What you should know about Christmas shopping with a teen

Photo credit: truewoman.com

Black Friday shopping has been a tradition that I shared with a friend over the past few years. We would shop three or four hours then go out to breakfast. This year my teen son wanted to experience the “excitement” of Black Friday shopping. Since he received birthday money early, the tradition was changed and he and I set out to the stores.

After a couple of hours I discovered why I have never taken my son shopping with me before this year. Below are 5 reasons NOT to take your teen(s) Christmas shopping with you.

1.       They will constantly say, “Are you ready yet?” I was taking my time browsing through Christmas cards trying to select a box. My son went to a different department and came back and said, “You’ve been in this same spot for 17 minutes, can you just pick something?”

2.       They will claim they’ve been out “all day” after only two hours.

3.       They get hungry too soon.

4.       They will try to save their money and spend yours.

5.       They may leave you holding the bag(s)-literally. Luckily my son had less bags than I did, so he had room to carry mine too.

Six stores and three hours later, my son had purchased several items that he’d been wanting. It was time for breakfast.

Before we dove into our meal I bowed my head to say a quiet blessing. When I glanced up my son still had his head bowed. I thought, he’s saying a long blessing this time. When I looked closely I saw that he was texting, not praying.

During the drive toward home, my son laid his head back onto the head rest. I said, “You’re not getting sleepy are you? I have one more stop to make.”

“No, I’m just relaxing for a minute.”

I didn’t want my son to sleep yet. I wanted him to experience the full effects of early morning shopping. He survived Black Friday shopping and I survived shopping with a teen.

When everything was said and done, my son and I had a fun adventure shopping together, even if I had to visit a lot of sports stores. And electronics sections of the stores. I don’t think I will take both boys shopping at the same time, but use this as quality time with each child separately.

What has been your experience shopping with kids?

The First Lady of layaway – Preparing for the Holiday season

photo credit: www.wonderworkscharleston.com

“Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh…”oh wait we have plenty of time before the Christmas carols begin. However, if you’re trying to stay on a budget it’s time to start planning-for everything, gifts, holiday dinners, kids pageants, etc. Why am I talking about this now? I heard a commercial on the radio the other day indicating that layaway is back at their store.

In a radio advertisement the announcer referred to the conscientious shopper as, “The First Lady of layaway.” My response to that commercial was, “Hey, I may need to take on that title.” Considering the many things there are to do and buy in preparation for the Holidays, layaway could serve as an economical way of planning.

When my boys were younger I remember explaining to them about layaway. When I was done explaining, my youngest son asked, “Does this mean we are poor?”

“It’s, just delayed gratification. You will appreciate your items more when you finally get them,” I said.

“I will appreciate them now too.”

So much for my explanation.

Now that the boys know you don’t have to be poor to use layaway, they have joined me as I serve my term as First Lady of layaway. My platform is budget, budget, budget. I love the Christmas Holiday Season – church activities, shopping and having family over for dinner. So I have to plan ahead.

In order to keep my sanity during the Holiday season, I have the kids create a wish list of things they would like. I let them know that there are no guarantees. If they hear an outburst of laughter while I am reading their list, it means they have listed something that is too expensive. The expensive items are the ones that are slated for layaway.

You can avoid dashing through the snow for gifts at the last minute by planning ahead. Layaway can be an advantageous tool in your planning.

If you were the First Lady of layaway or the President of Penny Pinching, how would you prepare for the upcoming Holiday season?