Tips for A Mindful Holiday Shopping Experience in 2022

Are you one of those people who dislike shopping because it stresses you out?

Or maybe you’re someone who just wants to shop more mindfully this year.

With the world still pulling itself through the fog of the pandemic, shopping for the holidays can be both rewarding and challenging.

There are many questions to answer. For example, should you indulge in major sales at all? Or buy at the store physically or shop online. There are 76% of people who prefer to shop in physical stores, but you may just opt to stay in or make something for loved ones instead.

Let’s take a look at how you can prepare for a more mindful shopping experience this year. These simple tips can help you enjoy shopping and holidays more.

Start planning in advance

Taking a few small steps ahead of time will help you save time and even money, not to mention you’ll reduce stress. Pull out your calendar and some notepaper and start by marking the dates that you’ll be celebrating different events.

Reverse mapping or planning your events will help you to break down a larger event or goal into smaller tasks that you can take. For example, if you need to plan for a family get-together, local guidelines permitting, there are several lists to put together.

You’ll need to plan meals, gifts, games to play, and more. Then break these things down into smaller tasks such as ingredients you’ll need, types of gifts to buy for different family members, and whether you need board games or online ones.

As you keep planning, you’ll have a helpful list to work with. You may also need to bookmark helpful sites like a calendar or a timezone planning tool to ensure that people join a virtual get-together if that’s what you intend to do.

With planning, you’ll actually enjoy the day of the holiday event because things are organized. You’ll be able to shop for items needed in advance and ensure you have everything you need.

Journal and reflect

What the holiday season really comes down to is the experiences and reflections we have. But we buy into the notion that we need things to make good experiences happen.

I find that you can create mental clarity and feel more present by sitting down with a journal. Come up with a few topic ideas around the holidays. Some examples are ‘What do I really want from the holiday season?’ Or ‘Things I want to change during this time.’ Or anything you like.

As you sit down and write away, you’ll process your feelings around the holidays and the urge to shop and know exactly what you need and want.

You might decide to indulge in gifts in a moderate way. Or you might focus on creating experiences through cooking, crafting, and other activities.

Don’t let social media influence you

You may not realize it, but social media will play a tremendous role in how happy or stressed you are while managing your holiday shopping.

In general, social media is an interesting field to observe human behaviors and psychology. And businesses and marketers know this which is why they use social media to evoke emotions that lead to more buying behavior.

One common technique that’s used is creating the ‘Fear of Missing Out’ or FOMO phenomenon. This is something that 56% of social media users experience.

It’s important to be aware of FOMO to ensure that you catch yourself in case you succumb to it and let it affect your holiday planning and shopping. You should know that 48% of the millennial group spend money they don’t have just to keep up with friends based on what’s shared online.

And afraid of feeling like an outsider, 45% of people can’t go for more than 12 hours without checking their social media.

You can create the perfect holiday season and shopping experience for yourself despite these issues by doing the following:

• Be mindful of how marketing messages make you feel. Ask yourself if the fear of missing out is real or something that isn’t really true in your case
• Create a budget for your shopping that includes an allowance for self-indulgence and fun
• Staying off social media can be the best thing you can do for yourself this holiday season. Use messaging apps to coordinate activities with loved ones, but avoiding social media will leave you with greater peace of mind and allow you to focus your mind on family and activities that matter

Conclusion

With a stressful year coming to a close, it becomes more important than ever to make the holidays count. And an important part of that is getting your holiday shopping done in the most enjoyable way possible.

We’ve covered some helpful tips that should make for a mindful and happy holiday shopping for you. Work with them to create a positive experience that leaves you relaxed.