

9. Make a wish list

We often find it hard to think which gifts would be appreciated by our loved ones. We also don’t want to give duplicate gifts. A wish list is one solution for this. You may write down under the Christmas tree a list of gifts each person wishes to have for Christmas. Start from there and then improvise.

10. Buy a gift for yourself

Christmas after all, is a time for love, even of loving yourself. Why not be like a child again and buy the gifts you want?

11. Have some reserved gifts

This is a remedy for all the gifts we always seem to forget. Buy gifts with no particular person in mind, so you could always give something when you later on come up with names you shouldn’t have forgotten in the first place!

Image from Pixabay

12. Give surprise gifts on Christmas Day

In order to avoid overlooking any gift, I usually have the habit of giving gifts in advance, say one week before Christmas, before everybody becomes busy or takes a vacation elsewhere.

But what happens now when Christmas Day comes? Surely, there would be people around you that day, people you’d celebrate that special day with.

Give them small tokens that will surprise them. These are not like the main gifts they’ve already received, just small ones reminding them Christmas has indeed arrived. You’d be surprised how much appreciation these small tokens would receive.

Final words

In the end, it’s the thought and the love that comes along with the gift that counts. Preparation is one thing, but the actual celebration is another.

Not everything may be perfect. But that’s what Christmas is for, a reminder that we should give room for each other’s shortcomings, a call to look beyond the external and to appreciate what’s within our hearts.