(posted 8/18/2013)
Don’t hate us. We know you’re totally loving your beach towel and glowing tan right now, but we have something to tell you: The holiday season is fast approaching!
Here are a few important dates to prove it:
- Black Friday: Friday, November 29
- Cyber Monday: Monday, December 2
- Hanukkah: Wednesday, November 27 – Thursday, December 5
- Christmas Day: Wednesday, December 25
Convinced? Hate us? Well don’t. We’re telling you for a very good reason: because starting your holiday shopping NOW has real benefits!
Benefit #1 – Skip the stress
By starting your holiday shopping now you will not only skip the stress of the stores, the shipping deadlines, and keeping up with the onslaught of email offers in your inbox, you’ll also skip the stress of figuring out what to get everyone!
By setting aside a half hour here and there NOW you can create a list of individuals that you will buy gifts for; think about each of those people and what they like, dislike, enjoy, need; identify a few gifts that would be great for each; and shop for them at your leisure.
Benefit #2 – Save $$$
Yes, we love the awesome deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And we think that the special coupons and promotions that retailers send us when we’ve procrastinated on December 18 are GREAT! But we gotta tell ya: smart, calm, planned-out shopping NOW can save you just as much money as waiting until the last minute.
If you’ve created a list of who to gift and established a few items to shop for, you can visit websites and stores now to look for deals. You also have a better chance of scoring a 40% off coupon now than you do closer to the holidays, when you’re likely to find 20% off coupons. For the holidays, retailers tend to give deep discounts on specific products or minimum dollar amounts.
Most importantly, if you’re not stressed and up against a deadline you’re less likely to bleed money on a gift you aren’t really sure about to begin with. Start shopping now and be happy with your purchase.
Benefit #3 – Enjoy the process and have less regret
At GiftSniffer, we believe that gift giving should be fun and enjoyable, not full of obligation and despair. Now, we can’t promise that you won’t have certain obligations in terms of gifts (your boss, your mother-in-law, your child’s teacher) but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the process of making those purchases.
By starting now and skipping the stress (benefit #1) and saving money (benefit #2) you’re already en route to enjoying the gift giving process. Giving someone a great gift and knowing that it didn’t cost you a fortune or require standing in line for 45 minutes will put a smile on your face during the happiest time of the year.
Get Started!
We know it sounds Pollyannaish of us, but it’s true: starting your holiday shopping now can put more time in your schedule and money in your pocket during the hectic months of November and December. We dare you to start.