Being 14 years old, I have seen how stressed out my parents get when they shop for the holidays. I know they want to find the perfect gifts. And I imagine that my parents aren't the only ones.
Every year, during this time, my parents ask, "Julianne, what do you want for the holidays this year?" What they really mean is "Julianne, we have no idea what to get you!" Let's face it, they are clueless!
Now that I have been at this for a year, I have a feeling my parents won't need to ask any more questions about what my sisters and I want -- having the Toys"R"Us' Chief Play Officer (CPO) living under their roof and all. This year, I am so excited to help make all Canadian parents' holiday shopping a little easier and even fun, too.
As a kid, there is nothing better than opening the coolest new toy, and as a parent, I can only imagine how it feels to put that big smile on a little kid's face.
So, here it is parents. I've put together a list of tips to make holiday toy shopping easy. I really didn't want my parents to be the only ones to know the secrets. These awesome tips come from a toy expert! Trust me, they are guaranteed to make your holiday shopping fun, quick and easy!
- Don't wait! Every year there is a hot toy or two that every kid wants and parents go crazy trying to find them. Remember, if you wait to buy a hot toy, there is a chance that your special someone won't have exactly what they want waiting under the tree. So shop early to make sure you get the toy that your little (or big) one is hoping for!
- Listen and look carefully for hints. My sister and I always drop hints for my parents about what we want for Christmas. For example, we cut out toys and games from catalogues and stick them on the fridge, we get excited during certain commercials and we tell them how much we love a certain toy -- we always try to show our parents what we'd like. So listen up!
- Before shopping, know what your kids are interested in. Take our hints to the store with you! I can't tell you how many times my mom and dad went out to the store and came back with the latest and greatest toy that "the lady at the store said you would love." If you go to a big toy store, you'll have so much to choose from. Hopefully you can match what you know about your kid with what the people working at the store know about toys.
- When shopping, have a list ready. There are a million toys out there. So, be organized when holiday shopping -- especially when you have more than one person to buy for. If you make a list of the gifts you want to buy, not only does it save you time in the aisles but also helps you get the right gifts.
- After shopping, write down what you bought. Writing down what gifts you bought for the kids (and adults) in your lives keeps you organized and saves money. Half of the time people forget what they've bought so it's smart to keep track of gifts to not overspend.
- After adding to the list, wrap and label. After you've found the perfect gifts and crossed them off your list, it's important to wrap one gift at a time and label who the present is for right away. Once I opened up my dad's socks -- what a bummer.
I hope my tips for holiday shopping help you find the perfect gift, save you time, save you money and save you a headache. I'll talk to you soon with another exciting toy-filled blog.
Until next time,
Julianne
Your official Toys"R"Us Chief Play Officer
