If you have been shopping lately it is hard to miss the fact that the Christmas shopping season is just around the corner – or in many cases, it is already here! The stores are lavishly decorated and the Christmas music is playing to put shoppers in the buying mood. There is nothing like a Christmas song and pretty display to make you start buying your Christmas gifts. Have you done your Christmas shopping prep?

Exactly what is Christmas shopping prep? Christmas shopping prep actually includes a lot of different things. Christmas shopping prep as a whole is the one thing that you have to do first to avoid Christmas shopping chaos which includes too many shopping trips and overspending. Sound confusing? It isn’t! Follow these simple steps and your Christmas shopping prep will get off to the right start.

Make your list
Do you know everyone you need to give gifts to this year? There are probably more people than you think. The best way to get an accurate picture of your gift giving plans is to list ALL gift recipients. Be sure to list family, friends, coworkers, teachers, coaches, everyone and anyone that you will give a gift to this year. Don’t skip this important step in your Christmas shopping prep.

Set a budget for each person
After you have listed all of your gift recipients, decide the maximum amount you will spend on each person. This will help keep you from overbuying gifts. This step in your Christmas shopping prep is important to keep your holiday budget from going bust.

Find out likes, sizes or wants
I like to give people things that they will love. I always try to do a bit of research and find out what people like or want for Christmas. If you are giving clothing or something with a size, find out what size your gift recipient wears. This part of Christmas shopping prep will help make your gifts a hit.

Look at last year’s gift giving list
If you need ideas or don’t want to duplicate a gift, check last year’s gift giving list. This also may help you remember what a person likes. Christmas shopping prep starts in the previous year. If you didn’t keep last year’s list, remember to save this year’s list for use next year.

Brainstorm
Brainstorm a few different ideas for each person on your list. Your first idea isn’t always your best. Don’t be afraid to play with lots of different ideas and think outside the box. As you do this part of your Christmas shopping prep jot down lots of possible ideas.

Narrow it down to favorites
Now it is time to narrow down your gift ideas. Take all of your ideas and pick a couple of the best ideas for each person on your list. List them in the gift giving order you prefer. I try to stick with about 3 ideas for each gift I need to give. After I have done this I usually toss the other Christmas shopping prep I did and just keep this one clean and organized list.

Decide on a few extras
Think about picking up a few extras to have on hand for surprise gifts. I always seem to need a small gift or two that I didn’t think or know about when I made my list. I always try to add a few small items to my list to use if I need a last minute unexpected gift. I like grabbing a couple of inexpensive but fun gift cards to this purpose.

Follow these Christmas shopping prep steps and you’ll have a great list to help you begin your Christmas gift shopping. Have ideas to share? Let us know! Stay tuned as we feature more Christmas shopping tips.