Christmas is Coming: Can You Help Someone by Shopping For Them?

We know your gift list is ready to tackle and you are probably already shopping for those on your list, but the question is: Can you help someone that you know better enjoy the holidays by doing their holiday shopping for them?

Our friend Ellee reports that for the past five years she has shopped for the gifts her mom gives the 31 members of her family. As her mother’s strength, mobility, and endurance faded, but her desire to be an active participant in the traditional holiday gift-giving process actually seemed to intensify as she held on to every expression of involvement she could muster, Ellee realized that one of the greatest gifts she could give her mom was to do the shopping.

Ironically for a woman who defies help around the house, resists all forms of interference that suggests she is losing her grip on things, and resists changes to her lifestyle that might even make things like preparing her meals a little easier, Ellee’s mom readily relinquished the responsibilities for gift buying.

She gets confused in big department stores, doesn’t really understand the things the younger generation appreciates, and never got into using the Internet for shopping online. The perfect solution was to let someone else do the shopping.

Besides, Ellee is known for being a superb bargain hunter who shops all year and knows a good deal when she sees one. Her mom is not financially able to afford much more than a token gift for each of those on her list who range from a two-year-old great-granddaughter to her first born daughter who’s approach 64 years old. The mix of men, women, children, and age groups means a wide variety of items must be sought, and Ellee tries to find things that are useful and in many cases consumable so they are not lingering around as dust collectors, regifted, or donated unused.

This year, Ellee says online shopping sites are a major convenience due to time limitations and the mere cost of spending time milling around bargain aisles trying to find the best possible prices for her mom’s gifts.

Ellee’s range is under $5 per person for the gifts her mom gives, and she reports being able to mark off several names from the list with items she found in an online store such as the following:

* Gourmet popcorn
* Gourmet pretzels
* Gourmet saltwater taffy
* Thai iced tea
* Tortuga rum punch mix
* Tortuga gourmet cooking sauces
* Tortuga conch chowder

For those secret pal and other at-work gifts that fall within the $5-$10 range, she’s considering the following:

* Artifical flowers, like Orchids
* Tortuga Gourmet wildflower and citrus honey
* Artistic wood earrings handcrafted in Thailand

And, for her own list of family and friends, she’s looking seriously at things in the $10 - $25 range like the following:

* Artistic wood necklaces handcrafted in Thailand
* 2.2 pound bags of fresh natural spices
* Tortuga Rum Fever cook book
* Thai silk pillow cases

For those extra special people on her list, like her mom, Ellee is deciding between a piece of SilverLily jewelry or a piece of Thai silk clothing.

And, should a rich old aunt or uncle ask her to do the shopping for them, she says she is definitely going for gemstone jewelry and teak furniture to fill that list.

Look around you. Do you have a relative, neighbor, or friend who is physically unable to shop but who’d get a great deal of pleasure out of giving? Consider giving them the gift of your time and do the shopping for them.

Shopping online makes it very easy to give these people one of the best gifts you could offer them: an online shopping spree. In fact, let the giver sit with you while you navigate so he or she will feel involved.

Please Reply at:

http://i-shoptheworld.com/2008/11/14/christmas-is-coming-do-you-need-to-be-shopping-for-someone/

and let us know How we may Help You Check Off All the Names on Your Christmas Shopping Lists and those for Everyone for whom You are doing their shopping for them as part of Your Christmas Gift to them, ok?