Small but nice
Christmas often ends in a battle with gifts. Thats expensive. And the many gifts are often not what the heart of the recipient desires. It can often be worthwhile and just as nice or even nicer to give less and find better gifts – quality instead of quantity. When we last met, did grandma talk about the great author she just discovered? Your latest novel and tea for a lazy afternoon on the couch could be just the ticket and much more enjoyable than a larger gift.
comparison portals
Anyone who already knows exactly what should be under the Christmas tree with friends and relatives can use comparison portals. It is often helpful not only to compare the current prices, but also to look at the price development over the past few months. This way you can better classify how expensive or cheap an offer is. In addition, some portals offer the possibility of sending notifications for the products you are looking for above a certain price, so that you can strike when it is cheapest.
The early bird catches the worm
Another good strategy is to start Christmas shopping early. This may give you the opportunity to wait for special offers or to find new products that are even better suited than the gift you were originally thinking of. It is worth keeping a list of gift ideas for different people so as not to lose track.
Negotiate the price
The experts from mdr recommend contacting your favorite supplier after a price comparison (whether online or in different shops) and drawing attention to cheaper offers – this is particularly effective for expensive products. So you can often buy the best gift at a lower price. However, this is only possible if there is enough lead time before Christmas.
Secret Santa
The whole extended family comes together – including distant relatives who you only see on such occasions and don’t really know? Instead of everyone giving something to everyone, there can be wonderful weighting in the extended family. This leaves more time to think about the best gift and nobody goes home at the end of the day with a basket full of well-intentioned but inappropriate presents.
By the way: Inexpensive scratch cards (nicely packaged with a bar of chocolate) make wonderful Christmas gifts for the whole family. Although most of the tickets will be blank, almost everyone is happy about the interactive Christmas present and the surprise when there is a prize.
vintage is in
In particular, very personal gifts are often used as well as new: Does your best friend like to do puzzles? Instead of buying a small jigsaw puzzle for a lot of money, he might even be happier with a larger jigsaw puzzle with signs of use. Other things, such as furniture, can even be nicer used than new – vintage is in.
The personal touch
If there is enough time, doing it yourself is always a solution. Whether it’s socks you’ve knitted yourself, Christmas cards you’ve painted yourself, crafted Christmas decorations or a voucher for an afternoon together – very personal gifts are often smaller, cheaper and go down particularly well.
Editorial office finanzen.net
Image sources: Pavel Metluk / Shutterstock.com, Pressmaster / Shutterstock.com