Journeyer’s Chronicles

Each Tuesday in July, I will be writing about a different aspect of being prepared for Christmas. Some parts may help with your Christmas in July celebrations and some may just get you thinking about December.

Don’t forget to leave your entry in the Christmas in July competition. You could win a $20 Amazon voucher! It closes 23 July. Click on the link over there to the left or check out the end of this post for details.

One of the major tasks at Christmas time is organising gift giving. In my Christmas in July - Getting Organised post, I suggested starting a list of possible gifts early in the year. This has a number of benefits:

• You won’t be in a flap come December trying to think of things to give someone.
• More time to think will quite possibly mean more thoughtful gifts.
• There’s plenty of time for handmade gifts (if that’s your thing).
• You can buy items on your list as they come on sale during the year.
• The cost of Christmas is spread over a longer period.

Christmas gift ideas

One of the things I find hardest about Christmas is deciding on what gifts to give. It sometimes feels like I’m trying to find the proverbial gift for someone who has everything. This can be where handmade gifts can come to the rescue. A gift that you have put your own hard efforts into may, in fact, be appreciated more than another store bought item. Remember though, if you are taking the handmade route start well in advance so you are not pulling all nighters to get your gifts finished.

Having said that handmade isn’t for everyone (givers or receivers). Perhaps you could give a “service” or experience instead. Ideas to get you thinking include:

• Tickets to a show.
• Your time for babysitting so the lucky recipient can go out for a romantic dinner and movie (I would love someone to give me that for Christmas )
• Gift certificate for a course.
• A night in a nice hotel.

These needn’t cost the earth. In fact some of them will cost nothing but your time.

Reduce the number of Christmas gifts you buy

After our family gift giving started getting a little out of control, we decided to start a Kris Kringle (or Secret Santa). Each person draws a name out of a hat and buys a gift to a specified amount for that person only. So much easier than trying to think of gifts for everyone and so much cheaper!

Meegan from Harveys at Home has taken this one step further with a fantastic idea.

Each family member submits a list of 5 things that come under the agreed dollar value to go into the draw. This also has to be completed in November so your Secret Santa has plenty of time to organise their Secret Santa gift.

Where to find Christmas gifts

I’ve had some wonderful reader suggestions of where to find Christmas gifts at reasonable prices. Thank you everyone who shared their ideas.

• Kim from What’s that Smell? (love that name ) suggests trying online comparison shopping services. In the US try Slickdeals or Dealnews. Australian sites include Getprice, Shopbot and a great blog called Never Shopped Out (also has some great international deals).
• Naomi at Nomesque Life and Gina have discovered that a lot of department stores have begun Christmas in July sales. Keep an eye out for these not only for gifts, but for Christmas supplies as well.
• Suzanne from 365 Days of Uncluttering has a Christmas box that she puts well-priced and unique buys into throughout the year. Come Christmas she has a ready supply of gifts.
• Don’t forget about places like eBay and Etsy (a new favourite of mine).

Where do you find your Christmas gift ideas?

That brings my Christmas in July series to a close. I hope you’ve found something to inspire you for the upcoming festive season, or perhaps you’ve decided to celebrate Christmas in July. Thank you so much to everyone that shared their Christmas ideas and suggestions.

Don’t forget to leave your entry for my Christmas in July competion (details are at the end of this post). Winners will be announced on Friday. Good luck everyone!

More in the Christmas in July series

• Christmas in July
• Christmas in July - Get Organised
• Christmas in July - Eating

To celebrate Christmas in July and my three month blogiversary I’m giving away a $20 Amazon voucher! To enter just leave your Christmas tip here. As a thank you to my subscribers, they can get an extra chance to win. Details are at the bottom of your Journeyer’s Chronicles feed subscription.

If you aren’t a subscriber yet, just click here or on the green subscribe button at the top of the page and you can get your extra entry.

The Christmas in July competition runs from 1 July - 23 July. The randomly selected winner will be announced on 25 July (of course). Good luck everyone

Photos: Shiny Christmas and DPS