Merry Christmas!

Boo!  Ha ha I scared you, didn’t I?  It’s only the beginning of September, after all.

But now’s the time to start thinking (and doing) about Christmas.

I usually have my Christmas shopping done by the end of October.  That is, if I’m really lazy about it.  There have been years where all my presents have been bought and wrapped by the end of September.

This sounds crazy, but this is actually a great way to save money.  Make a list, stick to it, and sit back and enjoy the holidays while everyone else around you turns into a pack of big, fat Scrooges.

Moving to Texas has been a bit of a game-changer in the Christmas shopping department, since most of the people I buy gifts for live in California.  But I don’t let a little thing like geography stop me from planning ahead.  Especially this year, because I will be visiting California in November.  I’ll have my list ready, spend a day shopping and wrapping, and ask one of my sisters to store the loot until Christmas.  I’m going to save big on postage this year, too.

Sometimes people say, what if I shop early and see a great sale after Thanksgiving, or see something I like better than what I originally bought?  To that I say, don’t even look at those Thanksgiving sales.  If your original gift is thoughtful, appropriate, and a good deal, than there is no sense in agonizing over it on November 30th.  Stick to your guns! It’s a great character-builder.  Never in my life has anyone said to me, “Gee, I wish you’d gotten me that so-and-so instead, which was on sale at 4:30 am the day after Thanksgiving.”  This will never happen.  So don’t worry about it.

(OK, I will give you an out here.  If it’s possible, you can try to return it to the store.  If this isn’t possible, for whatever reason, well, then - you now have some birthday-present shopping done early! Yay!).

Believe me, you are going to feel GREAT when your shopping is all done, hopefully well before Thanksgiving.  And don’t forget to wrap everything too, just as soon as you can after you bring them home.  That just adds to the feeling of satisfaction.