A November Must: Christmas lists in time for Black Friday
Every year it seems that our Christmas preparations start earlier and earlier. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have increased the need for us to create our Christmas lists earlier to get the great deals that are offered. Creating a list can be a fun family activity and a new November tradition. Gather your family or friends together and create your lists together. You can share ideas, methods and stories as you create your list. We want to help you win this Christmas and get your Christmas lists created before Black Friday begins. The following steps will ensure you’re ready to capitalize on the savings:
Steps to building your Christmas list
- Write down everyone you need to buy a gift for.
To ensure you don’t forget anyone and to help spread holiday joy you should write down a comprehensive list of all the people you will be buying gifts for this year. This list should include Family, Friends, neighbors and most importantly that special someone. As our circles grow it can be hard to remember everyone and feelings can be hurt if anyone is left out. To make sure no one is left out it is important to create a list of everyone you are planning to get a gift for. You don’t have to create this list alone, make it a cool holiday tradition and include those close to you.
2. Set how much you will spend and make a budget by person
After figuring out who you will be buying gifts for it is important to set a budget. Each year hundreds of families forget to set a budget and spend more than they wanted to. A budget will keep the stress out of Christmas so that you can focus on what really matters. Christmas can be costly and it is important to still stay within your means and not overspend.
There are many tools to help you create your budget and list. Amazon has a great list making and tracking feature that will even let you share your lists with friends. Check out Amazon Lists or download our free list and budget tracking tool. This tool will help you keep track of what you have bought, how much you have spent and how much is left in your budget. We recommend setting a maximum value that you will spend and setting how much you will spend on each person. Stay ahead of the stress by knowing where you are and how much farther you can go. Many times homemade gifts are a good option to help you and your family stay under budget.
The Honey Do List Network is a great place to go to get help with your lists and connect you to local business’s so that you can succeed during the holidays.
3. Write down gift ideas by person
Now to what we consider the hardest part, finding the perfect gift. Each of the people on your list have their likes and dislikes. They have their own wants and needs. Is it possible to find the perfect gift? We know it is with a little effort. Unfortunately not every method works for everyone on your list so you may have to get creative with some of our suggestions and come up with some of your own.
-Observe
Spend time with the people on your list and observe their needs. If your friends and family are similar to ours they don’t always ask for what they really want but with observations you can see what they are wanting or need. We recommend starting this earlier than later and observe year round. In order for this to really be effective we recommend observing and noting gift ideas year round.
-Ask their parents or special someone
Sometimes we can’t always spend time with them and want to surprise them with a perfect gift. In order to get around this is to ask someone close to them. Many times they have observed or noted some gift ideas that they are no able to give or they already decided on what to get them. Since people confide in their loved ones easier than with others this is a viable way to surprise them with a gift.
-Make a list of their interests
This is a great way to get an idea if the person you are looking for hasn’t given you or their loved ones any ideas. This is a great way to find a gift that they will use. Write down their likes, hobbies and things they do in their free time.
-Write letters to Santa
This is a great way to get both kids and adults to share their wants and desires without feeling greedy. Get a group of your friends and their kids together and write letters to Santa and collect the kid’s letters to send to Santa. You can then use these letters to pick the perfect gift for them the kids on your lists.
-Lastly, Just ask what they want
This is straight forward and even though it takes the surprise away you can just ask. Try to ask for multiple gift ideas so that you can still create a small surprise because they don’t know which idea you will pick. This for us is a last option and the others should be used first.
Be sure to pick the best method for you and the person for whom you are getting the perfect gift. Amazon can also help you find a gift for every wish list.
4. Search for deals, discounts and where you will buy each gift
Once you have finished getting your gift ideas written down it is important to look for the best deals. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will help expand your budget. Make sure to look at different stores and check online to see how much you can save. Black Friday is coming up this week and has many great deals. If you have followed the steps you can use the next few days to research what stores have the gifts you want to buy, who has the best price and if there is a great Black Friday deal. Research is important and can save you a lot of money while still getting the things on your list.
5. Track purchases
A budget and a list is not valuable unless tracked. Make sure to keep a record of your purchase so you can see how much of your budget is left and to see if you have any extra to get yourself a little something as well. Tracking your purchases is key to staying under budget and out of stress. Don’t forget this important step by using our free tracking tool.
Christmas list are an important part of November and can save you a lot of money when you have it ready in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We here at Honey do list solutions know how important it is to get things done on your to do lists especially during the holidays. Get one thing checked off today so you can enjoy the holidays.