Oh Christmas Tree…Help!

As the clock ticks and calendar flips ever closer to December 25, that lurching realisation hits…time to go shopping. And no, unfortunately it's not for a copy of the latest Cosmo and a ridiculously oversized anchor necklace made of plastic. It's time to go shopping for presents for…gulp…others. Yes, that's right…. others. Before you go into cardiac arrest, sit back, take a deep breath and relax. What A Girl Needs has just the tips to help you make it through the silly season, sanity and wallet intact!

Check out the outlet stores. Okay, so they aren't as glamorous as the big department stores, but outlets can have some truly awesome hidden treasures. You may have to dig through those big stock bins to find them, but trust me…they do exist. Outlet shopping centres are popping up left, right and centre, with Gold Coast's Harbour Town and Brisbane's DFO showing the rest of the country exactly how it's done. These centres have dozens of specialty stores and boast enough brands to satisfy every discerning gift giver. Bonds, Polo Ralph Lauren, Morrissey, Lisa Ho, Maggie T, Sandler, even David Jones are now all within your budget with huge discounts every day of the year. Thursday to Wednesday. Thursday night shopping never looked so good…as a rule of thumb it's good to remember that the majority of chain stores use the Thursday-Wednesday rotation for sales periods. That means that a sale will start on a Thursday morning and finish the next Wednesday at closing time. This isn't standard for every store, and exceptions do apply but the usual suspects such as Target, Myer, David Jones and Kmart do tend to follow this trend. Keep an eye out for the junk mail during the week and take yourself Thursday night shopping. This way you will be first in to make sure you don't miss out on those limited items at the lower price. Set limits, and really, really mean it. Get together with the girls and guys at school, sit down and set yourself price guides. That is, find a mutually agreeable amount to spend on gifts for each other. For example, if everybody agrees to a limit of $15, you know exactly how much you need to save and have to spend. It sounds silly, but finding these limits and sticking to them will make your task a whole lot quicker and simpler! Also, it helps to avoid those awkward 'I spent $50 on you, and all you got me was a headband from Crazy Clark's!' disagreements… It really is the thought that counts. Yeah, yeah, so it's the cliché that has been bandied around as an excuse for bad presents everywhere, but it has a ring of truth to it. I mean, think about it. Wouldn't you treasure a pair of hand beaded earrings made for you by your best friend over a pair of mass produced ones from a chain store? Even if they were almost on par in the ugly stakes to that jumper Nanna knitted for you last year, the fact that someone put their time and effort into something especially for you is awesome, and not to be undervalued. If you don't have much cash, don't worry! Those on the receiving end will feel exactly this way about what you end up giving them. If it comes from the heart, it's the best present you could ever give, or receive.