With Nevada Day and its closely related sister Halloween behind us, the next few weeks mark the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Some have other names for it, depending on which side of the consumer spending coin you call your own, but here at the Consumer, we call it Crunch Time. (All the good stuff will sell out if you don't buy it now.)
The traditional beginning of Crunch Time is the Friday after Thanksgiving, but this year Thanksgiving falls on November 25, which means a paltry 30 days of shopping before Christmas. That's barely enough time for the average shopper to find that perfect gift.
Don't panic. It's not as bad as it seems. There are a few things you can do to avoid Crunch Time mayhem, though sadly, there is nothing we can do about bad drivers who hit the roads like horrible manifestations of ants in economy cars.
Start off by paying attention to the people around you, especially if you plan to purchase them a gift. You should do this all year, but sometimes people get caught up. This is the time of year when people start to covet—a lot. If you overhear her saying something like, "I would really like an iPod," or, "I really like your iPod," then it probably means she wants an iPod.
Some savvy givers will actually ask receivers to mark up a catalog or give them a wish-list. This can be both good (giving someone exactly what they want) and bad (no surprise). The reason people use the phrase "What a nice surprise" so often is because surprises generally are nice.
There is always the gift research tactic of actually going shopping with someone to see what they migrate toward. Special note to all you ladies out there: Always migrate toward that special something with karat weight. Boys, please pay attention.
Of course, an easy way to shop is to look at people's habits and buy accordingly. If you know someone loves to drink Jack and Coke, why not buy him some of that fine Old No. 7 Tennessee whiskey?
Now is also the time to think about holiday cards, a wonderful way to well-wish those you hold dear.
Let the shopping begin.
Anne Kellogg is a native Las Vegan with a thing for purchasing stuff. E-mail her at [email protected]