Half the thrill of anniversaries, functions and religious festival lies in the exchanging gifts. The more sombre ones, of course, require fasting and other religious ceremonies to be conducted. But when it comes to colourful festivals like Eid-ul-Fitr and Christmas, you can go wild with your shopping lists and splurge your savings on the trendy and the traditional.
Are you a fashion-conscious person who only wants to gifts those things with labels? Or are you happy to scour the thrift shops for the obscure, but interesting gifts? There is something for everyone every season. You can go shopping on posh avenues with their chain of expensive-looking stores or you can go to a cul-de-sac, which has a small shop with no fancy name board on top, but with amazing gifts inside. Choose your pick!
But when it comes to shopping for gifts, some people follow a systematic approach. They make a list of the items they need and the people whom they want to gift them to. The best part is, they go shopping months in advance and do not get caught up in the last-moment rush just before the occasions. Some argue that shopping is a thrill when you bargain and join the throngs who hop from store to store till they find something matches their wallet and their taste. But is getting caught up in a horrendous rush really necessary?
The advantages of shopping well ahead of time are many.
• You spend lesser time standing in the billing queue and before you can get near the items you want to gift.
• There are attractive discounts offered on products during off seasons, which would not be available during those times of the year when their sale would be at its peak.
• Rushes at store mean complications such as higher chances of getting pick-pocketed, pushed around from place to place by mobs with total disregard for personal space and safety, pulls and pushes that leave you injured, crowded stores with hardly any ventilation and harried store keepers and attendants who cannot give as much attention as they should.
• How can one forget the lack of parking space just when you need it?! Shopping just before the holiday season means many other people rushing about trying to accomplish the same thing as you at the same places and parking spaces already taken by them!
• Sometimes, the products that are stocked just before the hot selling times are overpriced or of inferior quality. Especially, when it comes to food items and beauty products. Imagine buying beauty hampers that have all the items you want, but their expiry date is just a week away!
So, plan a little ahead of the shopping season so you can buy all that you want at reasonable process and products of good quality. While you can be assured of good service and quality at some stores irrespective of the time of the year, you can’t get so lucky everywhere! So shop much without the rush!
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