STRESS-FREE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
Does the thought of baubles and stockings have you r unning for the hills?
Hazel Davis tells us how to make the obligatory gift-fest a smooth ride
Last December, for once, I didn’t turn up at my mother’s house on Christmas Eve with wrapping paper under one arm and a bag of assorted inappropriate presents under the other. I didn’t hastily bundle up my Auntie Joy’s budget bottle of wine in five-year-old birthday paper and I didn’t leave all my overseas card posting to three days after the deadline. Rather, I arrived, fresh as the morning dew, safe in the knowledge that my shopping had preceded me.
Oh, I am smug now but it took several years and several disappointed relatives to discover the secret of stress-free shopping, I can tell you. My secret was to buy it all online, the whole bally lot. But for those of you who just can’t take the plunge, there are myriad ways to make the experience just that little bit less stressful.
Netting a bargain
Last November, rather than the work distracter it was in danger of becoming, I made the internet my friend. Of course, there will be lunatics among you who actually enjoy real-life shopping; who treat the idea of weaving through throngs of elbows to snaffle up a bargain as a pastime; who look on the countless magazine articles telling you that you need to spend £50 apiece on your friends as encouragement rather than pressure.
Internet shopping might have that slightly out-of-control hue to it, that edge of danger (think Margot Leadbetter’s panic when the van with Christmas in failed to turn up) but managed properly it can be a godsend of the highest degree. The internet doesn’t run out of things the way your local boutique does and nobody elbows you in the ribs while you’re ordering. And, joy of joys, you don’t have to carry it. It’s not the free-for-all panic-fest you might think. Websites such as thegiftexpert.com and buyagift.co.uk guide you in the right direction if you haven’t a clue where to start. Or there’s www.redletterdays.co.uk for giving unusual experiences – from SAS survival training to whisky weekends. Most major retailers also have an online arm so you aren’t taking a punt on shoddy online goods, more ensuring you get the ones you want without having to fight for them.
Chic treats
If the idea of jostling down a busy UK shopping street to the strains of local accents and the same old shopfronts makes you want to hibernate until Easter, why not treat yourself to a weekend away.
It’s a scientific fact that shopping is easier when surrounded by smiling Italian men, phallic architecture, or followed by a massage in a Budapest spa. There’s not just the opportunity of holiday romances, new friends or a even a cheeky tan, there’s also the knowledge that your gifts will be just that little bit more special than the usual department-store voucher. If you can resist the urge to splash out on cut-price designer goods for yourself, that is.
Shopping in Europe also carries the advantage of the climate getting you in the mood for wassailing. While we’re here getting our jeans wet in the sludge, trying to muster thoughts of Father Christmas, you could be crunching through the Salzburg snow to the strains of Eine Kleine Nachtmuzik. Visit www.Jet2.com to whet your appetite with a list of Christmassy destinations.
Family value
Christmas is for children, they say. Not when you’re tearing round Debenhams on 24 December looking for mother-in-law gifts it’s not. Sometimes the kids should just be left at home but we’re not all Kate Moss, so where can you shop, make sure the children are happy AND get the presents you want?
You’ve got to understand that kids like Christmas because they get chocolates, presents and games. End of. They are no more excited about grandma’s lemon prewar-design-not-sold-since-Alma-Cogan-died cardigan request than you are. Spare a thought for the kids and they will reward you with being well behaved at the checkout.
A mum friend of mine suggests: “Don’t try and do too much – one shop is generally more than enough. Feed them before you go out and take snacks and nibbles to shut them up.” She also suggests locating the toilets early on in the procedure, “and if you want to take them for lunch as a treat – make sure it is something suitable for them, where they don’t have to queue for ages”. She adds: “Involve them in choosing the presents for friends and relatives, too, and give them a list to tick off.”
Try and head for child-friendly shops.
Ikea is a parent’s dream with its ball-filled play areas and dedicated child’s section. It also does a nice line in cheap Christmas decorations and a good range of festive food.
Shopping santas
Like my best friend the internet, doing your shopping all in one place can take away 80% of the stress. Park yourself somewhere like the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds or Manchester’s Trafford Park, grab a coffee (and maybe an ice-cream), steel yourself and calmly march from left to right, up and down until your bags are full-to-bursting.
The really excellent thing is that many shopping centres these days even have cinemas, so if you time it right you can arrive early, miss the morning rush, catch a quick showing of An Affair To Remember and be back out for the afternoon quiet period.
On your markets
So it’s mid-December and you’re finding it very hard to get into the Christmas spirit. It’s raining sludge, the sky is grey and nobody at work is in the mood for a round of Silent Night. How can you be expected to shop in these conditions? That, dear reader, is what the Christmas market was invented for. Like fairytale oases in the middle of the British winter, Christmas markets are there to remind you of the spirit of the season with mulled wine, roast chestnuts and little wooden puppets that you can’t buy anywhere else and serve no purpose to man or beast. Christmas markets remind us of when we had satsumas in our stockings and when Santa would pop down the chimney with bags of goodies, not pop bank statements through the letterbox.
Most major cities have Christmas markets these days. Leeds holds its annual market in Millennium Square, replete with funfair rides, and Manchester’s St Anne’s Square is transformed into a winter wonderland every November. And if you want to combine the European citybreak with a Christmas shopping spree then all the better. Many Jet2.com destinations such as Budapest, Prague, Düsseldor and Krakow are famed for their Christmas stalls selling baked goodies, spiced wines, and stocking-fillers such as hand-carved toys and tree decorations. Most start in late November and carry on till early January. Another excuse for a holiday!
Insider’s tip
Jill Adams, womenswear manager for Harvey Nichols in Leeds, advises: “Use personal shoppers to ease stress. Give them some idea about the people you’re buying for, whether you’re looking for small gifts or splashing out, and they will do the rest. They’ll even wrap it for you.”
Adams says that hot gifts this year include the new range of Apothia candles, the must-have ‘Heloise’ bag from Chloé and Christian Laboutin patent shoes. “These are real bankers,” she says, “and so much easier than trying to buy a complete outfit for someone.” Adams also advises against shopping with a friend. “Be single-minded,” she says. “Make a list and work through it. Don’t stop to buy yourself a treat, stop when you’ve completed the list.”
Illustration © Nik Holmes
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