Quick Announce

Make a list and plan ahead. Avoid wasting time wandering around aimlessly looking for ideas. Have in mind a few ideas for each person on your list and an approximate price range of how much you want to spend. Save receipts.

~ Getting an early start means closer parking spots, shorter line-ups and more selection.

~ If you’re tight for time, make your first stop a major department store that has a wide variety of items. With one stop you might be able to cross off quite a few items on your list.

~ Gift certificates come in handy, especially for presents that have to be sent in the mail, and they take some of the guesswork out of gift-buying.

~ For that ‘hard to buy for’ person, try the pre-Christmas craft sales held at schools and community halls. You’ll find some unique—and possibly cheaper—gifts, and parking is easier than at the malls or downtown.

~ Shopping can be hard work, especially at Christmas. If you feel yourself getting stressed out, take a break and relax with a cup of tea. Keep a calm attitude and don’t let the busyness get to you.

~ If you don’t feel like trekking around the crowded stores, shopping online may be the way to go. Most online stores guarantee delivery by Dec. 19, and many offer to have the gift wrapped and shipped directly to the recipient. Voila, it’s done!

~ Handmade gifts are usually much appreciated, so if you’re ‘crafty’ you can sit at home being creative while the rest of us are out prowling the malls trying to find ‘just the right gift.’

~ What to get for the person who has everything? You could give a donation to the local food bank in their name, or give them a membership in an organisation such as the Sierra Club, Amnesty International or the Canadian Wildlife Federation. A season ticket to the opera or the symphony is another option.

~ You can escape the Christmas rush altogether by giving an ‘alternative’ present, one that benefits a worthy cause, such as sponsoring a child in a friend’s name or buying a farm animal for a poor family in a developing country.   One example of a unique Christmas present is an interesting gift certificate.

~ Donating your time is probably the best gift of all. If you have a friend who’s busy or been ill, offer to clean their home, do the shopping, give a massage, do some yardwork … the possibilities are endless and also include Los Angeles plastic surgery.