Christmas Shopping with others

[steelergal]

Do you like to go shopping with others when it comes to Christmas or do you like to do it alone?

I just got back from Christmas shopping with my mom (don't worry, I only bought grocery items we need this week) and we hit 4 stores in 3 hours. My mom got a lot of shopping done, but in all honesty my heart skipped a beat each time at check out- and I managed to save her quite a bit of money too! She spent $150 altogether and got most of her shopping done! The best part was my girls love moccasins and at Payless they had them on sale for half off and a cute pair of slippers for $6 at the checkout my mom was not paying attention and the total seemed awfully high, I asked the cashier if all the sale prices came up and lo and behold my mom was almost charged $17 for those slippers! My mom said thank you I did not even think about the total seeming high!

[oheoh's momma]

Can't do it. Used to do it with my mom and help her with her purse, money, and making sure the receipt was right. can only shop with my daughter and never my friends they never look at tags and are so much poorer than I am. This is probably why lol

[Spirit Deer]

We shop sometimes with my mom and it makes us crazy. Part of it is her fault, part is not. She is handicapped but often refuses to use the store cart or let us get her own out of her van. Then we hear for days afterward about how much pain she is in and how tired she is from the walking. She could avoid a lot of it but is too proud. That's her decision but if she makes the wrong choice we don't want to hear the complaints later. Of course we don't say anything and just nod and smile and make clucking sounds. She never has a list, so it becomes a lot of running back and forth for us as she thinks of things she passed up six aisles ago and then we have to go back for it. And we get to hear a whole bunch of "I should have bought..." on the way home and days, if not weeks, later. Due to her age and handicaps, she moves slowly, which is not her fault so we try not to let it bother us, but it's still frustrating because we like to get in and get out. She can never fasten the seatbelt in our truck for some reason, so we always have to hear about how there must be something wrong with it even though we know there's nothing wrong with it.

On the flip side, she often opts to sit in the car while we go into the store with a list I've written for her after a lot of Q&A about what she needs, and then we can whiz through her list and ours, too. She never complains if we buy the wrong thing, always has the cash to give us to cover whatever she buys, etc. She gives us signed, blank checks to keep in case we need to pick up something for her in our hometown, and luckily all the retailers know us so they accept them, or we can write a check to ourselves if we have to cover something where we can't use her check. So we can't gripe too much. It's not that she does anything wrong, it's just that we shop efficiently and she doesn't, so the difference in methods gets frustrating sometimes.

My husband and I hate shopping alone because it's not easy to watch the till and unload/load stuff at the same time. It's amazing how many errors occur and of course it's never in the customer's favor. But other than shopping with the two of us, we'd rather not have anyone else with.

[AmyBoz]

I can't stand shopping with others. Part is because of the amount of money they spend and the other is just because I don't like shopping, to begin with, and all of my friends LOVE to shop for hours. No fun for me at all!

[dcompton]

I never liked shopping with others. I just get too impatient and want to get what I need and get out. I don't really care what others buy or spend, but I don't want to wait around while they do it. What a grouch - it's a wonder I have friends!

[marjorie]

I only shop alone these days. When a friend is shopping and buying more than I know she can afford it's very hard for me to keep my mouth shut. I do know that if I've had to give them groceries the previous week they should not be buying expensive gifts, but sometimes they refuse to get the lesson. I offer help less often now to those with those behavior patterns.

[bookwormpeg]

I take an "older" lady shopping...she likes the $ stores....She looks at EVERYTHING! I have knee problems so I go in, get what I need (ok, ok, get what I want, not need )and I go to the car and read a book. I once went shopping with my best friends' mother and she tried on the same dressing gowns three times each and it took us three hours for her to pick 1. Sady, my best friend never got to wear as she died two days later.

[khaski]

I can't stand shopping with others. Part is because of the amount of money they spend and the other is just because I don't like shopping, to begin with, and all of my friends LOVE to shop for hours. No fun for me at all!

I am with you- can't stand shopping with my best friend, she has to look at EVERYTHING and justify tons of things she didn't plan on getting nor needs. She is the type who 'good deals' herself into the poor house. I go on my own, spend 1/3 of the time, and don't feel like cringing over the extra 'stuff'.

[monkeywrangler71]

I hate shopping for gifts, but I find it easier if my mom or my mother-in-law goes with me. They like shopping more and are better at picking out gifts for people, plus it's nicer with company. When I go Christmas shopping by myself I just get frustrated and upset, and usually go home empty handed and crying.

[Debbie-cat]

I like shopping alone. I hunt for deals/clearance items that most people miss. I don't mind shopping with my Mom though. We make a day of it and she goes her way and I go mine then we set a time to meet at the tills. Works out perfect for us.

[Sumacaroni]

For Christmas gifts, I like to go it alone, drives me nuts to him-and-haw over every little bangle and bauble with other people who like to gawk at stuff. I typically watch the sales and go in with a list if I have to go to a brick and mortar store. My friend and I do talk over what we are looking for so we can hunt down bargains for one another but I find it difficult to wait around or go into departments I have no need to browse (I know, maybe I should work on patience LOL).

I do love shopping for my own clothes with a friend of mine but we go on a girls date, out to dinner and pick one store to shop, and we bring ca$h saved specifically for our girls' nite out. She likes to spend more than she should and she's far too good at spending my money.... ha!! but we are both good at using coupons and finding bargains so I can usually talk her down off a ledge

[ncarr]

I usually do Christmas shopping alone since the people i would normally shop with are the ones I'm buying presents for!

[Sophiasmama]

I shop alone...after watching my friend spend 700 that she couldn't afford...that was it for me...and then turn to me and say...I wish I was frugal like you...Not at all jealous, just felt bad for her son.

[FrabjousDay]

Usually alone, usually online with frequent Etsy visits. If I go with someone, it's when I visit a local neighborhood with lots of small boutique-y type shops. For me, shopping isn't really a recreational or social activity.

[krbshappy71]

I gather presents all year and am usually done before my mom starts. So then I leave my debit card at home and go with the sole purpose of helping her. It is TORTURE to see all the "amazing wonderful gifts" in all the stores but I have to just keep reminding myself that I chose the gifts I already bought and that its just the commercialism that is making me want to buy more.

My mom likes that I'm focused on her and helping her find gifts (ugh she HATES this process, nothing she ever finds is good enough, cute enough, it always costs too much in her mind, its all "cheap plastic garbage toys" etc. but she wont listen to me when I try to tell her it doesn't have to be like that)

We have lunch, we usually find what she thinks she wants, and I am reminded again why I don't wait until this time of year to shop. ha!! Also, I'm less stressed about the crowds, traffic, etc because I'm there voluntarily.

You just have to figure out what works for you, so you can truly enjoy the holiday time in your own way. Some people are very energized by it all and I'm not. My SIL waits until the night before or couple nights before, stays up all night wrapping, its just how she operates then is a zombie on Christmas. Sad to me but hey whatever works. HA!!