Buying A Gift

NZ Shopping Online for the Perfect Gift

Buying a gift isn't always easy - use our guide to buying gifts for parents, partners and siblings, and take the stress out of gift shopping by doing it online.

• Books
• Music CDs and DVDs
• Computer Games

Gift buying often starts out with happy vibes and good intentions, but getting amongst stressed holiday shoppers can make the entire experience unpleasant and even irritable. What are the best ways for buying a gift in New Zealand, and what kinds of gifts should you buy for those on your list?

Buying a gift in New Zealand for each one of your loved ones doesn't need to be the stressful part of the holidays; you can save that for the post-ham sibling bickering! Planning your gift buying is essential, you don't want to be one of the poor souls scouring the malls at 11pm the week of Christmas trying to tick everyone off your list.

NZ shopping online for Christmas gifts (in fact, gifts at any time of the year) is the simplest and most stress-free way to buy perfect gifts. A recent study determined that of people that have purchased something online a couple of times during the past year, half of them plan to do some, if not all of their Christmas shopping on the net. The reason? Time saving, according to 88% of respondents. Finding rare products, avoiding mall crowds and the greater selection that the online world offers were also deciding factors in shopping online in lieu of in physical stores.

So you've decided that you want to shop online and avoid the horrors of department stores and shopping centres. Now, you're probably stuck for ideas. Where to start? Will it arrive on time? Postage at Christmas time is always a big factor, as many international websites have massive lead times during the festive season, and what they tell you can often be unreliable. The first tip in keeping buying a gift stress-free is sticking to New Zealand shopping websites, whereby shipping takes just days, not weeks.

Buying a gift that's perfect involves a little more time and intuition before you jump online or in store, but it makes the entire shopping process much easier. Aimlessly browsing for gifts as we all know, can often turn into a painful experience of indecisiveness, and can often lead to unruly purchasing. You want to have a clear list of the types of things you're loved ones enjoy, so you can go straight to that particular section in store, or straight to that category online, find the perfect gift, and buy. How do you do this?

Gift Buying for Partners

Buying a gift for your partner is often the hardest because you put so much effort into it. How can you choose the perfect gift for your partner? It's all about watching and listening.

Go Christmas shopping together for others' presents and keep an eye out on what they show interest in themselves - did a certain something catch their eye that they coyly mentioned they would love? Most of us will do this if given the chance, and not only will showing up on Christmas morning with something they've hinted at before make their day, it'll show them that you really pay attention to their interests.

If you need to get more specific, there's nothing wrong with doing a little snooping around to find out what they're into at the moment. Check out the most recently added music on their computer's playlists, then search music online for a limited edition CD or concert on DVD.

Additionally, check out their bedside table for the books they're recently read - and search the author online for earlier novels or other recommended reads in the genre. And you certainly won't go wrong with buying their favourite TV series on DVD - it's more personal than a movie because it's something that is a regular part of his or her downtime every week.

Gift Buying for Parents

Gift buying for your parents is on the other hand, often where you put the least thought into. Mum normally gets something for the kitchen, Dad something for the garage. Sound about right? This year, find your parents gifts they'll really enjoy - not ones that put them to work.

Your Dad will love being given even the most basic of gadgets - an MP3 player or portable storage drive filled with new music, even a wireless keyboard or mouse. He'll get a kick out of the fact that you don't think he's too old for that kind of stuff, and feel more like he has something in common with you.

Mum on the other hand, will love a great book - just don't make it a cook or gardening one. Mix it up with something fun and unexpected, there's a huge amount of 'chick lit' available which is full of light-hearted stories that aren't as cheesy as your typical romance novel.

Additionally, Mum will warm to anything nostalgic and personal, which doesn't have to mean picking up a scrapbook and scissors. Grab a digital photo frame and load it with family photos and treasured moments - no mother will be disappointed!

Gift Buying for Siblings

Gifts for brothers and gifts for sisters are normally last minute stress-purchases: does a box of biscuits from the supermarket or a stack of magazines from the petrol station sound familiar?

You don't need to put a lot of personalised effort into sibling presents to get them something they will enjoy over the Christmas period - try board games. They're reasonably inexpensive (you can buy cheap games online easily) for the amount of hours that will get spend on them, and they'll give you something to bond and create yuletide memories over! While it sounds a little cheesy, it's a great way to cool down the inevitable after-dinner sibling squabbles.

Looking for more information on NZ shopping online? Check out the NZS.com directory.

Do you want to write for NZS.com, New Zealand's top Web directory? We are looking for New Zealand writers for our unique new article writing program - whereby you can write and submit articles for our website, and you will earn 50% of the revenue from the advertising on your article's page. Check out the Article Authors homepage to apply now!

Seasons and Celebrations images from Flickr: Present, Fireworks Finale and Christmas in Love.