When do you start shopping for Christmas?

With Christmas approaching in, oh..about a weeks' time, you don't really have much window space to do your shopping or get your Christmas party supplies. Or, maybe you do, but the myrid of things that one goes through for Christmas can be pretty overwhelming. Trust me -- there will never be enough time. 

The strange thing is, people always tend to do the last minute shopping. I don't believe this as an Asian phenomenon or more specifically, a Malaysian phenomenon. It's quite universal, I would think. Haven't I heard or read somewhere or told by some people that stores usually are packed to the brim with people as the date draws closer? 

We always tell ourselves to shop early or space out your shopping because you get a couple of big sales event happening in the course of a year anyways. Getting your gifts early, they say, will invariably prevent from disappointment and you get them at a discount. Win-win. 

I'd subscribe to that if not for one thing : workability. I mean, who shops for Christmas during Chinese New Year or Raya? As it is, as a mom, I already have my hands and minds filled with the weekly shopping list that I must fulfill every single week - I doubt I will have any room to think about shopping for that bra my sister wanted so badly and to only give it to her on Christmas. Do you? 

You know, apart from my buzy-ness, I think buying something so early (even if it looked great at the material time), and having to keep it in a box, stored somewhere collecting dusts, not so urm, eye catching. Especially when it will look pretty aged after 6 months sitting at a corner, unattended. I mean, if you really wanted to give someone something you bought 6 months ago, you might as well just give it to that person straight away. No need to keep and wait till Christmas or New Year or whatever. Buy something else then.

Of course, the flip side to getting presents in advance is that that particular something might out of stock and if you didn't get it then, you might not see it in the stores in months to come. I mean, yeah, if that's the case, by all means - get it. Only if you have the time or if you knew someone really wanted it. Otherwise, why bother?

Perhaps, I am not the most hardworking shopper in the world. Neither am I a prudent one. Well, it has only been the last year or so that this tradition started in our household. I am still feeling the ropes. While I wouldn't recommend actually shopping for Christmas too early in advance, maybe a month or 2 earlier is an acceptable time-frame.

Another thing I discovered is having a mock Christmas celebration is quite time consuming and a costly affair. But, truly, I am having the best of times. Nothing like getting gifts for the people you love. The upside for me, with this new ritual, is the fact that I have resorted to not getting anything for people's birthdays..Save cost ma..heheh