8 Reasons Why I Finish My Holiday Shopping Before Thanksgiving (and why you should, too.)
I’m the kind of person that likes to set up my Christmas tree way earlier than is typically socially acceptable. It’s not uncommon for me to have our halls ‘decked’ and stockings hung by the time the Thanksgiving Dinner plates are cleaned and put away. It should come as no surprise, that I also like to finalize my family’s Holiday Gift shopping and Gift Wrapping long before we gather around the table and give thanks in November. Some of you may gawk at the notion of even thinking about Holiday gifts before December 1st, but there are many reasons why I’ve adopted this annual gifting habit.
Recent studies show that I’m not alone. A national study from 2020 revealed that 38% of US customers planned to start purchasing Holiday gifts in October, and another 23% stated that would begin shopping before Thanksgiving. Only 22% of customers shared that they would wait until Thanksgiving before making Holiday gift purchases. In case you find yourself needing encouragement to ‘make your list and check it twice’ before December this year… Here are 8 Reasons why I finish my Holiday Gift Curating before Thanksgiving - And why you should consider it, too!
1) The early bird gets the worm. When you begin your shopping well in-advance of the Holiday rush, you tend to have the best selection available to you. Snag that super popular toy before there’s a line wrapped around the block for it. Find the exactly right size, color or scent you had been hoping for. An earlier start means that you won’t find yourself settling for the leftovers.
2) Avoid the crowds. It’s pretty miserable to find yourself in a store the week before Christmas surrounded by stressed, aggressive and cranky shoppers (or worse: cranky store employees!). You’re likely to make better gift choices and selections in a shopping environment that is less crowded. You’re also more likely to have the undivided attention and assistance of storekeepers.
3) The Supply Chain Struggle is REAL. You’ve probably heard about the strain on supply chains this year. Everything is taking longer to ship. Some things aren’t shipping at all. And many packages are extremely delayed with no concrete delivery date in sight. If you’re one of those folks that enjoys doing the majority of your Holiday shopping online - you should absolutely plan on completing your shopping well in advance this year.
4) Give small businesses an early boost. Most small business owners that I know are already feeling the impending crunch and craze of the quickly-approaching holidays. I believe that any time is a good time to support a small business, but planning your holiday shopping in advance allows you the flexibility and time to patronize small businesses that will be giddy to receive your support.
5) Avoid midnight Gift Wrapping at all costs. We’ve all been there, and it’s no fun. Last-minute gift shopping means last-minute Gift Wrapping. Wouldn’t you rather be sipping on some (spiked) hot cocoa by a crackling fire, or be curled up in bed with visions of sugarplums? A little bit of planning gives you the time and energy to get all of those gifts dressed up with plenty of time to spare. You may even find yourself… dare I say it.. ENJOYING wrapping gifts?! If this just really isn’t your thing, drop everything off and I’ll wrap them for you.
6) Holiday sales are overrated. I said what I said. The few bucks that you might save at a Black Friday sale are not worth the mental anguish and torture of being out shopping when you could be at home eating leftover turkey sandwiches and cold slices of pumpkin pie. Many popular stores like the Mother Ship (also known as “Target”) will not even be open on Black Friday this year, so any temptation to go sale hunting should be squelched. Spare yourself the holiday stampede, and just pay a few dollars more to enjoy some peace and quiet.
7) Clear eyes, full hearts, thoughtful gift shopping, can’t lose. I’d be willing to bet you’re not making your best gift selections if you’re scrambling at the last minute. You don’t want to find yourself in a pickle by making a hasty purchase, or totally missing the mark on the gift your partner was really hoping for. Even worse, you don’t want to show up empty-handed to a holiday party because you ran out of time. Taking the time to carefully and thoughtfully make a list of everyone on your gifting list will truly pay off. You’ll make better choices, you’ll show up prepared, and you’re likely to hear lots of “oooh”s and aaah”s and fewer “whaaa?”s when those bows come off.
8) You deserve to really enjoy the Holidays. Imagine a December where you are able to focus on being fully present with your friends and family. You get to watch the entirety of ‘Christmas Vacation’ without having to worry about lists. You get to focus on Christmas cookie decorating with your kids (and you even let them use the really tiny sprinkles that get all over the place.) You get to soak up the sweet moments of calm that might have typically been filled with picking up “just one more thing” from the store.
This year, I hope you’ll consider giving yourself the gift of a fully crossed-off Gift List before Mariah Carey starts belting her Holiday Hits on the radio. You owe it to yourself not to give in to the chaos that beckons each holiday season. Give it a try - It might just become a new tradition.