~ Curious Charlie ~

10 Ways to S(h)ave Time with Christmas Shopping @ Wednesday, December 03, 2014

1. Shop Online - But don't forget shipping cut off dates if you’re ordering something customized or from another country. Take advantage of "free shipping over $x spend" and gifts with purchase. For those in Australia shopping for beauty & skincare, I use this site and for books I check the price using booko and most of the time buy from BookDepositry which ships within about 2 weeks.

2. Operation Hawk - Shop like me! Have a list, find it online, put it on hold. This way you know they have it in stock, and don’t need to have a plan b. Also means if you’re super busy you can send your guy to get it. Otherwise he’ll call you when you said to buy the blue scarf and he’s confused because there are three different shades! Also if you’re on a shopping dash, you go in, collect, pay and go out – it reduces chances of browsing and buying more (pretty decorative stuff) you don’t need.

3. One Day - Plan to buy everything in one day! Yes it is possible – I can do it and so can you! Find a big shopping center, like Chadstone, Westfield or for me just the city. Now that you have everything on hold (tip no.2) plan the quickest route from store to store – yes I’ve done this many times. Also take advantage of shopping “festivals" when they occur. Chadstone & Melbourne Central have these 9am-9pm days when lots of stores have x% off. E.g. Today the GAP has 40% storewide.

4. Wrapped Candy - Buy all your candy from 'Sweet As' (a franchise) as towards the end of the year they offer complimentary (free) gift wrapping! ‘Sweet As’ is known as cheap though, so I would bring my own paper, because they have a cream paper with gold swirls that’s their signature wrapping paper. Using the default wrapping paper may devalue your box of candy and gives away that you didn’t wrap it yourself (a car ran over it style :P). If you’re after cheap candy especially American candy (hint hint) Discount Lollie Shop is the place to go – but they don’t wrap.

5. Wrap for Charity – At some shopping centers across NSW & VIC, MS Australia has gift wrapping stations, we wrap your presents for a gold coin donation (per item). Four items per person, size limits apply. We can be persuaded to wrap a flat screen tv if you’re friendly and we’re not busy ;). At Myer, Vision Australia provides a gift wrapping service – but it’s expensive and cheaper to buy that fancy wrapping paper you were checking out at Myer.

6. Wrapping Station – If you like to go DIY on wrapping, have a wrapping station ready with all your papers, ribbons, tags and other crafty things. This way everything you need is in the same area all ready to go. Oh and you can never have too much washi tape. ;)

7. Gifts Delivered to Your Inbox – You can buy giftcards online and have it delivered/sent straight to your receiver's inbox! You can definitely do this with Alannah Hill and Berserk. This could save you on postage & handling/processing fees, Tickettek I’m looking at you. It's also harder to lose – think paper bill vs online.

8. Take Stock – Throughout the year buy stuff when it’s on sale when you have someone in mind who might like it, or just think it’s cool but you’re not sure who to give it to. I like to have a gifts cupboard where we pick Secret Santa gifts from. This is also great if you have a surprise party someone forgot to tell you about 'till the night before. I have things like brand name fashion jewellery from Portmans, scarves from Witchery and other accessories, all bought on sale/clearance at DFOs. Also got casino quality playing cards and fun cufflinks for the boys.

9. Boxing Day Sale – Stock up for next year! This links to taking stock, but I also include here to buy all your Christmas decorations that you wanted but was too $$ to buy full-priced. Adding wrapping paper to your list here too – lots of Christmas stock will be 50% off.

10. Keep it Smooth - Order your razors straight to your door and always have them on hand. I do this when my 4pk blades are on sale for $15/16 or stock up with 3 for 2 sales. I find my Schick Hydro blades cheapest at Chemist Warehouse, but there are also subscription services to make it easier for you like Dollar Shave Club (they ship to USA/Canada and even Australia!). It's $1 is for 5 cartridges for a month + shipping, which I'm sure is cheaper then my pack of razors!