EVERYONE who is talking about last-minute Christmas shopping right now, can hold their horses.
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We’ve got days before we get into 11th-hour shopping territory.
Christmas Eve-eve is a good time to start last-minute festive shopping. Even Christmas Eve, itself, if you’re the gambling type. I like to do cocktails and a kids’ Christmas church service – preferably in that order – on Christmas Eve so no shopping for me as such.
The beauty of last-ditch shopping, however, – in late December – and not the kind being promoted ad nauseam in mid to late November, is that there are fewer things from which to choose. Keep it simple, Santa! (KISS)
Presently, I am working hard to avoid small huddles of people sharing their different approaches to Christmas buying and planning.
I have scarcely made a list or checked it twice.
There are more ways to approach Christmas shopping than there are just about anything else.
We’ve always bought for kids only on both sides of my family but we’ve had many different ideas for the adults.
On my husband’s side of the family, we played the stock market one year.
We all put in a fixed amount to buy some shares.
The beauty of last-ditch shopping, however, – in late December – and not the kind being promoted ad nauseam in mid to late November, is that there are fewer things from which to choose. Keep it simple, Santa! (KISS)
While it was declared an overwhelming flop by most on the day, I appreciated getting out of my last-minute shopping that year.
For the past five years, we’ve done Handmade Christmas for the adults in my husband’s family.
Some of my favourite gifts were granola, a natural wool crocheted floor rug (I know, clever kin!!), earrings and a personalised game of Guess Who? featuring the whole clan including fur babies.
We tried to transplant raspberry plants from our kitchen garden last year for Handmade Christmas. I’m no horticulturist, but I feared those plants were up against it from the start.
For nieces and nephews, I’m officially the long-time Book Aunt, whether they like it or not.
With some ideas for Handmade Christmas and a book list back-up plan, I recently came across the Ethical Hierarchy of Gift Giving on Instagram for the first time in a while.
- Give memories: Event tickets, experience days, memberships. We have dancers in the family so ballet tickets have been in the mix in the past. Blackline Music in Albury is offering music lesson vouchers. Choose your instruments wisely!
- Give your time: Share your skills. I’m not a tradie lady but can offer a media release or a new photo headshot taken on an iPhone. The portrait setting is very swish; I’m happy to help. I can also make caramel, as we’ve already discussed above.
- Upcycle: Repurpose old toys. I’m not entirely sure how you’d do that. Someone smarter than me came up with that category. We’ve always tried to keep a lid on toys, meaning everything we own is well-loved and beyond modification.
- Buy second-hand: Check out Australian buy and sell sites Gumtree or eBay. Search opportunity shops, vintage stores or garage sales. If someone in your family is a collector, you might stumble across the perfect piece. I collect green depression glass – especially butter dishes with lids – if anybody comes across any of these. Just a thought!
- Make: Craft or baking. My sister-in-law’s handmade granola is a top way to start Boxing Day after the over-indulgence of Christmas Day. If you go over to the North East berry orchards during the festive season, your breakfast will be all the better.
- Ethical buy: Organic or ethical items score highly.
- Buy: The very last resort! When you’ve exhausted every other avenue for festive fare, feel free to shop around for stuff. But don’t stress just yet. Last-minute Christmas shopping is not even on the horizon.
