Christmas Is Coming… but are you ready?
Here at Hotel Indigo and Marco Pierre White Newcastle, we have found there are two ways you can react to the title of this post – joyful… or anxious! The happiness and dread of Christmas holidays are two of the most intense general feelings, so we are getting ready for Christmas a bit earlier this year, to prepare for the madness of the Festive season!
Christmas shopping is one of the most stressful events throughout the year and there are several reasons for the induction of stress – from money worries to the social pressure, from the feeling of urgency to the feeling of guilt.
We are offering some tips on Christmas budgeting and gift planning which we hope will make this festive season…well… festive!
Step 1: Make a list of people
This should be straightforward enough. Write down the names of all the people who are getting gifts this year. Separate them according to the nature of your relationship (that way you can be thoughtful of your business associates and partners as well) to help you decide on the nature of the gifts.
Step 2: Make a gift list
You must decide on the type of gifts you are giving out, whether these are custom per person, custom per type of relationship or general across the board. This will come in handy when you come upon a person that is on the receiving end, but you are not quite sure what to give them.
Step 3: Make a budget to work out the perfect amount you are going to spend this year.
Asking someone what they want for Christmas usually reveals surprising choices you have not thought of which are very often nicer on your budget.
Step 4: Get creative with wrapping paper
Every year we spend a ton of money on wrapping paper which then gets discarded promptly. Instead you can replace it with newspapers, plain boxes or other containers you already have. Stuff is getting recycled anyway, so you might as well use it appropriately. On the other hand, you can dedicate a special gift box for each person.
Step 5: Avoid Christmas sales
Yep. By planning your gifts in advance, you will more easily avoid Christmas sales which are bad for you.
By participating you are actually doing more harm than good! Blind to the fact that:
- a) the prices usually go up just before the sales
- b) items on sale are usually not the latest editions
- c) you are caught in a whirlwind that causes you to buy things you really do not want or need.
There are also other ways to save on Christmas shopping. You can focus on meetings rather than things or organise a Christmas party where you and all your guests get together and party the night away with food and festive tipples.
