Getting the Christmas shopping done when you’re a working mum is a bit of a challenge!
When surveyed 27% of mums said they start their Christmas shopping in the January sales and buy presents throughout the year (according to a survey commissioned by HEXBUG UK).
Who are these mums?
Don’t worry though, 51% of mums also admitted to frantically buying presents in December. I know which of those categories I fall into.
It’s not that I don’t think about Christmas until December, it’s more that I don’t have time so I put it off until I really have to do it.
It would be so lovely to have a day all to myself, to leisurely go Christmas shopping and get everything done in one go. Unfortunately, when you work it’s that not easy. And when you work and have kids it’s impossible – I use all of my annual leave up by the end of the summer holidays so there are no days left for luxuries like shopping!
So how do you get all of the Christmas shopping done if you’re at work all the time?
Here’s my working mum’s guide to Christmas shopping…
Midnight Online shopping
I do most of my shopping online and by the time the bedtime routine is done, dinner eaten, house tidied, and work & school stuff for the next day is sorted, I find myself up at midnight scouring the internet for the best prices on My Little Pony tat.
Parcel Collections
You might try and save delivery costs by getting the parcels delivered to the stores like I did. What I forgot was that I’m at work with no lunch break every day, so the only time I have to collect the parcels is after the school run with a tired 5-year-old in tow. Even if you do pay the delivery charges you’re then not in to receive the parcels anyway so have to rush to the post office before it closes.
Late Night Food Shop
Normally I do my grocery shopping online, but at Christmas, you can’t risk the food shop turning up with missing items so it’s much safer to go and get your sprouts yourself, even if this means doing it when you’d rather be in bed. Unless you’re a crazy person do not attempt to do the Christmas food shop with a child, it’ll only end in tears. Probably yours.
If All Else Fails – Get Gift Tokens
If you really have left it until the last minute then gift tokens are definitely the way forward. You can get them all in the supermarket in one go – toy shop vouchers for kids, iTunes vouchers for teenagers, clothing vouchers for the girls, Amazon vouchers for boys, and restaurant vouchers for couples. Done!
Christmas Eve Wrapping
When you work there are no child-free moments in during the day to get things like present wrapping done. The last thing I feel like doing in the evening is wrapping presents, so every year I end up spending the evening of Christmas Eve doing some last minute wrapping. My tips based on previous years – if you’re also a Christmas Eve wrapper, make sure you have enough sellotape and wrapping paper!
I’m stressed just thinking about it all! How are you getting on with your Christmas shopping? Good luck!
chocolateandwineandillbefine
I don’t know how those people who shop in January do it? I adore Christmas, but once it is over I don’t want to have to think about it for at least another 10 months! I thankfully don’t work full time anymore, though when I did I used to save up at least a day of my annual leave to run around the shops then and get it all done in one day. It was manic and I wouldn’t recommend that to anyone. Midnight internet shopping is definitely the way forward! #sharingthebloglove