My Christmas Shopping Secrets! (Wrapping it up)

Wrapping it up… sigh…  dang, some things are so much funnier in my head.

Other holiday shopping resources that you’ll find helpful:

http://www.thefrugalshopper.com/articles/frugalgifts.shtml   - Inexpensive gift ideas.

http://holidays.about.com/od/giftideasshoppingtips/  - Gift ideas and shopping tips.

http://www.catalogs.com/info/gifts/christmas-gift-ideas-online.html

http://www.giftcertificates.com/   - Need a last minute bailout?  Send a gift card online.

http://sbinfocanada.about.com/b/a/132580.htm  - I know you won’t be waiting until the last minute, but in case you do here are some last minute gift ideas.

My Christmas Shopping Secrets! (Part 4)

Setup a Secret Santa for your family and friends!  A Secret Santa is a great way to help everyone save time and money on Christmas shopping.  Basically, how it works is everyone puts their name into a hat and then takes turns drawing a name.  Then, they only buy a gift for the person whose name they selected, but they don’t tell anyone who they’re buying for until it’s time to hand out the gifts on Christmas.

This is fun for everyone, and it takes the pressure off of having to find gifts for everyone, as you just have to shop for one person!

You can even plan your Secret Santa online at:

http://www.secretsanta.com/

Shop the night before the big sale!  This is a really big secret for shopping in the offline world, but it isn’t always the case with every store.  You’ll have to experiment with it in order to find the stores that it works at.  Basically, some stores update their computers the evening before a big sale, allowing you to take advantage of the sale prices without having to fight the crowds.  Try it out, and see if you can get lucky and find a store that does this, then add it to your list for years to come!

Ask for unadvertised discounts!  This might seem a little weird at first, but it can definitely be worth it and help you save some money.  Ask your retailers for any unadvertised discounts or sales that might be going on that week.  A lot of retailers offer special discounts to regular customers, as well as other unadvertised specials.  You won’t get them unless you ask though, so ask for them!