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Tag Archives: christmas shopping
Does a Parent Deserve a Massage More Than a Non-Parent?
By Ric Dube
Clearly, our stage of life says something about the products we consume. I rarely shopped at the home improvement superstore until I became a homeowner, from which moment I grew as familiar with its aisles as any of the store’s clerks. More familiar, in fact, than a few of them.
When we buy gifts for others, what we choose to give inevitably echoes our life stage because the kinds of people we care about and their respective interests and priorities relate directly to factors such as our age, marital and family status, and home ownership. For example, it makes intuitive sense that parents buy more toys than non-parents because they’re the shoppers with kids. But what do non-parents buy more of?
We asked more than 2,000 holiday shoppers what kinds of gifts they planned to buy this season (details below). As predicted, the majority of those who said they are shopping for “toys and games” have kids at home, although these shoppers were also more likely to say they gave “power tools” and “perfume.”
Sourece: Forbes Consulting Group Holiday Shopping Survey, December 2011
Meanwhile, shoppers without kids were more likely to shop for “gourmet foods,” “specialty alcohol” and services such as “massages and spa days.” Why are shoppers without kids more likely to give a gift of self-focused indulgence than those with kids?
Last Minute Holiday Shopping Dilemma – SOLVED!
Contributed By Sandra Pimentel
Where to find the best last minute gifts for everyone on your list? The Bookstore!
And I don’t mean the book section at Target. I mean head to a Barnes and Noble or your local bookstore (hopefully they haven’t all disappeared). Recently I went into my local bookstore to pick up a children’s book and ended up buying 12 gifts! Who knew you could find so many great gifts at the bookstore? I know what you are thinking…the person on my list doesn’t like to read. That’s fine, bookstores have much more than just books. They have wall and desk calendars, toys, games, magazines and unique gifts put out for the holiday season. And surprisingly, those people who call themselves “non-readers” often actually like books too, as long as they are short and sweet and are about something that interests them.
During my recent trip, I found books I never would have thought about, but as soon as I spotted them, I knew, “this would be a perfect gift for someone on my list.” Most people have a hobby or passion- running, knitting, traveling, recycling, even mad libs. They are the easiest to shop for since there are books that cover every activity from almost every angle.
In situations where you don’t know the hobbies or passions, think about what kind of person they are. Do they like learning new, interesting facts? Do they have a great sense of humor? Are they into nature? There are always books that reflect someone’s personality, something you know about them or something you share with them.
