Christmas Prep 2020
Christmas prep in the time of covid is, like most things this year, a little different. If you’ve read any of my Where Is It More Expensive posts, you know that goods are generally more expensive in New Zealand. Combined with the online shopping changes last December and the skyrocketing costs of shipping items to New Zealand thanks to covid, and it means there has to be more forethought and planning this year. Here are some tips and tricks I’ve figured out:
Creating new traditions is a must in a new country. I know a lot of expats have a hard time letting go of spending the holidays with family, having a white Christmas, and doing things the way they’ve always been done. I cannot stress how important it was for my mental health to come up with new things for our family to do that embrace the reality of a hot Christmas far away from family. One thing that has become of fun tradition in New Zealand is a gift that can be immediately taken to the beach on Christmas Day afternoon. Since it is the beginning of summer here, we spend a good chunk of our time either at the beach or in the pool, and this is a fun way to get a new water toy in the rotation. I don’t mean to say “scrap everything.” We still make our traditional Danish Coffee Cake for breakfast and get Christmas pyjamas for the kids to wear from Thanksgiving to Christmas morning, but we’ve worked in some new things too.
If you haven’t started Christmas gift planning, start now. You’re already a little late. Not too late, but a little late. This is our third Christmas in New Zealand, and I’ve learned that I need a shopping list around October 15 so that I can start researching the best places to get things from. For items that are coming from overseas, this gives me enough time to go for the cheaper shipping options.
Also, this time of year is absolutely insane if you’ve got school aged kids. It is the end of the school year, so in addition to all of the usual Christmas holiday things like nativity plays and parties with Santas, there are also all of the end of the school year activities like prize-giving, end of year parents’ drinks, parent teacher conferences, etc. There are not enough hours in the day to get things done, so Christmas shopping early is a good move for my sanity. (And this is what I’m blaming my lack of Friday post last week on - life has been crazy!)
If the item you’re looking for is out of stock in New Zealand, check Australian sites before checking US sites. We’re looking into the Gravitrax marble run system for my son - which was everywhere a month ago for NZ$120 - but now it is completely sold out in New Zealand. I could get it shipped from Amazon for US$101 (about NZ$158) or I can order it from Australia from Dick Smith’s for NZ$134 (US$85). Last year the same thing happened with a popular toy (Lego Boost) and we ended up ordering one from the US.
Gifts sent from the US likely aren’t going to happen this year. The shipping costs are CRAZY. Instead, I’ve given family and friends a short list of sites here that they can make purchases from and a suggestion for some experiences we would like to do. The online shopping (which are really just the big conglomerated shopping sites similar to Amazon) list includes:
Black Friday is getting bigger. Our first year in New Zealand we found a few black Friday sales, but this year it is noticeably bigger. Its funny though, people keep asking why its called Black Friday, and there are mixed reactions when they find out it is yet another American export (kind of like Halloween.) If you are looking for deals - or want deals to send to friends and family overseas - it looks like all of the big chains will have sales this week, including:
Don’t forget about the Airpoints Mall where you can earn up to 6 Airpoints Dollars per $100 spent until December 22. Many of us aren’t travelling much, so it is easy to forget about the Airpoints Mall and how easy it is to collect bonus points that someday we’ll be able to use for a fabulous international trip. If you’re unfamiliar with all of the ways to get Airpoints, I’ve got a good overview here.
Finally, this is a friendly reminder that the material aspect of Christmas doesn’t feel as all consuming and big here in New Zealand as it does in the United States. I know I’ve put a lot of information out there about where to get gifts, but experiences are many people’s preferences.
