\t\t\t\tKnowing how much money you have for shopping is one thing, being able to allocate where that money goes, when contemplating your holiday shopping is something else. That\u2019s where a planner can help.<\/p>\n
Start with a general statement of how much money you will spend. Or rather your limit, such as: \u201cI will spend NO MORE than _____________ amount of money on Christmas.\u201d Then you may want to allot different amounts of money for different categories such as gifts, food, decorations, other entertainment, etc.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve decided how much you will spend on gifts you can create a list of gift recipients.
\nThis can be tricky; do you give a gift to each person in your sister\u2019s family or do you give a \u201cfamily\u201d gift? Or, maybe you give a \u201cgroup\u201d gift just to the kids and individual gifts to the adults. Whatever you decide, while taking your budget into consideration, it\u2019s a good idea to write it down so you don\u2019t get side-tracked while shopping.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve decided the \u201cwho\u201d on your gift list, you need to decide the \u201cwhat.\u201d Here\u2019s where you pull out that hidden wish list you\u2019ve written on every time you\u2019ve heard someone say they \u201clike\u201d something or \u201cwant\u201d something\u2014right? The ongoing list notwithstanding, you\u2019ll need to brainstorm ideas and maybe come right out and ask your gift recipients what they would like.<\/p>\n
Then it\u2019s on to the \u201cwhere\u201d can these items be found. List stores and their locations; don\u2019t forget online options and the actual shopping begins.<\/p>\n
You might also want to include on your Planner a space to write where the items you have bought are \u201chidden.\u201d This is especially important if you tend to shop for gifts all year. You don\u2019t want to forget where that special gift is stored and buy duplicate items in December.<\/p>\n