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7 ACCIDENTALLY INSPIRED TIPS  for TIME-STARVED HOLIDAY SHOPPERS
Commiserated with Your Life! Family editor Julie Edelmanj, and  author of
The Accidental Housewife

Even on a good day, squeezing in an extra errand or child pick up can be impossible.  Add holidays to the mix and well, it’s a night mare.  So, if you’re like millions of we accidental housewives who are time-starved, stress-filled and perhaps clueless about what to buy- these tips are for you!  Hopefully they’ll give you a chance to ring in the holidays with a little sanity and maybe even result in a few spare moments to enjoy them with all!

1.ENLIST A TOP 10 LIST-  Ask family and friends to create a wish list of 5-10 items that they can give you via phone, e-mail or at the dinner table.  This is a great time saver particularly if there’s an item or two that you can’t find or don’t have the patience to search all over the universe for to locate that one ‘special  gift.  Tip:  You want to be sure and manage expectations with young children when they give you their list by letting them know that they will not be getting all the gifts they requested.  This avoids disappointment, bankruptcy and guilt on your part.

2.BUY IT WHEN YA SEE IT-  Just because you’re out shopping for a new bedspread or winter coat, doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish two things at once.  Look around for gift items that are on your list and buy it then and there.  It will help eliminate one more trip to that same store. 

3.GET PERSONAL-Why spend time waiting on endless checkout lines, looking for parking spaces with herds of holiday shoppers when you can have your own personal shopper at your fingertips?  If you’re an accidental housewife like moi, you wouldn’t.  Check out www.personalshopper.com      Even if you’re technologically challenged it’s easy to use.  All you do is tell your Personal Shopper what your interests, brand preferences and gift-giving needs are (or wish lists) and they’ll scour through thousands of well known products and favorite stores bringing back a selection of stuff right on your desktop.  Then you just scan, select or request other gift ideas in the comfort and quiet of your home.  Plus, it’s free so you have nothing to loose but trying it out!
 
4.LET ‘EM WRAP -Don’t get caught the night before staying up all night wrapping, minimize the task.  Many stores have complimentary wrapping available which looks just fine for the 10 seconds it will be seen before being ripped off plus you can use the money you would have spent on other gifts or you! 

5.SHOP LOCAL!- There’s a great site called www.shoplocal.com which will help you find the gifts you’re looking for in your neighborhood or surrounding area as well as the best prices on them.  All you’ll have to do is enter your zip code and it’ll take you through it all from there…and yes, this is free too! If you just want to do all your shopping on line I really like www.shopzilla.com since you can do it all there and they comparison shop, too.  Just remember that the closer you get to the holidays, the more expensive shipping may be and you want to check with any on-line company if there’s a restocking fee.

6.CLUELESS GIFT GIVING:  If you haven’t a clue what to give, four words of advice:  GIVE A GIFT CERTIFICATE!  You can just buy a general card or gift cheque from www.americanexpress.com www.giftcertificates.com;go to a mall and buy a ‘mall certificate  which will enable your giftee to buy from all the stores there or if you know your recipient’s favorite store (but how would you since you’re clueless!) buy from there.  Amount’s up to you and your bank account! Some other tried n  true clueless gifts are: bottles of wine, food baskets, flowers and plants, magazine subscriptions or even good ole cash!!!

7.TAKE A "TIME OUT" You’re so busy scurrying about trying to fulfill everyone else’s wishes  that you can loose sight of your own need for a ‘time out’.  Enjoy a latte, take a run, buy a gift for yourself or just lock the bathroom door and tell the rest of your household to leave you alone.  All the stores and chores will still be waiting for you when you return to active duty.

FINALLY, it’s important for even the most accidental and time-starved of us to remember what holidays are truly about:  Spending time with our families and friends, enjoying the magic of the season and celebrating what’s important in our lives-so chill and try to remember what the great John Lennon tried to get us to hear: Life’s what happens when you’re busy making plans"-even this accidental housewife has learned that or is planning to!

Have a happy! 

About the Author
Julie is a lifestyle expert and real life, real tips domestic go to gal who appears regularly on national tv, radio and print media including ABC  s The View.  You can see her on The View December 9th as she shares "Hassle-free Holiday Travel Tips  with all.  Also look for her new must-have sanity saving book "The Accidental Housewife:  How To Overcome Housekeeping Hysteria   One Task at a Time in bookstores April 2006 (Ballantine Books). Click here for more info www.theaccidentalhousewife.com
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