Christmas is coming up very shortly, so you need to get your Christmas shopping done early.

I don't know about you but personally I absolutely hate doing my Christmas shopping the week before Christmas when you cannot park at the shopping mall and you have MASSIVE queues at the stores. It is absolute mayhem.

By shopping for your Christmas presents early you can save yourself a huge amount of stress and also you can save yourself a huge amount of money. This is true, I am not just saying this. There are ways to save money on Christmas presents by buying thing early.

I bet you want to know these tips and I am definitely going to share them with you.

1. Buy Things The Day After Christmas

This is a little too intense for some people. To buy a present 364 days out from Christmas can seem a little silly, and for some it is not a good financial decision. But on boxing day sales you can save a lot of money on items. Just make sure you buy items that are not limited to a time frame (like buying children's clothes a child is going to be grown out of before next Christmas). Think ahead and buy something that is timeless (or that at least will still be good in one year).

2. Take Advantage of Sales

Throughout the year stores have sales (such as stock take sale about halfway through the year, and clearance sales before a new catalogue). By buying your Christmas presents early you are not limited by time so you can wait until the sales are on and buy the exact thing that you want for less than you would have paid otherwise. This can literally save you hundreds of dollars.

3. Take Advantage of Laybys

Ok this is not really a huge money saving tip but you can take advantage of laybys if you have the time. You can layby the product and pay if off over time. That way you can afford the presents you want to buy people easier. When it comes to Christmas time you will find that because you have already bought the big presents your wallet is a lot less stretched.

4. Purchase Things Online and Save

Now this is one of the greatest ways you can save money online. Buying things online is usually not an option before Christmas because it takes a few days/weeks to ship to you (plus over the Christmas period this time limit stretches). However, if you buy your Christmas presents early then you can spend some time researching on the net to find the best deal and then you can buy your product and have it shipped to you and not have to worry about time. You can save hundreds here.

How To Manage Buying Christmas Presents Early

When buying presents early often it can be hard to get your head around all the people you need to buy things for and if you have bought them a present or not. Here is my advice to stay organised when buying Christmas presents early.

1. Get a Folder

Keep all your information in summary form in a folder. This can be a real folder or it can be a folder on your computer. Having all your information in one place makes it easier to organize and sort out.

2. Have The Opening Page as a Summary

Have the opening page of your folder a summary for all the people and presents you are going to buy. First list all the people, and then when you have bought their presents put a "bought" next to their name, or put a line through there name so you know you can forget about it.

3. Have a Page for Each Person

Now you should have a page for each individual person you are buying presents for. On this page you can write:

a. Ideas for presents
b. Presents you have bought for them

4. Have a Storage Spot

Have one storage spot for all your gifts. You can wrap them as soon as you buy them or wait until before. Write a tab on each of the presents with the persons name and a message to them from you. Then ALSO put a separate tab (which you can remove later) which says what the present is in detail. You can use code like Present #3 and then in your folder on their page it will say. Present #3: A set of candle holders and 3 candles. Try to put as much detail as you can so you don't forget what it is.

So now you should be fully equipped to buy a whole bunch of presents and to get your Christmas shopping done early and you could save yourself hundreds of dollars on your Christmas shopping.