Shopping For Christmas in Spain
If the UK commercialised Christmas exhausts you and you plan to spend Christmas in Spain as an alternative, you will be relieved to find out that the Spanish Christmas traditions are nowhere near as Americanised as ours in the UK. On the contrary, most Spanish Christmas customs are in keeping with Spain’s strong catholic influence and families still go to church and even participate in singing Spanish Christmas carols.
Having said that, there are lots of expats who cannot help but associate Christmas with Father Christmas, mince pies and a build up that begins at least three months before. It is these expats that find Christmas in Spain just a tad disappointing. Okay, Spain might have their distinctly Spanish Christmas customs such as The Three Kings and the Belen, which is one of the major Spanish Christmas traditions, but it isn’t Christmas as we know it. For this reason, many expats fly back to the UK to spend it with family, and if you book far in enough advance you can get some good deals on flights.
If you decide to spend Christmas in Spain, it is hard to get into the Christmas spirit until the very last minute as there isn’t the build up in the high street that we are used to. This can be dangerous as all of sudden Christmas jumps upon you and you are totally unprepared in a country where you don’t know where to start with Christmas shopping. As a result, you run out of time and before you know it you are rushing around making expensive panic buys.
So what can you do to avoid leaving it too late and wasting money buying expensive things jut for the sake of having a present to hand over?
- Start making a list as early as September
- Think about who you are going to buy presents for and set a budget for each person.
- Find out what they like and more importantly don’t like so you don’t buy things that will end up in the charity shop or worse, the bin!
- Have a general idea about what kind of present you are going to buy.
Be on the lookout
- Do not waste time, petrol and consequently money going out of your way looking for specific presents. The best thing to do is be on the lookout for gifts as you go about your daily life. For example, you might be in the supermarket and spot a nice pair of pyjamas (even better if they’re on sale) or a special offer DVD, buy them and out them away.
- If you go away for a weekend on a city break you are bound to come across lots of new and interesting shops. If you live in Andalucia, shopping in Malaga, Seville and Granada is great.
- You can pick up authentic little gifts in some of the villages inland if you are exploring.
- Pick up boxes of chocolate when you do your supermarket shopping just in case you forget someone or for your child’s class teacher.
- Be on the lookout for cheap flights online and treat a relative or friend to a trip out to visit you for Christmas.
- As you buy things make a list of what you have bought so you don’t forget about what you already have.
When to Shop
Never go Christmas shopping at the weekend. Although, it never gets as hectic as the UK, Spanish shopping centres do get busy and for some reason queues at cash points tend to move painfully slowly. Also it can become more difficult to park adding to the stress of Christmas shopping. Head for the shops either first thing in the morning or during lunchtime (2-4), although only shops in shopping centres and major supermarkets will be open then. Use the weekends for wrapping presents and online shopping.
Where to Shop
- When you go to the market for your fruit, have a look at some of the other stalls. Look out for pretty costume jewellery and Peruvian handicrafts that make lovely Christmas presents.
- Buy gifts by catalogue or over the Internet. A catalogue that we are used to in the UK, La Redoute also delivers in Spain. Amazon are great for Christmas shopping and they even offer a gift wrap and delivery service, perfect for UK friends and family.
- The easiest is to try to do as much as possible under one roof. For example a large supermarket such as Eroski in Miramar, Fuengirola or Alcampo in La Cañada will have everything from DVDs to Toys. This saves time, petrol and leg work.
- For stocking fillers have a look in the Chinese bazaar type shops and the Euro shops, they are great for the following:
It is unbelievable how much you can pick up for 20 euros in these shops. The toys are much cheaper than even the markets and often better quality if you look for wooden rather than plastic.
How to Shop
- Do a bit at a time. Do not spend entire days on a desperate hunt for gifts as you will end up tired and fed up. Do it at your leisure. However, the later you leave it the more impossible it is to do this.
- Make it a pleasant experience by stopping for a coffee or lunch. Maybe even pick up a couple of gifts for yourself. Although not a very cost effective one, I like the one gift for someone one gift for me rule!
- Look out for inexpensive unisex gifts to have on hand just in case you need to give a last minute gift out. If you don’t use it, it can always be used as a birthday present next year.
Reuse What You Have
- You might have received something during the year that might not be quite you but would be perfect for someone else you know e.g. book or perfume.
- If you are feeling really thrifty, hold on to bits and bobs throughout the year and put them away in a plastic box or shoe box. This could be anything such as decorative boxes, tissue paper, birthday cards that you can cut the pictures out to make gift tags, ribbon, even used wrapping paper providing it isn’t too wrinkled..
Use Your Talents
If money is tight you may have to have a think about what skills you can make use of. Try some of the following:
- Okay I know it’s sunny Spain but it does get chilly in the winter especially indoors!So get knitting scarves, bags, jumpers to give as presents. You can buy wool for cheap in the markets and the Chinese bazaars.
- Gift vouchers. I am not talking about shop bought vouchers; I mean favour vouchers such as the following:
- Anybody with young children would appreciate a babysitting voucher.
- If you are a neat freak you can organise a friend’s wardrobe as a present.
- If you know Spanish, you can give an hour’s Spanish lesson.
- If you are into IT, you can give a lesson.
- Hairdressing.
- Manicures, massages etc
- DIY.
- Everybody has something they can offer just use your imagination.
- Get baking. If you make your own Christmas puddings and cakes to give as presents, even better in Spain where they are expensive gold dust.