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Christmas shopping

There's no doubt there may be fewer presents under the plastic tree & tinsel this Christmas than in previous years.

Research released by popular auction site eBay.com.au shows 85% of Australians admit the current economic unrest has put them under greater financial strain.

However, eBay claims 1 in 3 Australians ARE NOT planning to cut back on gift-giving this festive season.

Of course, the other side of that statistic is that 2 in 3 Australians ARE planning to reduce what they spend this Christmas.

eBay.com.au has released a list of tips, which it claims may help Australians make their holiday dollars stretch further. Obviously they're fairly keen on you using their website to track down interesting and good value gifts, but they have some other suggestions, including:

*Set a dollar limit. Write a checklist, and assign dollar values for each person. It helps prevent impulse, extravagant or desperate buys.

*Ask around for ideas. Make sure they'll like what you buy them. eBay says "An appropriate five-dollar gift is much more valuable than a twenty dollar inappropriate gift!"

*Less is more. We all have a lot of stuff these days. Pick one nice item that shows the person they're special - they're more likely to keep it.

What other tips do you have for Christmas shopping? How do you approach this task as an individual, or as a family? And will you be planning to have a less extravagant celebration in 2008?

Tags: Christmas, savings, shopping, tips

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Permalink Reply by Bron82 on December 6, 2008 at 9:48pm

This year I've decided to take a different approach to Christmas. For starters I began planning in late Octobe and paper and cards came from the Reject Shop (seriously- they're just as good as the stuff you get at Target etc!) or they were made.

I sent a mass-email to friends saying that since I'm planning on trying to clear out all my junk anyhow over summer, I dont really want anything for Christmas as I already have everything I want, so would they all like to come to nice lunch at my house, with everyone bringing a nice plate instead of gift giving.. they all said yes!! A big saving there!

I asked around to find what people would like and did some serious window and internet browsing to get the best prices on gifts. For instance I figured that there were a few family members who'd like nice wine so I found a wine warehouse and bought a mixed two dozen (admittedly I have space to store wine) for a massive 50% off what I'd normally pay and now have several peoples Christmas and birthday presents for the next year!

Someone else said that they didnt want anything but they wished that they didnt have to cook so much for Christmas - I'm now making them a few dessers over the Christmas party season and this was much more appreciated than an ill-thought out gift...

I have a decent sized garden and a couple of people are getting small fruit trees and standard (the ones with the single strait trunk) roses that I have been growing specifically all year..

The best thing to do is start early, ask around for help from friends and family and think outside the box. Most people appreciate something simple with thought and effort put in rather than a disposable gift that they will never use.