>10 tips for smarter holiday shopping and gifting

>The holidays are getting closer and closer, seems as though the summer flew by. Befor you know it November will come to an end, as will December and it will be 2011. Crazy huh? Another crazy thought is holiday shopping and gifting. This time of year is crazy for shopping. It's even crazier thinking about the perfect gift.

Here are 10 tips for smarter holiday shoping and gifting:
1- Shop throughout the year. Try not to do all your shopping the last minute. My parents use to do that and it was never successful. Pick up things throughout the year as you see sales and put it away. By the time the holiday season is near you will have your shopping nearly done.
2- Shop online. Avoid store lines, crowds and crazy people by shopping online.
3- Save Receipts. There are so many sales during the hoiday season. Save the receipts that way you can repurchase an item that was already purcheased at the sale price if it goes on sale.
4- Get a Babysitter. Kids will drive you nuts shopping. Save yourself some sanity and find a babysitter for when you do your shopping.
5- Watch out for sales pitches. You may think your getting more for less. But actually your spending more money and getting less things that you intended on buying.
6- Get creative. Rather than spending money on gifts, get creative and make some homemade gifts for family. (ex. A craft, cookies, or a scarf.)
7- Buy Giftcards. They are perfect for that person you do not know what to buy .
8- Do not overshop. You do not need to buy for everyone you know and you do not need to buy your kids every toy in the toystore.
9- Create a budget. You need to create a budget and stay within your spending limit. Otherwise you will wonder what you burned all your money on.
10- Wrap as you buy. Wrap your gifts as you buy them, otherwise the night before christmas you will be p late wrapping.

I hope that these 10 tips for holiday shopping and gifting will help you this holiday season.
Happy Holidays!!!

Office Depot has some smart shopping ideas to get you going here: www.top30smartgifts.com

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Office Depot blogging program, making me eligible to get a $40 Office Depot gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here