Stockpiling on Christmas Items

It’s the new year and the last thing you want to think about now is Christmas, but January happens to be the best time of the entire year to stock up on your supplies for Christmas. Everything “Christmas” goes on sale by retailers big and small.

You can easily spend less than half what you did in the previous year on gift wrap, tape, tags, bows, and other Christmas supplies by purchasing it twelve months early.

Here are some tips for shopping for Christmas goodies after the holiday:

• Only buy non-perishable items. Gift items that contain candy, cocoa, tea, or other foods that are perishable should be avoided, or the perishables should be removed and replaced before the gift is given.
• Check the stores daily to see how prices are trending. Big box retailers typically mark everything down by 25%, then 50%, then 75% and finally 90% when they are trying to remove their remaining product. Use this to your advantage and let larger items come down in price before you buy.
• Shop with a list. Look at how much wrapping paper and tape you used this year. How many tags did you go through? Take stock of how many supplies you used and follow this as a guide when replenishing your stock.
• Invest in storage for your purchases. You will only benefit from the purchase of all these Christmas supplies if you keep them stored properly for the next twelve months. Invest in ornament storage containers, a wrapping paper storage bin, or generic plastic totes. Whatever you choose, ensure that everything you buy is sealed up tight and protected.
• Strive to buy only what you'll use. Buying 100 different strings of Christmas lights is only beneficial if you intend to use all 100 strings, or if you find them good homes. Avoid overbuying simply because you're saving money on your purchases; otherwise it simply defeats the purpose of the savings.
• Skip items that aren't marked down. Regular Scotch tape won't be marked down, but special tapes with Christmas images will be. Skip any items that are not actually holiday related; you can always buy them later for the same price.

It may seem silly at first to plan for next year's Christmas in January, but you can save a bundle of money and a whole lot of stress by planning ahead. Get your Christmas supply shopping done at the beginning of the year and you have one less thing to fret over when December finally does roll around.