A practical guide to holiday shopping

The Standard Times - December 4, 2005

It can get pretty hectic out there if you don't employ some strategy

Photo illustration by Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times.
Holiday shopping can get pretty hectic. Before you head to the stores, do some planning.

Written By Jennette Barnes, Standard-Times staff writer

'Tis three weeks 'til the holidays
And all through the stores
The shoppers are frazzled
And tired and bored.
The kids may be nestled
All snug in their beds
But grown-ups are pulling
The hair from their heads.
Need a plan for the shopping?
Then let us advise!
This fun S-T guide
Shrinks the task down to size.

Samantha von Sperling charges [$300 - $450] an hour to check both naughty and nice off your list. She's a professional shopper who recently moved from Boston to Manhattan.

Sound like a sweet job? Maybe so, but this time of year, shopping gets hectic. So Ms. von Sperling employs a time-tested method to get the right gifts quickly.

While her typical client may favor Nordstrom and Saks, her advice works just as well at Penney and Sears. She starts with a list -- not of gifts, but of people for whom to buy. She adds a few adjectives to describe each person's interests. Working within a budget, she drafts a list of three options per person.

But what should be on the list?

"Purchasing of experiences is really hot right now," she said. Things like spa treatments, sky diving, ski tickets or even movie tickets give the recipient a chance to go out and have fun.

Ms. von Sperling once bought a day of race car driving for an MTV executive to give to his father.

For teenagers and young men, she said, the new Xbox 360 video game system is a popular choice, but the price starts at about $400 and runs to over $800 for a wireless model with games included.

What's a conspicuous-consumption-averse gift-giver to do? One strategy that works well with immediate family is to incorporate an object they already love: Get a poster or photograph framed, buy accessories for their favorite electronic gadget, scour the Internet for replacement dishes to match their pattern exactly, or have the stone from a broken piece of jewelry placed in a new setting.

Indulge your loved ones with something they might not buy for themselves.

"Put a little thought into it," said 28-year-old Shawn Borges of Fairhaven during a shopping trip. He asks his family for ideas, then mulls over a mental list until three days before Christmas.

Karen Costa of Mattapoisett, a personal fashion consultant for Organization By Design in Needham, suggested themed gifts. This year she's giving a small child on her list a terry cloth bathrobe, tub toys and bubble bath.

Like Ms. von Sperling, she said experiential gifts, such as a massage, are very popular. Restaurant gift certificates are perfect for working parents who rarely treat themselves to dinner out, she said. When in doubt, resort to food.

"If I don't know someone very well," Ms. Costa said, "I do know that everyone has to eat."

She likes to pair a specialty food, like gourmet English muffins, with related items arranged attractively in a basket.

Once you've brainstormed some gift ideas, you're ready to hit the stores, right? Wrong.

The professional shoppers said calling ahead is key.

"That way, if they don't have the item, I don't waste my time," Ms. von Sperling said.

When she calls a store, she asks a clerk to have the item "pulled" and ready for inspection as soon as she arrives. She examines it, then takes a quick spin around the store or department to make sure nothing else seems better. If the item is right, within the budget and of good quality, she buys it and moves on.

At large shopping centers like Wrentham Village, Ms. Costa said, getting a map or directory usually helps. And both women strongly recommended shopping at off-peak hours whenever possible to minimize stress, get better customer service and avoid being slowed down by crowds.

Weekday mornings tend to be the best, they said. Early evenings and weekends are the worst. When shopping on weekends, do it early or late in the day. If you work days and can shop during your lunch, take a late or early lunch to avoid the noontime rush.

Don't wait until the last minute to shop, warned Amy Grota, a department store employee in the Dartmouth Mall.Sale prices don't drop later in December, she said. And remember to take care of yourself. Limit shopping trips to three hours, Ms. Costa advised, because tired shoppers make bad decisions. Wear comfortable shoes. People who dress up to visit a fashionable shopping district often don less-than-comfortable footwear, she said.

Ms. Costa always brings a bottle of water in a small, purse-style backpack. Hands-free shopping is a must. She also recommends leaving your jacket in the trunk of the car, even if it's cold outside. "You'll only be in the parking lot three minutes, but you'll be in the mall for three hours," she said.

Over and over, the experts pointed to the cardinal rule of gift-giving: Don't impose your taste on others.

Jeanne Petty, who owns the Mattapoisett shop A Primitive Dwelling, said shoppers should pick up cues about taste from thinking about the recipient's home decor and how they dress. "What makes the best gift, I think, is thought -- something they would like instead of what you'd like," she said. "A lot of people make that mistake."

This story appeared on Page C1 of The Standard-Times on December 4, 2005

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