Anyone find Christmas shopping to be stressful?

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I hate gifts. I hate getting them, and I hate buying them. I never know what to get people, and never know what they like. So I don't do gifts at all anymore.

Wait a minute. There's new futurama over x-mas? Why wasn't I told??

For me it isnt the present buying that is stressful, its being in overly crowded places with poeple breathing down my back in long lines that stresses me out. I try to avoid all stores in November and December. I usually have most my Christmas shopping done by June and anything I can buy online I do.

Agreed. I thoroughly dislike being in crowded stores, in general. Large book stores even get to me once in a while. I usually just give people money. My friend's first book came out this year, so I think I will solve to problem by purchasing a copy for everyone in my family.

i'm not a great fan of christmas shopping. I am not a great fan of shopping. wherever i can, i buy off the rack and hate trying things on in stores. I find gift giving really weird, actually. I have to work at it fairly logically , for my 7 year old son.
I tell myself "THis is Christmas. As a child you liked opening and getting presents. So...my son will like opening and getting presents. That means you need to make a list and go shopping and buy some things for him, even thought you hate the whole thing."

It is actually a really good example of my impaired ToM. I myself liked presents as a child, but this information doesn't automatically translate into an empathic action response to my son's wish for presents. I have to work at it by way of cerebral exhaustions.

But i do like art supplies stores,haberdashery stores, bookstores and hardware stores - when they are not too crowded. I'd much prefer to hang in them than buy presents for other people! I like stores where there are lots of things that are categorized nicely.

I find it has been really hurting my eyes,, that has been the most stressful thing, looking at each and every thing in search of a good gift for someone. That, and the noise. Screaming children, screeching trolleys and slamming metal doors, shop buzzers.. shopping centres seem to be a collection of the worst noises.

That is such a good idea! I think I will be doing that in future so I can avoid the rush.

I find Christmas shopping difficult, mostly because I don't know what to get people. Usually I make it easier for everyone else by making a Christmas list and suggest everyone else in the family do the same but then they don't do it and I'm the only one that's easy to buy for. So I'm left searching and putting together another list of what everyone else might want for Christmas.

It's not so much the hunting for a present that I find hard, it's the crowded shopping malls with parents of whiney kids around 5 years old who seem to keep shouting and squealing around me. I can understand why they bring their kids to the mall (because they can't leave them alone at home), but can't they put the kids in day care or something? It's really uncomfortable for me to concentrate on gift shopping and nearly running over a little kid who gets distracted by something and doesn't watch where they're going. I just feel the urge to grab them and shake them and say "Look! Do you want me to trip over you and crush you with my body weight? Because that's what I'll do if you're not careful!"

Sorry for getting off topic. I know what I'm not having later in life.

I do my Christmas shopping in August/September to avoid the massive crowds.

I hate Xmas shopping. I hate shopping. I hate Xmas. I hate presents.

Holiday shopping guide topic

I buy few gifts, and only for my two youngest still at home. (Christmas cards for less than six people.) I do Christmas for them, including the dinner, the decorations, and the like. It takes little time and they enjoy it. They also want their father over for dinner. I suppose I will have to get him a small gift and something in a stocking. Very cheap, of course. He has a down-on-his-luck friend (I have known him for years) who will be having dinner with us. Helping someone at this time of year is a good thing. Aspie to the rescue!


Off topic:
Very cold right now. In Barrie, -23C, or -30C with the windchill factor. A fair bit of snow, but the sun is shining, and the sky is cloudless, though I like clouds very much.

Very cold out in Western Canada as well.

I do all my Christmas shopping via the internet

I stress about it every year, but mostly because I am usually poor. I don't like the overcommercialism of it either, but it's not all bad.

not if it's done right

I hate getting and receiving gifts. It stresses me out so much because I never know what to get anyone. My parents are the worst because they always say they don't want anything, but I can't not get them anything because...well, they're my parents. They have to get something on Christmas! I think my mistake is thinking about what I would like if I were them. Like, my dad likes history so I get him a really interesting history book, but it turns out he just sort of likes history, but not enough to read about it...I guess. If it were me I would love a book about something I'm interested in. I guess not everyone's into reading?

Getting presents is bad too because I get worried that I won't like the gifts I'm given. No one ever seems to know what I like, I guess I'm not good at communicating that sort of thing.

I used to try and do Christmas presents and I always got the wrong things. Also I would get things I didn't want or need and feel obligated to hold on to them. Last year I got little things at the farmer's market, a pair of wool socks, pickles, a jar of jelly, etc.. It was inexpensive and no stress. No crowd, no elevator music, no overstimulating lights, colors, etc. that make shopping almost painful for me. Really, even the grocery store is sometimes overwhelming. So many things and they all look kind of the same, but different additives, prices, trying to figure out unit prices! Yikes! I hate shopping of any kind! This year I'm making banana bread. I've also made pickled eggs and mountain crout, but will have to taste them this weekend to see if the recipe is a good one. I'm known as a terrible cook, so I had to practice the banana bread quite a bit, but the mistakes were edible to me, so no loss. Also my aloe plant is having babies, so hopefully I will repot some and give those away too. We're looking to be snowed in the next two days, so I will have lots of time to work on these things. The best part is all this is free practically and that's a huge part of my stress is feeling obligated to buy things I really can't afford. Plus I HATE the materialism! This way also if someone doesn't like my present it's no big deal because I spent nothing on it and making it was fun.

I'm lucky to live in the country with a great farmer's market, and room for chickens. Anyone else have some ideas for easy homemade gifts? I'd like to learn how to make cards on the computer from a cute photo of one of my pets or something.

Alvin