Good morning friends and happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice weekend. We took our fall family pictures this weekend and I wanted to share a little sneak peak with you.
Are you an early shopper? Or a last minute shopper?
I was a last minute shopper for YEARS. Honestly the thought of shopping before Thanksgiving never would've dawned on me, that has only become a recent thing. Now I start Christmas shopping over the summer. Is that crazy? A little bit? Let me explain.. I don't go out specifically to shop for Christmas, but if I am out in a store and I stumble across something somebody would like.. I buy it for Christmas and hide it in our basement. Then I make a list on my phone of everyone I will buy gifts for, and add the gift I've already bought them to the list. The list looks like this:
Not only does shopping early alleviate any potential financial burden during the Holiday season, but it keeps my stress levels down if I've already bought some of our gifts.
I used to only shop in stores, but now I'm about 50/50 with online and in person. What about you? I know it's so easy to shop Amazon, especially for harder to find items, but I try to buy from small local shops whenever possible. For example we have a small, family owned toy store near our house. I always try to buy the kids toys from there. If I need something specific and they don't have it, then I try a big box store or online.
Another thing our family always does around the holidays is we open two gifts on Christmas Eve: Our Christmas pajamas and a new book. Then we all snuggle up in our new pajamas and read our new books together before we go to bed on Christmas Eve. Last year I bought Devin this travel book...
and it has been one of his favorite books! He pulls it back out all the time to plan future vacations.
These are the Christmas pajamas I got the kids:
And then Devin's:
And mine:
If you do matching Christmas pajamas too I highly recommend trying Old Navy right now! They are having their friends and family sale so everything is discounted. Also, some style are already sold out-- so go fast before everything else is too!
On Friday I'll have a gift guide to share with you-- just some of the items I have bought for family/friends this year. Maybe it'll help spark an idea or two for one of you! Just like I'm hoping your ideas do for me today!
Oh your photos came out gorgeous!! I am definitely a start early shopper - makes things easier! xo, Biana BlovedBoston
ReplyDeleteThanks Biana! I agree-- much less stress!
DeleteI always like looking at gift guides!
ReplyDeleteSame! They always stir up some other good ideas!
DeleteI used to always wait until the last minute, but I'm also starting early this year (less stress & financial burden)! Also, I love your Christmas Eve tradition!!
ReplyDeleteHopefully it'll make the holiday season easier if we do it sooner rather than later! And thank you!
DeleteLove the matching PJs!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
DeleteYour pictures are just beautiful - can't wait to see more. We also open Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. It is usually so warm here in Houston...I wish we could do flannel pj's, but it's usually pajama pants with a tshirt! Thanks for linking up with Hello Monday! Tanya - The Other Side of the Road
ReplyDeleteI get it!! We have a short window of time where flannel works here, then it's back to sleeping in short sleeves!
Deleteomg LOVE the new sneak peek!! SO SO SO cute! Can't wait to see the rest!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!! You and me both :)
DeleteI was never really a last minute shopper as I just can not stand crowded stores but I too like to keep a list of what I've bought and who I've bought it for.
ReplyDeleteYour family photo turned out great. We do the same Christmas pj's every year and also do a Christmas eve box with hot chocolate and a movie
ReplyDeleteNot crazy at all! I start shopping whenever I see something and we hide it away until Christmas. I scored some great things in February on a Target clearance end cap that we stashed in our attic lol.
ReplyDelete