Day 6: Shop Smart
Be an early bird this year, and get organized for online holiday shopping now. Planning early will help you stay on budget, stress less, and give you the time to search for truly personal gifts {all the more fun to give and receive!}.
Don’t worry about holding out until Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In the recent Wall Street Journal article “The Myth of the Black Friday Deal,” Dana Mattioli reported that many products are priced at their lowest earlier in the season {meaning now}.
Here’s our list of top online shopping sites:
Best Sites for Unique Gift Ideas
- Mudpuppy Toys – Give children beautifully designed educational games, puzzles, stationary, and activities for young children.
- YoYo.com – Use their Toy Finder to search by age, gender, and budget. Plus, browse through categories, such as Top 50 by Age, Parent’s Choice, Award Winning, Pretend Play, and more.
- storeenvy.com – This indie marketplace prides itself as a social shopping community, allowing merchants to set up a store and sell directly from Facebook.
- Lill Studio – A Chicago original, this company developed quite the cult following at its Boston boutique, and now nationwide through its home parties. Never more popular, the design-your-own-bag concept {40 styles, from bridal to baby, and 130 fabrics} is fun and addictive. With the estimated 4-week delivery time, it’s worth it to shop and order early.
- donorschoose.org – Considering social gifting? Easily help classrooms in need. Public school teachers post classroom project requests, which range from pencils for poetry to microscopes for mitochondria.
Best Apps for Mobile Shopping
- Amazon Mobile App – Never wonder if you are getting the best price in a store. Simply scan the bar code of the whatever you have in your hand, and see the Amazon price on your phone. 1-Click ordering enables an easy, secure way to avoid standing in line at the big box stores.
- Etsy Addict Mobile App – For those truly addicted to the Etsy marketplace, download this third-party app to your mobile device to easily track your favorite finds in the sea of handmade and vintage goodies.
- Zulily Mobile App – Easy to view on your mobile device, Zulily offers “sales events” on top-quality apparel, gear, and other goodies for moms, babies, and kids. Zulily is known for offering the best brands {from the obscure to the most sought-after} at up to 90% off. Act fast because events last only 72 hours.
Best Tech Savvy Sites
- cnet.com – All the tech guys know, this is where to check for product reviews, prices, and news on technology.
- slickdeals.net – A highly popular deal-hunting site {free, yet reportedly valued at almost $27 million} to catch all of the hottest deals on laptops, computers, and more.
Best Sites for Holiday Greetings
- tinyprints.com – A reliable source for chic photo cards year round, Tiny Prints quality and vast selection of modern designs cannot be matched.
- paperlesspost.com – This unique site has offered stylish online stationary since 2009 and this October they announced PAPER just in time to create your printed holiday party invitations and greetings. Whether you choose the sleek digital version or the new double-thick cardstock, the fine stationary designs are top-notch.
- costco.com – The best value in holiday greetings, Costco prints large 6×8 holiday greetings on matte photo paper within one hour.
News Bite: According to the Associated Press, FedEx plans to ship 280 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The 13% increase is attributed to our fondness for online shopping.
Please Share this online shopping list and leave a Comment about your favorite online shopping site below!
In case you missed the previous days:
