The Christmas period is an exciting one, we all know that. With all of the festive cheer and the smiling faces putting up the decorations, shopping for gifts and visiting Christmas markets with all of their traditions and smells; it’s one of the most popular times of year despite the freezing weather!
It can also be a particularly difficult time for some families who aren’t as fortunate as others. While some parents will be out buying their children, friends and family all kinds of elaborate gifts, others are trying to balance the books to enable them to give their loved ones one special gift that will make their Christmas because they just don’t have the disposable income available to buy the latest gadgets or to pay the hefty price tags of the high street brands.
To counter this problem, there are a few things you can and they’re relatively simple too. The first is to utilise the likes of www.swap.com which allows people to buy, sell and swap their unwanted or second-hand items with other people looking to buy, sell or swap their items which means you get perfectly good children’s clothes, DVDs, toys and games without having to pay the high prices. It also means that parents can make a little bit of extra cash by selling the goods and that money can be put towards extra presents or saved up for another occasion.
Another good thing about sites like Swap is that a lot of the ‘second hand’ items aren’t even used, they’re simply the kind of items that parents have bought or the children have been given as presents, that simply don’t fit or aren’t of use to them. For example, you can buy, sell and swap sports equipment and if your child isn’t into that particular sport you can sell or swap it with someone who might be for something that is more suitable.
Then you have the kind of website that has been around for some years now – online auctions like eBay. With these sites users have the chance to bid for certain items at prices they can afford, opting out when the price gets too high; but they also have the opportunity to ‘watch’ specific items and search for topics that might be of interest.
While some will still have the high price tags you would find in stores, there are some great bargains to be found especially if you don’t mind the odd defect here or there, like a small mark on the collar here or there or a bit of a pull on the stitching. A lot of brand new items can be bought for a fraction of the price with a little bit of research and even the will and ability to do the repairs yourself if you feel as though they need them; giving your family that amazing gift without the astronomical fee.
A final suggestion is to utilize the many Christmas markets that appear each year. These festivals are often held in the more ‘traditional’ cities, and present the opportunity for people to showcase their handmade items which can make for great gifts for any family member no matter how old or what their interests may be. With a bit of a wander around you will almost certainly find some truly unique gifts that will genuinely appeal to the recipient and because it’s handmade as opposed to made by a brand, it’s often a really good price.
Christmas has been and gone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start putting thought into next year a little early.
