This Christmas is unlike any other. 2020. It’s been a strange year full of political strife, economic challenges, natural disasters, and a global pandemic.
Despite that, families are still planning to spend money on Christmas gifts. Over the last 10 years, consumer spending during the holidays increased. Last year, average spending was just about $1050. This year, there is a slight decrease, but only by $50. What do you do if you need to save money on Christmas presents? You can shop on the mainstay of the pandemic. Amazon and use your creativity to find the perfect gift. Read on to learn how you can save up even when you’re shopping for presents.
You Don’t Need to Spend A Lot of Money
With families planning to be apart because of COVID-19, Christmas just isn’t the same. Some family members are choosing to hold off on gift-giving or telling relatives to just save money and not buy anything. You may not feel right about not buying gifts, but you want to do something. This is actually the perfect time to think about why you’re giving gifts.
The goal isn’t to buy the latest and greatest thing. Your self-worth isn’t tied to what you give. The goal is to celebrate the light and joy that happens during the season. Any gift is a reflection of that light and joy, no matter how big or small. In other words, you don’t need to spend a ton of money on Christmas gifts.
Finding Deals on Amazon
Amazon is amazing. What started as an online bookseller grew to become a retail giant. Many retailers choose to have their items listed on Amazon because that is the default marketplace for many shoppers. These retailers often compete to sell the same product, and they’ll make offers to encourage you to buy from them. They’ll offer Amazon discounts in the form of coupons. You just check the add coupon box if it’s available on the product page. The discount is taken at checkout.
Did you know that there are sites that compile the best of Amazon giveaways? An Amazon giveaway list is sure to be your best friend as you start shopping. You’ll be able to find the best discounts and giveaways to enter. You can use the list as an opportunity to get something special for yourself, too.
Visit the Daily Deals
Every day Amazon has dozens of products on sale. A lot of the time, these sales are for items you’re not looking to buy. Don’t get sucked in by a special and buy it. That’s no way to save money on presents. Have a list of items that you want to buy as gifts and see if one of them appears in the Daily Deals. It’s worth checking out for a few minutes each day to see if you can score a deal.
Set Amazon Alerts
If there’s a product that you want to get, but it doesn’t quite fit your budget you can set an alert to notify you if the price comes down. You’ll get an email that tells you the price of an item dropped, so you can buy the item as soon as you get the email.
Take Advantage of a Prime Trial
Since you’re spending time and money shopping on Amazon, it makes sense to see what’s available to you. You may be able to sign up for a free trial of Amazon Prime for 30 days. This gives you free two-day shipping, plus tons of video content.
Have a Sense of Humor
The great thing about shopping on Amazon is that you have a huge range of products to choose from. You can get the people in your family games and gag gifts. This year was a tough one, and any excuse to laugh is a great one. These are usually inexpensive gifts where you can save a lot of money.
Use Your Creativity
You can find ways to be creative and give gifts at the same time. There’s a good chance that you took hundreds of photos during the year. You can upload them to Amazon photos, have them printed through Amazon Prints. You can print them on mugs or get them printed and framed.
Is there someone in your family who has young children? It’s been a very stressful year for parents because they’ve been at home with the kids for most of the year. You can give them a huge gift – a date night. Offer to take care of their kids for one night so they can go out or stay in — sans kiddos.
Plan Ahead
You can’t afford to wait until the last minute to buy Christmas presents. If you’re planning to shop on Amazon or any other online retailer, you need to account for two things. The first is longer than normal shipping times. Since everyone is shopping online this year, shipping companies are seeing record volumes of packages. They also have reduced staff in places because of COVID-19, so two-day shipping might take 3-5 days or longer.
The second thing to be aware of is out of stock items. It’s kind of like Black Friday, but online where everyone is fighting over the same product. If you see a product you want and the price is right, don’t wait. Get it before it goes out of stock.
It Is Possible to Save Money During the Holidays
Whether you’re going through a tough financial time or you’re trying to meet financial goals, you may want to try to save money during the holidays. You want to make sure that everyone is happy, but you also want to get them great gifts, too. Be resourceful. You can find plenty of ways to save money and use your creativity to give gifts that people will love.
Head over to the Lifestyle section of this site for more parenting tips and things you can do in Dallas.