Don’t get Burned with Last Minute Christmas Shopping

When I was younger I paid little attention to Christmas shopping and would always leave it until the very last minute. These days I am far better prepared and I do most of my Christmas shopping online well in advance.

But when I was a young man I would always leave my Christmas shopping until the eleventh hour on Christmas eve when most shops had already closed. Sometimes the only place that remained open was the local all-night garage.

This led to some inventive and memorable Christmas gifts. I remember one year in which my brother generously gave me a half eaten kebab and I gave him a sack of barbecue charcoal. That was the year that my mum received a set of wiper blades for a Ford Mondeo (she drove a Volkswagen) and a years supply of in-car air fresheners. This was due to leaving my Christmas shopping until the very last minute after spending the day drinking cider rather than braving the shopping centre on what is often the busiest shopping day of the year.

One possible advantage in leaving your Christmas shopping until the last minute is that you can sometimes find some outstanding bargains. The economic downturn means that lots of people are tightening their belts and not spending as much so shops may be left with some cheap last minute bargains.

Or you may be unlucky where you are and find that the shops have all sold out and you are forced to get what you can from your nearest all night garage.

One way to do away with the Christmas shopping headache is to simply not do any. Take the money that you would otherwise have spent on presents that may or may not have been wanted and donate it to your favourite charity. Or let those to whom you would have given a gift choose a charity for your donations. Christmas is all about giving and not receiving so why not give to a worthy cause and not to people who already have enough socks and after shave.

BTW - for some great Christmas gift ideas pay a visit to raymears.com. You’ll find some of the best quality outdoor clothing available online along with all those neat gizmos and gadgets used buy Ray in his TV series. And the Ray Mears DVDs and Books which would make ideal Christmas gifts for any lover of the outdoors.