If you’re like us, there is one dreadful thing about the holiday season—holiday shopping! Holiday shopping for your family and friends can be downright challenging. Here is a helpful holiday shopping guideline that the MaleMatter Man can use!
The Season For Holiday Shopping
The season for holiday shopping starts sooner and ends later than most people would like to think. Traditionally, it used to start around the week of Thanksgiving to just before Christmas. However, modern times have precipitated a change to this holiday shopping period. Nowadays, the window starts as early as before Halloween and ends just a couple of weeks after New Year’s Eve.
Why did this change? Blame the internet. You would think that being able to order gifts online would mean there would be less hassle for the holiday shopper. But the convenience meant the holiday shoppers population increased tenfold!
So the first suggestion in the Male Matter guide to holiday shopping is to be prepared ahead of time. The earlier you can get your gifts for the holiday, the better. Now, that might mean you have to keep these gifts stored for longer than necessary. Nonetheless, it will still be a lot more convenient than doing last-minute shopping and then hoping deliveries will be on time.
Make a List… And Check it Twice.
It goes without saying, but having a list of your “target gifts recipients” is highly encouraged. Being prepared is the Male Matter Way!
Just as we suggest considering an early window for your holiday shopping, we suggest the same for your list of recipients. Get your list prepared as soon as possible. Treat it like a personal project. You can be as casual or formal with your list as you see fit, but here are some suggestions to get you in the right mindset:
- Divide by Priority – Separate your holiday shopping lists by groups. This means listing by importance or priority. You would not want to go through the “riot act” of missing gifts for your parents (or worse, your significant other’s parents!) after the holiday season.
- Set Your Budget – Once you have your priority gift recipients fixed, then it’s time to set your budget. One of the most common mistakes committed for holiday shopping is going over the budget. As good as it is to remember whom you want to give gifts to, going broke shouldn’t be an option. So set your budget for this and stick to it.
- Choose Meaningful Gifts – Having mentioned maintaining a budget; I suggest going for meaningful gifts rather than expensive ones. Even if you can afford lavish gifts, you would be better off with the kind of gifts that reflect the thought you put in selecting them for each person. This makes each gift more memorable. Furthermore, it prevents you from being stuck with trying to outdo yourself when next year’s festivities come around.
Holiday Shopping Suggestions
For Your Family
Your family comes first. That is non-negotiable. Fortunately, it’s generally easier to decide what to buy each of them for the holiday season. For parents, you should consider buying gifts that they voiced out wanting since you were young. Perhaps you can afford them now than you could back then.
Buying gifts for your siblings is a bit harder. Sibling rivalry persists through the years, you know? But it should follow a similar concept of considering what they wanted in your growing-up together years.
For Kids
The temptation to buy just plain old toys might be easy. However, you can try to be a little more creative. How about pairing snacks and games? Kids will always appreciate being able to snack on some popcorn while playing games.
For Friends
If you have friends with similar interests as you, then holiday shopping for them shouldn’t be too hard. Is your friend a gamer like yourself? A new game controller would be a good idea. Is your buddy interested in the great outdoors? Gear bags, heavy-duty water bottles, or multi-tools would fit nicely.
For Your Significant Other
This is probably the most difficult gift to get “just right.” Trust me. From personal experience, I can say finding the “perfect gift” for your significant other is tougher than finding the actual Holy Grail! This is a matter of taking note whenever your significant other continually glances at a product when you’re out shopping or lingers on an online shopping website just a little longer than usual. And, oh, don’t fall into the trap of actually asking what they want for Christmas. Doing that just leads to conversations that you would rather not have.
My best advice is to stay alert whenever your significant other mentions something they like. It can happen when you’re out window-shopping or when you’re watching TV, and an ad comes on. For example, my significant other mentioned wanting a “cool pair of sunglasses” when we were watching reruns of Top Gun.
Holiday Shopping For Yourself
With all this holiday shopping, don’t forget to buy something nice for yourself. Hey, man, you deserve it! One great gift idea for yourself is a personal development program. If you haven’t tried it already, Tom Venuto’s “Burn the Fat, Build the Muscle” program is highly suggested!
For more suggestions and tips for the Male Matter Man, stay tuned! And Happy Holidays!
