offers – BUTTON-FLIES

I used to think people were insane to start Christmas shopping in the summer or even in January…then I became a mum and NOW I GET IT!

Today I went out for a very practical reason of getting a tea set for Ollie. This was an extension of letting him help me bake; he has become very interested in helping me do anything in the kitchen now, dishes, cooking, making cups of tea. I did even let him play with my tea pot, but as all of these things are a bit dangerous for his age to ACTUALLY take part in the real activity I thought it was time for a tea set of his own.

This moved into researching good tea sets and also a trip to Mothercare to see what it was like. Within my researching mission, I found a wood kitchen, wooden food and many more items that would make up a full kitchen for Ollie. BRAINWAVE!

This would be what I would get him…

I then thought about the fact that he has so many toys at the moment and he doesn’t play with them all. I didn’t need to buy all of these sets now…LIGHTBULB! CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!

The kitchen was on offer at Mothercare and I knew it wouldn’t be nearer to Christmas so I did it, I bought his first Christmas present for this year IN AUGUST! I know, I know I have become one of those sickening people that are far too organised. However I have come to realise that actually this is a GENIUS way to deal with Christmas.

Why start Christmas Shopping early?

1. Money – this has a few reasons behind it, not only can you spread the cost of Christmas over a few months you can also purchase things that are in sales and on offer.

2. Change – Children at toddler age (in my experience) aren’t likely to dislike things in a few months time as they are still happy to explore everything they find and see.

3. Stress – NO RUSHING! You can experience Christmas shopping evenings for the fun of it because you will have most of your presents already. You can use the time to let your toddler experience the sounds, smells and sights of late night shopping/Christmas events instead of worrying about finding last minute gifts.

4 Money (I say it again because it is the one thing that Christmas can cause stress over) To reduce the stress in your family life you can spread the cost of Christmas. You can purchase all of your gifts over the months before Christmas then just need to buy the food nearer to Christmas.

5. Birthdays – Some children (like Ollie) have birthdays very close to Christmas and it can be costly to have two lots of pressies, and as I do not believe it is fair to join them together spreading purchasing of presents over a few months can allow you flexibility to ensure you can create two special days for your little one.

So today I bought Ollie one of the sets, that I had originally decided to go out for. I have ordered the kitchen (which was on offer) and spoken to some family who are keen to help get the whole set for him. How organised.

We have spent time this afternoon playing with his new tea set, talking about the different parts and where they go. He sat focused and LOVED his tea pot.

Success

Christmas Planned and started – DONE

Achieved initial goal – DONE

Helped family with Christmas present ideas – DONE

Reduced Stress – DONE

Had fun – DONE