What to do and where to shop

As we have now passed Halloween and Bonfire night Christmas is fast approaching! This is a joyous time of year for many and very exciting. With Christmas markets, decorating the tree and lots of fun and excitement to go around.

However, Christmas shopping can prove a very stressful time with many not know what to get or where to even start. In this blog I will be giving my recommendations on this. Try and have fun with it, gift giving is a great way to show your loved ones how much your thinking of them and know them well as well as a great way to put a smile on someones face.

When to start-

Sometimes starting too early can be excessive, however with it now turning into mid November I think now is a great time to start. This way you can get it out of the way by the start of December and start the festivities stress free and focus on enjoying them. If you don’t plan on starting now that’s okay too, there is still lots of time to get the gifts. I am aware this can also be stressful as many people have assignments due at the moment, so there are ways to make this easier.

First, make a list of who you need to buy for. Then write how much you plan on spending on each person to find gifts that are in your budget. From here, have a look at some gift ideas. TikTok have some great gift giving guides as well as YouTubers doing videos on this. You could also have a look at TikTok or instagram. Try and listen out for those close to you to see if they’re dropping any hints of things they would like and add all these to your notes. All of these are good tips so that if you need to leave it until last minute it can be a much quicker process.

Also, Black Friday is on Friday November 29th. This is a day where loads of places have big sales on before Christmas and is a good day for you to snap up bargains. You can go into the shops or shop online. The bullring in Birmingham also offers lots of shops and has lots of different options for all kind of people. Make sure to see which stores have student discount too.

We will now be looking at recommendations of where s best to shop:

Etsy-

This is a personal favourite of mine. Etsy is a platform with thousands of small businesses on but you are protected through Etsy. This way you are shopping and supporting small businesses rather than large co-orporations.

Etsy has anything you are looking for! My favourite are the personalised gifts. From books to wallets to key rings… Etsy has it all. It is a great way to get someone a gift they’ve never had before. You can get all sorts of things with personalised messages on, gifts, pictures on. They have everything. You can also just type in “Gifts for Mum” and it will give you hundreds of gifts which they may like.

Etsy delivery can take longer sometimes so the sooner you order the better but it does depend from seller to seller.

Amazon-

This one is of course very well known. But it really does feel like amazon have everything you could want for a gift for someone. They have hundreds of thousands of items and are a great convenience around Christmas time.

I would definitely recommend getting a prime subscription as you can make back what you may on this on what you pay on delivery for just one item. You can also get next day delivery for any last minute gift ideas you may have.

Vinted-

Vinted is typically a second hand shop but you can also get new with tag items for bargain prices. Vinted is a selling site for a range of items from individual sellers. Make sure to check reviews before you buy but this can be a really great way to get new goods for way cheaper than the shop and you may also be helping someone with their christmas fund rather than giving to big co orporations.

High Street stores-

I will now list some high street stores that I think are really worth having a look at whether you go to the bullring in Birmingham, lower precinct in coventry or another shopping centre these places are great for gifts-

Lush- Great for bath bombs, shower gels, anything that smells nice!

Boots- They do a huge range of gift sets for men and women.

Pull & Bear- Great for some new fashion items

Sephora- Opening in the bullring next week! All kinds of makeup.

Primark- Great for a fashion bargain

Footassylum- Great for trainers or tracksuits

I hope this blog has helped with some tips for your Christmas shopping, have fun and try let it be enjoyable rather than stressful!