Day 2591 - How to keep track of your online Christmas shopping

Apparently there's an app for everything, including keeping track of our Christmas shopping.

I prefer to keep track of my purchases the original old fashioned way.  A notebook and a pen.  Or for a middle-aged-fashioned way, with a speadsheet and email folders.  

But for those of you who like to keep everything on your phone, then there are a bunch of tech savvy options for keeping track of your online purchases.

In the old days you would just write up a list of people you were buying for, go shopping, jot down what you got them and hide the gift in a box or cupboard until Christmas, knowing exactly where it was and that it is what you hoped it would be.

These days as more and more purchases are made online it can be easy to forgot what you bought, where you bought it, when you bought it, when it's due to arrive, if it arrived and who you bought it for.  

For those of you who are device savvy, my research has come up with the following apps that help to keep track of your online Christmas shopping:

• Santa's Bag for iPhone: budget, plan, create lists and track progress.
• My Christmas Wishlist for iPhone or Android: let's your kids create their Santa wishlist which is magically emailed to you for you to then click and order online and/or share with family so they too know what to buy the kids
• GiftPlanner for iPhone: plan, stores and prices, purchase status, order and tracking numbers.
• The Christmas List for iPhone: budget, create lists, share lists, track, status, countdown 
• Slice for iPhone:  track and organise packages

For those of you who prefer the middle-aged-fashioned way here's how I keep track of my online purchases. 

• Keep track of emails: Set up an email folder titled "Christmas shopping 2016" to file purchase, tracking and status emails 
• Keep track of purchases:  In a note book or on a spreadsheet, jot down the person's name, what I bought, the website address and the date of purchase.  Leave space for status updates.
• Keep track of websites:  In my browser I set up a folder titled "Christmas Shopping 2016" and tag the websites I've bought from until Christmas is over.  That way if there are any issues I can access the website again quickly.
• Keep track of packages:  Monitor the status updates on email and record that in the notebook/spreadsheet.  If there has been no status update after a week or so, email/phone the company to check that the order was received. 
• Keep track of arrivals:  As soon as packages arrive, check the contents, ensure it is what you hoped it would be, tick it of off in your notebook/spreadsheet and wrap and label it ASAP.

I actually started my Christmas shopping this week with a bunch of online purchases. It's very easy to purchase and forget when your goods aren't actually within reach yet.  With my memory becoming more of a forgetory it's essential I have a system in place to keep an eye on my online shopping.

Do you purchase online?

How do you keep track of your Christmas shopping?

What systems or apps work well for you?

Are you old fashioned, middle-aged-fashioned or very much in the now?  

This post was inspired by Lyndall's Christmas linky.

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If you need to add children's books to your Christmas list,  the Cheer Chick Charlie bundle is now ready for purchase.  Includes all 8 books, 8 motivational postcards, 8 wristbands, the Cheer Chick Charlie Christmas mug, a bon bon and Christmas tree decoration.  

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