In my most recent blog post, December Glow-Up, I shared various tasks and daily activities that I plan to complete during the month of December. While most of the tasks are for overall development and personal wellness, there are some practical Christmas tasks listed as well.
The three tasks listed include sending out our annual Christmas cards, creating a list of gifts for people who I plan to buy for, as well as a budget for my Christmas shopping.
Sticking to a budget during the holidays is so important because it allows you to gift those around you, but also stay within a range that’s comfortable for you and not leading you to debt into the coming new year.
As a matter of fact, according to Magnify Money, the average holiday debt was $1,381 in 2020. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a part of those in debt. And, for this reason, I want to share five of my favorite and best online shopping tools for Christmas. Using these online shopping tools will allow you to remain mindful and organized as you shop for the people you love.
Secret Santa Questionnaire
The first online shopping tool that I want to share is this Secret Santa Questionnaire. I created this template and printable over five years ago for an office Secret Santa gift exchange. It worked out well, so I continue to make new versions each year for those who are interested.
What I appreciate about this printable, is that if you are having an in-person Secret Santa gift exchange, this printable will allow you to choose gifts that will be appreciated as they are based on that person’s preference. There is also an option to write down things you would like people to stay away from such as scents you despise, things that cause allergies, etc.
Draw Names
If however, you won’t be celebrating in person and will have a virtual gift exchange instead, I highly recommend using Draw Names. We are currently hosting our office Secret Santa gift exchange using this platform.
Draw Names is so easy to use once the organizer has set the parameters. It allows everyone to either list gift ideas that they would be interested in or choose gifts that they would enjoy directly from Amazon. You can learn more from this short YouTube video.
Amazon
Speaking of Amazon. How can you not list Amazon as a great online shopping tool? What I love about Amazon is that you can shop from the comfort of your home and ship your gifts directly to the recipient without the worry of postage. This is especially practical and useful if you have Amazon Prime which includes free shipping. The downside to shopping from Amazon is that not every that you are searching for can be found on Amazon. For example, you can’t buy Shein or Fashion Nova on Amazon. Maybe an item or two, but not your full-on shopping.
SimplyCodes
So, while Amazon offers a lot of practicality for online Christmas shopping, it doesn’t offer all gifts and gift ideas. For this reason, you should definitely add the SimplyCodes coupon browser extension for desktop (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari) for your Christmas shopping.
It’s also available on mobile (iOS Safari) and can be downloaded below.
DOWNLOAD THE SIMPLYCODES MOBILE EXTENSION!
Not only this but, SimplyCodes has the largest library of verified promo codes of any extension out there (3 million-plus and counting) and covers more stores (78,000+). This means you are sure to find the gifts that you are looking for while sticking to your Christmas budget. This is definitely something that I can appreciate!
ADD THE SIMPLYCODES EXTENSION HERE!
My Christmas Wish List
Finally, is My Christmas Wish List. My Christmas Wish List allows you to create and share your list with a designated group or groups of family members and friends. In addition to this, you have the ability to view what has already been bought for someone so you won’t double-buy. And, to top it all of with, it’s free to use which is also a huge help to those that are sticking to a holiday budget.
Final Thoughts
Well, there you have it. A list of my five favorite and best online shopping tools that I’m currently using or have used in the past for Christmas shopping.
What are your favorite online shopping tools for Christmas? I’d love to know!
This post contains affiliate links.
