Gifts

Christmas gifts shopping should be taken seriously these days. Spending money randomly without a plan will most likely cause a big chaos and you will end up with gifts that are not needed and people who are left without a present for the Christmas holidays.

Creating a shopping plan is the easiest way to avoid all those issues. It is easy but will surely take some of your time. Remember, this is time well spent and in most cases you will save money and troubles.

There are a few important steps when creating a Christmas shopping plan.

1. Setting a budget.

Christmas holidays is one of the most cost intensive celebration after a wedding. The only difference is that it is every year. Setting a limit to the expenses will help you select the right gifts and prevent over charging your credit card. When I set my limit, I decide how much I want to spend and subtract 15 % which are left aside as a reserve. At the end I always end up spending them too.

2. Creating a list of people you are going to buy gifts for.

Start with your family and close friends. Then continue with your coworkers and hobby buddies. At this point you should be done, right? Wrong! Now think about last Christmas. Who gave you a gift and you didn’t have anything to give back? Now decide if there is some one else to add to the list.

From this point on I might want to keep you list private. Many people might get offended if you are going to spend more money for some body else.

3. Setting budget individually.

When your list is ready you will have to set a limit for each person. This will help you narrow down the gifts you can buy for that person.

4. Gathering gift ideas.

Having at least three or four ideas for each person will save you time when you start shopping. There are many sites that have gathered interesting and unique ideas for Christmas gifts. Browse a few and you should be able to find the best match for the people in your list. Make sure you also invest some time in investigating the people in order to avoid buying presents that they don’t already have or ones that they don’t like. You can also ask a direct question, depending on your relations with them.

5. Shopping.

There are a few things you should consider when doing your Christmas shopping.

Buying online will save you the running from store to store while trying to find the items from your list. Select one or two retailers where you can buy most of the things in one order will save you time and shipping expenses. Most of the online stores also have filters where you can enter your per person limits. At the end you will know exactly how much you are going to spend.

Don’t forget the 15 % you set aside in the first step. If you were able to keep that amount untouched now is the time to decide what to do with it. Most of the times I choose between two options – buy more Christmas gifts for the kids or leave it aside for unexpected expenses or people to buy presents for.

I hope my Christmas shopping plan will help you select the best Christmas Gifts for 2011. Although it looks quite complicated, once you start you will see that following it is easy and even fun. And remember, Christmas gifts for the kids is the most important part of your shopping plan.

Kids between the ages of two and five, as almost any parent of a pre-schooler will tell you, all seem to exhibit certain common attributes: they really hate having to eat their vegetables; they have limitless amounts of energy (sometimes it’s like they have enough juice to power a city block); and they love to write – mainly on their household walls. With respect to the third item, just in case you’ve ever previously desired that writing to be generally beneficial instead of merely random, the LeapFrog Scribble and Write (which makes my short list of cool toys and gifts) is definitely the item to suit your needs.

As several of you with smaller children may well know, LeapFrog is known as a company that manufactures toys that integrate both knowledge and fun. While I can’t say that every product they market hits the bullseye, a good number of them do, and the Scribble and Write definitely falls into that category.

The Scribble and Write appears to be geared towards helping kids learn the alphabet, and it incorporates several methodologies in order to so: tracing upper-case letters; tracing lower-case characters; drawing; and guessing letters. It does this by having shapes and also alphabetic letters, formed by crimson dots, display on a traceable composition surface. Following the verbal instructions coming from the Scribble and Write – which actually comes with an interactive voice component – a stylus pen (included as well) may then be employed to trace the specific letter which appears. (Thankfully, the stylus is actually connected to the Scribble and Write, so there’s little fear of losing it.)

On the subject of drawing, the objective is to make your child more at ease with sketching the lines, in addition to the curves, that form the actual letters of the alphabet. With that as the focus, diverse shapes – zigzags, lines, circles, and so on – appear on the writing pad for your little tot to trace.

The tracing of lower as well as upper-case characters works in a virtually identical manner, except that your child is actually able to choose the character of the alphabet he wants to draw. (The front face of the toy presents all letters of the alphabet, which appear on compact control buttons.) In addition, the Scribble and Write slowly and very carefully describes exactly how the letter is to be made. As an example, it points out that an “L” is drawn simply by starting off near the top and drawing a line all the way down, and then making another line across. After finishing any tracing venture, your child pushes the “paw” key (there is an adorable little doggy on the Scribble and Write) and is notified whether he correctly drew the letter or not. In the remaining teaching mode, the Scribble and Write presents letters and encourages your youngster to properly identify them by pushing the appropriate key.

In summary, the Scribble and Write, to a certain extent, can be viewed as educating by rote. And I don’t say that disparagingly, as it seems quite effective. Speaking from the viewpoint of an individual with a 4-year-old who understands his letters as well as numbers, I believe that it’s an outstanding teaching tool. Moreover, our children actually love using it (and it does make for a cool toy and gift), and don’t seem to grasp the fact that they’re learning while having fun.

The author is new to the world of online article writing, but also runs a website focused discovering cool toys and gifts – especially educational toys and gifts for kids: http://www.cooltoysandgifts.com/

Rising costs within business are always a concern, but with direct mailings, there are many products that are cost-effective to buy and send, whilst also providing a big impact on the recipient. Sending promotional items puts your marketing straight into the hands of your target audience meaning that it is far less likely to be overlooked than other methods of advertising.

When sending out promotional gifts as part of a marketing campaign, the main considerations are the cost of the item, the weight of the item, and its retention value (i.e. how long the recipient will likely keep hold of it). A fine balance should be sought between the practical and quirky; one will be retained, the other will have greater initial attention. Your choice will be guided by the overall aim of the campaign. Is it to give people a high retention item printed with your logo and contact details? Or is it to encourage them to read the accompanying literature/special offers with the use of an eye catching quirky gift?

The cost of giveaway items can vary greatly, ranging from a few pence to a few pounds or more, depending on how big the budget! Low cost items include traditional giveaways such as pens, magnets, coasters, keyrings, simple one fold desk calendars and stickers. More substantial giveaways include personalised mouse mats and larger calendars – or even a mouse mat with a calendar on it!

Remember, you need to strike a balance between postage costs and an appropriate gift to mail – the bigger and bulkier the item the more it’s going to add to your campaign costs.

One effective idea that combines uniqueness with low postage costs is a printed microfiber lens cloths. Very lightweight, these cleaning cloths are very useful for PC screens, phones, iPads and even reading glasses, and can be personalised with a full colour image.

If you are concerned about the environmental impact of direct mailings, your chosen promotional gift could help redress the balance. Many items are available in a recycled or eco friendly format – pens and pencils from CD cases or paper, rulers from recycled drinks bottles, even pens from car parts. Packets of seeds can even be printed with a personalised image or logo, and make a thoughtful giveaway.

Whatever the purpose of your direct mailing campaign, make the most of the opportunity with a carefully chosen promo item – remember, no-one can resist opening an envelope that quite obviously contains more than just a leaflet. Studies have also shown that the inclusion of a promotional item can greatly increase response rates so you’ll get more return from your direct mail spend.

Nicola James is the Marketing Executive at Ellenell, a leading promotional gifts supplier based in London. With 28 years experience in the gift market, Ellenell helps business of all sizes with their promotional merchandise selection. For more details visit http://www.ellenell.com