If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s about making Christmas as stress-free and as fun as possible.
The festive season should be about enjoying yourself and spending time with the people you care about, not stressing about Christmas shopping.
We’ve put together 7 top tips on how to avoid any Christmas gift disasters or last-minute present embarrassment, when it comes to choosing, buying and having presents to hand!
Our little way of helping you to enjoy Christmas gifting even more this year.
1. Make a list and keep a record
Start off as you mean to go on with our first “super organised” top tip. It’s also a great excuse to buy a new notebook! Write a list of the presents you are buying for everyone in the same place, the same notebook, every year. There are apps, notes and other digital versions available, but who can resist the excuse to buy some new stationary.
If you keep a list of what you buy year on year, not only will you avoid the embarrassment of repeating the same presents, but you will also have lots of inspiration as the years go by.
2. Know who you are seeing and when
The festive season and celebrations can start in early November and last well into January. This can be super useful for helping you to plan what you are going to buy, and, importantly, when! From a logistics and budget point of view, knowing when you will see certain people means you can schedule your purchasing more easily, both online and if you need to go to the shops.
Even if you do slip up with your timings, we offer next day delivery on our Christmas hampers in the UK, so you can avoid last-minute gifting embarrassment.
If you are seeing family or friends after the New Year, you could even consider picking up a bargain or two in the Boxing Day and post-Christmas sales.
3. Agree who’s buying what
Whether it’s with your partner or a sibling, you don’t have to do all of Christmas gift buying yourself.
If you have an in-law who is a nightmare to buy for or a dad who never knows what he wants, then it can be a disaster trying to do it all alone. With help, you can think of more thoughtful presents as well.
Worse still, you don’t want to double up on gifts or find out that an all-important person hasn’t got a gift at all, as you each thought the other was sorting it!
Speak to all of the relevant people in your life and make a plan…then you just have to keep reminding hubby or boyfriend that he needs to sort out his mum’s present before it’s too late!
4. If you don’t know what to buy…ask
Remember there is never any harm in asking those who you plan to buy for if there is anything specific they need.
With children and their ever-changing interests, it can be really useful to get some thoughtful present ideas directly from them or their parents – you’d hate to buy something for a teenager that was “soooo last year!”.
5. Include a Christmas gift receipt
Whoever came up with gift receipts is a genius!
I know we love selecting a special Christmas gift, full of the hope that they will love it as much as you do. However, on the flip side, there is nothing worse than receiving something you don’t like, especially clothes or homeware. Then it just sits in a drawer or gets stuffed in the back of a cupboard.
In a sustainable world where nothing should go to waste, simply ask at the till or request online a gift receipt, pop it inside the pressie (or in a card) when wrapping and it’s there just in case they would like to make an exchange….and with a little ‘nod’ from you that it’s ok to do so.
It’s a great idea for kids clothes…especially with a child’s ability to grow within a matter of days!
6. Set a budget for Christmas presents
With close friends and family, you can consider agreeing on a budget for presents so that there is no embarrassment around having spent too little or too much when it comes to exchanging presents.
If you have lots of close family members to buy for or a close-knit group of friends, why not consider a Secret Santa? It doesn’t just have to be just for work and office Christmas parties. It can mean everyone gets one lovely big present, with the allowance of a bigger budget, rather than a number of smaller, cheaper presents.
We have some gorgeous Christmas hampers that would be perfect for Secret Santa gifting, including our Winter Wonders Christmas Basket for something luxurious and our Christmas Season Selection Gift Box, for under £40.
7. Keep a spare Christmas present or extra last-minute gift
That moment when an unexpected guest turns up at your door…gift in hand….it happens! Eeek! Follow this tip for a super organised Christmas and prepare a suitable gift for all.
Don’t get caught out this year scrabbling in the back of the cupboard for a forlorn box of chocolates. Have one or two small spare thoughtful gifts wrapped and ready to go.
Take a look at our Little Taste of Christmas gift box. It's a gorgeous little Christmas hamper for just £30.
And it really doesn’t matter if you don’t end up using the spare gift – keep it for yourself as an extra present and a congratulations to you for avoiding any Christmas gift disasters or embarrassment for another year.
No Christmas gifting disasters here
We love Christmas and try to do everything we can to ensure the joy of gifting remains, even at this busy festive time.
We offer free UK delivery on gifts over £50 and next day delivery options to ensure your hampers and gift boxes arrive on time. We want to do everything we can to help you avoid last-minute gifting troubles.
