Sep 4, 2024
How early do you Christmas shop?
One thing I have to do a lot sooner as an expat than I did living in my own country is Christmas shopping. There are a few reasons why, but one of the big ones is sending things back home to family and friends. Trying to space out the costs of shipping (and making sure things get there with enough time!) means I can't leave things until the last minute.
A store at a local mall in Nagaoka from the festive season last year
For that reason, I'm already trying to get ahead of Christmas shopping now in early September. That means I have some breathing room with spending, and I can have everything packed up and ready to mail by early November at the latest. That means that even if it goes by boat it should be where it needs to be in time for December 25th! ;)
Something I also try to focus on when it comes to Christmas shopping purchases are things that are lightweight to send. One go-to that I love sending is sheet masks for my beauty-loving friends, because they're consumable and they love trying out the fun different types that are available here.
How early do you start your Christmas shopping? Are you like me and try to find lightweight (but useful/fun) things to send?
2 Comments
BigfamJapan
on Sep 4
I am not an early shopper, but I suppose I am planning... hence the increase in City-cost posts recently ;-)
genkidesu
on Sep 4
@BigfamJapan yes! I hear you, the blogging definitely helps to offset some of the costs that come up at the tail end of the year. I'm trying to set myself the goal of writing every day, but some days it's hard to think of topics. Hopefully we get theme posts back again soon because those always help add a bit extra to the points accumulation.