Hi, Friends!
I’m visiting my family in Ohio this weekend and was reminded by our local news that NOW, yes, NOW is the time to start Christmas shopping. With the temperatures (finally) dropping, apple cider heating, and pumpkin patches to be visited, consider this your friendly reminder that Christmas is closer than you might think. Maybe you’re not the best planner. Maybe Christmas is so far out of your mind that you can’t even begin to start chipping away at it. Trust me, friends. As someone who is usually done Christmas shopping by mid-November, this is a great habit to get in to and I can’t recommend it enough.
1. Black Friday is not the only sale day of the year. In fact, I would even argue that it’s by far not the best. The sales going on right now are pretty great, especially if you’re wanting to gift something summer-y. Have a pal who loves to go to the tropics for a spring trip? Now is a great time to buy something for a steal.
2. You won’t break the bank if you space out your Christmas shopping. It’s much easier to spend $75 here and there than it is to go to the mall and drop a grand in one trip. I’ve been there, and I don’t recommend it. See something awesome for someone now? Pick it up and stash it away.
3. Traveling? Take advantage of regional deals! As I mentioned before, I’m writing this from Ohio, and there are a few places that here that have amazing deals that you can’t get anywhere else. For example, A.I. Root Candle Factory in Medina, OH has a huge section of “imperfect” candles for a steep discount. You can’t tell they’re imperfect, which makes it amazing! Another place that isn’t too far from here is Homer Laughlin, which makes Fiesta Ware. I’ve also seen signs that there are several factory stores along the PA Turnpike which might be worth the trip!
4. You can put more thought in to things. As someone who takes getting really special things for people I love very seriously, I need to start Christmas shopping early because just throwing something together just won’t do in my book. I start by emailing people with what they want and compile a list from there. For family members, I try to get one or two things they ask for, as well as something that I came up with myself. This year I got my family tickets to see Mannheim Steamroller in CLE right before Christmas, which is an idea I came up with myself.
5. Personalized gifts take a while! One thing I definitely inherited from my southern friends is the love for all things monogrammed. I do love getting friends and family monogrammed gifts, but often waiting until after Thanksgiving is too late to order personalized gifts because shop owners are already booked! If you were eyeing something on Etsy, now is the time to start ordering. Trust me, it will make your life easier later!
6. Christmas presents make great decorations! I canNOT believe I don’t have photos of my Christmas presents from last year anywhere, because I was SO proud of them. I went to TJ Maxx and bought two different rolls of wrapping paper that had gold on them. One was solid gold and the other was brown paper with gold Christmas trees. I also bought gold ribbon that was about 2″ wide. Finally, I went to the dollar tree and got a fake garland and jingle bells. I wrapped the presents and hot glued the ribbon in a band around each present (I can’t do bows). Then, I tied a little sprig of garland and two jingle bells to the top and they looked gorgeous! Since I was done shopping so early, I was able to enjoy the look of the presents under my tree for a good chunk of the Advent season! Yay!
