Wondering how other moms and dads are coping with that annual marathon known as holiday shopping? It's still early days when it comes to the shopping season (although some eager-beavers have had their gift-buying wrapped up for weeks), but the pressure is starting to build. And three of the key issues that are on parents' minds this year are safety, the environment and how much to spend.
Safe toys
Toy safety hasn't been talked about this much during the holiday season since nine-year-old Ralphie Parker first fell in love with that BB gun.
And, despite what you might think, it's not just moms and dads who are worried about toy safety. An Ipsos Reid poll found that 84 per cent of parents and 85 per cent of non-parents are concerned about the safety of toys being imported into Canada. What's more, the researchers discovered that nine out of ten (87 per cent) Canadians are so concerned about the toy safety issue that they think the government should introduce mandatory toy testing on imported toys, even if this results in an increase in the price of imported toys.
Green gift choices
A growing number of Canadians are dreaming of a green Christmas — environmentally friendly goods, locally made goods, handmade goods — anything that's more earth-friendly.
Of course, green also means reusing items that might otherwise find their way to a landfill or languish unloved in your own house. Suddenly, re-gifting is cool and fab, particularly if you can find a cool way to transform that hideous bread box into something surprisingly chic. (Your kids can help you to cover it with strips from vintage magazines, catalogues or comic books.)
Giving someone a gift doesn't have to involve buying more stuff. It can mean purchasing a service for a family member or giving a friend the gift of your time. It can also mean making a donation to someone's favourite charity. (Hint: Ask that impossible-to-shop-for person in your life to set up a GivingPage at CanadaHelps.org and you'll never have to wonder what to give them again.) And while you're at it, you may want to encourage your kids to pick a favourite charity and to remember that charity during the holiday season. With non-stop ad messages telling kids what they should be getting, it's important to give them opportunities to experience the joy of giving to worthwhile causes, too.
Not breaking the bank during the holiday season
Canadian shoppers expect to spend an average of $1,413 on holiday purchases in 2007, according to the U.S.-based International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) — a 5.5 per cent increase over 2006. Just under half of the holiday budget will be spent on gifts ($511) and gift cards ($124), with the remainder of the money going towards decorations ($81), holiday travel ($309), entertaining ($193) and other holiday-related purchases ($195).
So how do you handle holiday spending at your house? Do you have a budget in mind for each gift? Do you take a wait-and-see approach (see what's in the stores and then decide how much to spend)? Do you save for holiday spending in advance or pay credit card bills off after the fact? What works best for you and your family?
Show me the money!
Wondering what types of items are ending up in the shopping carts of Canadians? Here's the inside scoop from the ICSC. Here are the top ten items Canadian mall shoppers intend to give as gifts include clothing (the choice of 65% of shoppers); toys or games, including video and computer games (the 59%); and gift cards or gift certificates (56%) of shoppers; music, CDs, or DVDs (55%); personal care products such as perfume, cologne or cosmetics (51%); books, magazines, or magazine subscriptions (46%); tools or hardware (38%); consumer electronics (35%); cash (34%); and jewelry (31%).
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