How to tackle family Christmas shopping without the moans 

All opinions are mine and mine alone.

How to tackle family Christmas shopping without the moans 

With Christmas nearly upon us, it’s almost time to take to the (dreaded) Christmas shopping. Of course, many of us love this period. While the streets might be packed, this is part of the charm. For others, perhaps with younger families, it can all turn into something of a stressful affair. Shopping with kids is seldom easy, but add the chaos of the festivities into the occasion, and things can get out of hand. Bearing this in mind, if you are looking at ways to cope with the Christmas family shop, read on to find some hard and fast ideas. They might come in handy, as shopping at Christmas can be very stressful. 

 

Location, location, location 

This might not be an article about property, but the same rules apply – trust us. In short, it matters where you are shopping. While no signs suggest that particular areas are not child-friendly, it goes without saying that some most certainly are and will need to be avoided. Generally speaking, the larger variety, the better. Take Covent Garden as an example, this has umpteen stores, but it also has plenty of shows and activities that appeal to little people. In other words, it keeps the shopping motivation levels high and can make the day move much quicker. 

Keep it short and sweet 

Unless you are the ultimate shopaholic, trudging around the shops for hours on end isn’t many people’s idea of fun. This is where you need to keep it as short and sweet as can be. We’re not saying to pick the first things off the shelves and scarper sharpish. Instead, dedicate no more than a few hours, and let your children know the schedule. They need to know that it’s home-time at X o’clock, rather than wondering when the ordeal is going to be over. What’s the best way to do this? Research your presents beforehand. Know what you’re going to buy and dedicate your day to finding those gifts. 

Plan activities through the day 

We’ve just mentioned home time as the dangling carrot, but it doesn’t have to be like this. As we alluded to with the Covent Garden example, there are countless attractions dotted around shopping districts that appeal to children at Christmas. While shopping is your top priority for the day, rewarding these activities with little break points can be an excellent idea to keep your spirits high. 

Make the day into a game 

This final point will largely depend on the age of your children, but another idea is to make the day into a game. Are you armed with your trusted shopping list? Let them take control (well, almost!). Give them the list and a pen to cross off each person when they have bought for. Or, what about gift spotting? Granted, some ideas are going to be out of the question (particularly if you are assisted by small helpers), but this can again make the day into more of a family affair and less about completely the checkbox task at hand. Little tricks like this can keep little people motivated for the day and perhaps disguise them from the boredom that can sometimes be associated with shopping.