Deal with Things that Tend to Happen When Christmas Shopping

Tips for that annual venture.

Most people Christmas shop a couple of days before Christmas, at least I do anyways (I cannot not procrastinate). I've noticed that similar things seem to occur each year when going out on this last minute Christmas gift hunt, and wanted to share them with you, as well as some tips to deal with the not-so-fun parts of this annual trip. 

The Mall parking lot has become a "locate the empty parking spot" game. With the jackpot being the ability to get out of your car.

Yup. This may be creepy, but sometimes I follow random people who are walking to their car and wait for them to leave. So yea. Another option is just to park further from the store, as there is usually room at the very back of the parking lot.



"One for me, One for you", is basically the rule that you arbitrarily follow when buying gifts, leading to a happy you but an unhappy wallet/bank account.(whaaa? noo *nervous glance*)

I'm sometimes guilty of treating myself more than i should, but I think planning ahead/online research/budgeting is the best way to make sure you get something for everyone on your list, as well as a little something something for yourself :) It also makes the trip much faster if you have a plan.




You walk right out of a store 2 seconds after going in because the line for the register has divided the store into two halves.

If you know that a store will be crowded, sometimes its best to just skip the trip and shop online, and you also get shipped a nice little box to wrap with! 



You give up on getting a cup of coffee/tea as it would be faster to go home, make it and come back than wait in line for a decaf (this might be an exaggeration but you know what I mean).

This happens alot around the christmas season, when the food court is just packed. Save yourself 20 minutes of waiting around and just bring some snacks and drinks along, this is probably cheaper too, which means you have more money for that something something for yourself! 



You've been walking around for a while now, and your feet kill. just absolutely kill. 

I like to wear super comfy shoes on any shopping trip, and its mainly for this reason. Wearing the wrong shoes will make you feet super sore and will ultimately cut a shopping trip short. Moral of the story, leave the heels at home! Dr. Scholls are also a good idea there by the way.



The dozens of gift wrap choices are really starting to stress you out and you take 30 minutes deciding which ones you like best.

I think this just happens, at least it does sometimes to me. I dont really have much advice for this one other than just pick one randomly?? I dont know but if you get to the point where you just cannot stand anything to do with wrapping, gift bags all the way right?



You're not exactly sure if your friend will like this necklace, but she might thank you for getting her something that she would never have on her own, right?

Gift Receipt is alI i have to say. Check the return policy, and tuck the gift receipt in just in case for gifts you are not sure about.



You're done! You walk back to the parking lot, and the game has now changed to "Dude, where's my car?"

Take note of your car parking lot section before you leave!



OK. You have everybody's presents, you are almost home when you realize you forgot your sister's (insert present here). Next time, next time.

Making a list of everybody you need to buy for is great, and saves second trips :)



I hope your Holiday Shopping goes just a bit more smoothly with these tips (tell me about your past shopping experiences in the comments below!), and kudos to you if you are already done (and are reading this). Merry Christmas everyone!

- Genevieve