How to Survive Holiday Shopping
December always seems to bring along the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and before you know it, Christmas is here. It’s easy to get lost in and overwhelmed with the seemingly endless shopping lists. Whether it’s a list of gifts, or a list of grocery supplies for the best recipes to serve at a Christmas party, it can get a little crazy trying to keep up with it all. So, rather than just doing your best to “get through the holidays”, use these tips to plan out your shopping and make it as quick and painless as possible…
Make Lists – Take a moment to put together a solid list of the people you plan on getting gifts for and what you would like to purchase for each one. For food, list all the ingredients you need for each recipe. You can use apps such as Todoist or Evernote to help you.
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Sales and Coupons – Look through booklets, flyers, and online for sales and coupons for anything on your lists. Find out the dates that the sales and coupons run through to ensure that they don’t expire before you are able to take advantage of them. Make a note on your shopping list next to the items that you have a sale or coupon for.
Plan it Out – Once you have your list, sales, and coupons, take the time to plan out your actual shopping trip. Decide what day (or days) you will be going out and map out your route, being careful not to backtrack or aimlessly drive this way and that. Plan out the times you want to be at each store, and be as efficient as possible. You can use an app such as QuickTrip Route Planner by Allstate to help plan out your route (https://www.allstate.com/support/mobile-apps/quicktrip.aspx?cid=SOC-INF-EBUS-MISC-161128:CoolMomTechQuickTrip).
Execute the Plan – When the day comes to actually get your shopping done, follow your plan. Bring along your lists, sales ads, and coupons in a folder or envelope to make sure you keep it all together and organized. Depending on what sales are when, you may have more than one day of going out. Do your best to stay focused and positive. After all, the holidays are all about joy and giving right?? You’ve got this!
