The pandemic has messed with my sense of time, and maybe with yours. Certainly I was startled today when I did the math and realized that Thanksgiving is just 77 days from now.
Three days after that is the first night of Hannukah. And if you’re a Christmas person, that happens in 107 days.
Some of us prepare throughout the year. If we see gift bags and/or holiday wrapping paper on deep clearance (or waving at us from the mixed-paper bin at the recycling center), we stock up.
Yard sales, thrift stores and Buy Nothing Facebook groups yield us holiday décor, serving pieces and gifts. We stash points from rewards programs/apps, planning to cash them in for gift-buying.
Not everyone is as vigilant (or hypervigilant). To those who prefer a more laid-back approach, I hereby offer some helpful tips on completely screwing up the 2021 holidays.
1. Wait until the last minute.
So what if supply-chain issues are predicted to get worse in the coming months? Maybe they won’t!
And so what if retailers like Walmart and Amazon are struggling to get space on shipping vessels, or if the continuing microchip shortage has affected manufacturing? Surely they’ll have that all ironed out before Christmas.
You’re a busy person, after all, so it’s fine if you wait until Dec. 23 to start your shopping.
2. Relax about the mailing.
The U.S. Postal Service plans both a temporary rate hike and a first-class mail delivery slowdown starting in early October. If you don’t wrap and mail early, you’ll pay more and the stuff might not get there on time.
Aw, who cares? You can just use a private carrier because they always get things there in time, right? And if they don’t, well, getting a holiday package or some Hannukah gelt a few days late just means the holiday fun will be extended!
3. Don’t bother saving up.
Thanksgiving isn’t for another 77 days, and you’ve still got around 14 weeks until Peak Last-Minute Shopping. You could probably set aside some cash specifically for the 2021 holidays. But who needs that kind of pressure?
Besides, what kind of tightwad would put a price tag on such a special time of year? In fact, what you should actually do is…
4. Pull out all the stops.
Inflation, schminflation. It’s a special time of year, so let’s do it up right!
Sure, things are more expensive this year. But does it really matter if you wind up a couple thousand bucks in the red come January? After all, you’ve got 11 more months to pay it off in time for next Christmas!
And sure, the interest you’ll makes the gifts even pricier, and your “credit utilization ratio” does make up 30% of your FICO score, but hey, come on, it’s the holidays! What are you, some kind of Scrooge?!?
5. Plans? Who needs ’em?
Just wing it! If you think you need more cookie decorations, wrapping paper and a couple more cans of those French-fried onion pieces, better get them. Better too much than too little, right?
And if you see something your partner/kid/parent/grandchild would love, buy it on the spot and stash it in the garage, the attic or the basement. You’ll totally remember how many things you’ve purchased, and will absolutely have the right amount of gifts ready for wrapping on Dec. 24.
So what if one kid gets 10 gifts and another gets six? Life is full of disappointments. Better they learn that early on.
Or go ahead, make a list in your head. Of course you’ll remember your grandkid’s recent announcement that “Paw Patrol” merch is for babies, or that a new health issue means no more Hickory Farms baskets for older sis.
No need to make an actual list on your smartphone, or on a piece of paper in your wallet. You and your superior brain skills have totally got this!
Or maybe DON’T screw them up?
Those references to supply-chain and delivery issues came from a recent piece for Money Talks News. While it’s possible that you’ll be able to find everything you want, I wouldn’t count on it.
For example, early August saw pandemic-related factory shutdowns in China and southeast Asia; since Vietnam is one of the world’s foremost garment manufacturers, we could very well see a shortage on major brands. And since most toys are made in China, it’s predicted that major toy brands will raise prices (or already have) to make up for shipping disruptions.
I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t say these things are 100 percent accurate. What I can say is that if you can afford to start buying now, get going.
This is my advice even if you don’t plan on tons of gifts, trimmings a la Martha Stewart or outdoor décor that looks like you’re signaling the mother ship. It’s been a rough year-plus, which is why that I – and maybe you – look forward to the holidays as a bright spot in a dark time. Personally, I love a big Thanksgiving dinner* and I love giving a moderate number of gifts. Because I got started early, I can do these things that make me happy.
If you’re the kind of person who absolutely must uphold certain traditions of your own, better plan your attack now. Otherwise you might not be able to find, say, the specific type of toy you wanted for your child/grandchild, or a can of those onions for the green-bean casserole.
Readers: Have you started (or finished!) your holiday planning and buying? Scaling back this year, or blowing it out?
*Haven’t had to make one of these for a while, though. We’re invited to a big family ’do, so all we have to contribute is a couple of pies.
Started planning and ordering gift cards for points.
My gifts are homemade baked goods from my kitchen and, when it’s not a pandemic, my holiday cookie exchange friends. Most bundles get mailed and I’ve been puzzling over how I’m going to get them to their recipients on time. Hannukah starts so early, it’ll be over before the cookie exchange even happens. And with the PO slowdown, Christmas people might not get their treats on time unless I get on the packaging, labeling, stamping etc immediately after the exchange. Which isn’t appealing on a belly full of potluck lunch and cookies! Might have to reconfigure the whole kaboodle this year.
I am saving rewards from a credit car and from walgreen’s for Amazon gift cards for my grandchildren. Except for that can of French fried onions, I am all seet on food for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
And it may be an even better holiday season than usual to make charitable donations a major part of the gift-giving–for multiple reasons.
That’s a good point. I give all year long, but around the holidays I get a little more intense. This year I figure my siblings don’t need more things so I’m going to donate to Feeding America instead of sending gifts.
My SIL and I will be baking and making candy to send to our friends and relatives and will be packing the boxes with home grown pecans from her tree. We are very far away from friends and relatives so we depend on the mail to get our holiday packages out.
In my opinion, homemade treats make a great gift and don’t cost very much.
Fresh pecans? 🤤😋 That is an awesome gift!
Agreed! Usually I send out homemade cookies and/or peanut brittle and sea-salt caramels. Last year I just wasn’t feeling it, given that my dad had died in November, so I had Chugach Chocolates mail some of those unusual artisan chocolate bars instead.
https://www.chugachchocolates.com/
This is a little off topic but it reminded me of a sweet story. My husband is a retired Registered Nurse who worked with people with Traumatic Brain Injuries. Many years ago he had a patient and neither the patient nor his wife spoke English. They were also very poor. The wife would always try to express her appreciation to my husband even though she had no English. One day she came in and cried as she she gave my husband a gift . She was ashamed that it was the best she had to give. It was a small sack of pecans that she had picked up on a road. To this day when we talk about it we say it was the best gift he was ever given by a patient because it was given so humbly and with love. Plus who doesn’t love fresh pecans?
This reminds me of when we went to visit relatives in Lithuania, years ago when it became possible after years of not being able to go there. One of the best gifts we got was carefully ironed used kitchen towels. The woman said she had nothing else to give us but hoped we would be able to use them. It made me weep.
Those seriously are the BEST gifts!! Ones to always remember because they are so touching
I am trying to shop local stores instead of chains to help out my community.
Yes! Starting to plan now, though really I’m only as far as dealing with the birthdays between now and Xmas so far. Budget is set & I’m trying to figure out what they would like that could also be bought a ways ahead of time without worrying about return windows if there’s an issue. So no tech, but books are great (yay Thriftbooks!) and some apparel, manual tools, and non-tech toys have made the cut so far as well. This spring I got some cute decor from a Haitian artisan site’s sale that will also make for nice Xmas gifts.
I’m really looking forward to the holidays this year. We are helping my parents host for Christmas. Luckily they pay for the food (and can easily afford it) but we help out with cooking. I also do an annual baking day with my mom the day after Thanksgiving that my dad and I will probably take over since she’s not up to it this year. Thanksgiving we normally do with friends, and we will probably host and pay for, but it’s pretty simple. We give cash to the young adult nephew/stepchildren and buy only a few small gifts for the rest of the family. We plan to give to the local food bank again this year since things are tough all over and we are grateful that we have enough.
That sounds very nice indeed.
Holiday plans are still fluid. Son and DIL (and their dog) may be moving for a job soon. Who knows when or if they’ll be able to get home for the holidays. It might be a FaceTime holiday for them. Rewards points for gift cards and checks toward big gifts have been the way we’ve gone the past couple of years, but I try to include something “real” as well. Hubby is the hardest to get for because he doesn’t want anything! But I’ve got something in the works for him.
I like to give real items as well. Pretty sure that gift cards are the most appreciated items for the teens, though. On the other hand, T-shirts that I usually get from FinCon mean that’s one more day to put off doing their laundry.
Usually get from FinCon, but I have reluctantly decided that I can’t go this year. The numbers in Austin are not good and mask-wearing seems…casual. In addition, I’d be in rooms with bunches of people and there’s a lot of intense conversations at these things. Even though I’m vaccinated I just can’t take the risk. Dammit.
I’m fine if the malls are closed and the logistics systems are frozen. I just don’t play the game of let’s give brother-in- law a new shirt. We trimmed our list and we buy experiences, zoo passes, concerts (OK those are iffy), art classes, etc. No one in our family needs more STUFF.
Hear, hear! Gift cards to local restaurants are good for that, too — assuming there’s not another lockdown.
When I do give “things” they are pre-owned treasures. My MIL loves autobiographies. I can get them for a buck at used book stores. One keeps her happy for a month. And yes sometimes I spend much more on her when something is perfect (like a box full of her china pattern complete with serving pieces), but generally she prefers that we spend money on her grandchildren who do not have as much.
If I do given an experience sometimes I include a trinket that can be wrapped, like ski gloves to go along with snow tubing passes.
I do the used books as well. Sometimes the library “free” box includes new-looking bestsellers that didn’t get sold at the semi-annual book sale, or what I can only assume are books that were donated but not put into the sale because they’re so obscure. (Ex: DF just picked up a book there about the Bronte sisters and their brother.)
The ski gloves and snow-tubing combo is a nice idea. It would be fun to make up other pairings.
After visiting grandchildren in their first apartments-college and jobs-, I am buying five five torch light type lamps. Not fancy, but practical for their one ceiling light only rooms.
Gift cards for groceries and restaurants as well as filled snack boxes seem to be appreciated.
Those are all good ideas. Experiences, not stuff — and budget-boosters as well.
We still read your book that you gifted to JB at our last FinCon together! And now they’re reading it to Smol.
I’m sorry you can’t go to FinCon this year. It really didn’t seem safe with all the people who are anti-vax and anti-mask and all. :/
I’ve already purchased my big allotment of nibling gifts for the kids we’re going to give actual things to and setting up for the other big allotment. I am probably going to carry on the family tradition of cash for half the kids since I don’t think anyone needs more junk filling up their homes. I would like to support a local indie bookshop by giving books too but I’m not sure how far down that rabbit hole I should go. It could be dangerous.
Funny — I wrote a post on this before I saw yours!
https://cindybrick.blogspot.com/2021/09/three-months-til-christmas.html
One source you didn’t mention is Amazon’s Warehouse sale…I get a lot of food items there, particularly ‘fahncy’ imported stuff, at rockbottom prices. And I stick to the $25 minimum, so shipping is free.
https://www.amazon.com/s?i=grocery&bbn=10158976011&rh=n%3A10158976011&dc&fst=as%3Aoff&qid=1631858601&ref=sr_ex_n_1