PRO: by Sydney Miller

Shopping early is better than waiting until the last minute

In past years, a lot of people started Christmas shopping starting on Black Friday. However, this year people should start going Christmas shopping as soon as possible.

In normal years, people could get amazing deals on Black Friday and on Cyber Monday. This gave people time to get their Christmas shopping done early while saving money, but this year it could change.
There are many global supply shortages happening right now, and there is a worker shortage almost everywhere you go.
Supply ships have been sitting loaded full of precious commodities. The problem is that these ships aren’t being unloaded due to the lack of employees.
Another factor in why you need to shop early is that Black Friday deals this year could look different.
There could be shipping delays that last week, and let’s face it, no one wants to wait that long for things to come in before Christmas. These shipping delays cut down on the decision time you have to buy gifts and leave you stressing about receiving your package before the 24th.
If people wait until the third week in December to buy gifts, it is unlikely that they will come in on time. The gifts will likely come in late — even if the person pays for expedited shipping, which is an additional cost out of your pocket.
Also, with ordering gifts early, there is a better chance of the item being ordered to actually be in stock, and there may be a wider selection of products available.
In addition to the gifts coming in on time, people have more time to wrap the gifts, and there is more time to pick out thoughtful and meaningful gifts.
Doing Christmas shopping early makes the holiday season less stressful since it will be done early. Getting rid of the holiday stress early helps people better focus on the most important aspects of the holiday season.
This new stress-free season allows the focus to be on the preparation of the birth of Jesus Christ.
All of us remembering that leading up to Christmas Day, we are preparing for our Lord and our Savior, not stressing over gift shopping.
Being able to get gift shopping done early allows people to focus more on the true meaning of Christmas, an idea that we pay more attention to our faith and spending the holidays with our families.
It is better to do Christmas shopping early, rather than waiting until last minute, causing unnecessary holiday stress.

CON: by Madison Elliott

Shopping too early takes away from the present moment

The start date of the Christmas season is often debated, whether the season begins soon after Halloween, after Thanksgiving, or in the beginning of December. However when Christmas begins doesn’t matter; either way it is best to hold off shopping until closer to Christmas.

Recently, there has been a major delay in the supply chain for shipping from online shopping.
The pandemic is one of the reasons for this decline in shipping and the availability of products. Many people working in this chain have lost their jobs. Other economic issues have been striking these major companies within the last year, leaving this chain in shambles.
Online shopping has become extremely popular due to the pandemic when everything initially shut down, so the demand for online shopping has become overwhelmingly high for these distributors.
It is not worth the pain of worrying about shopping online or stressing to get all shopping done early due to this delay, so online shopping is not necessary.
Many people may look at the backup and think to rush and shop online with the same intentions of avoiding a delay or to allow time for a backup plan. That idea will then lead to even more delays with many orders coming in so quickly.
The stress of unknown shipping dates and what impacts delays will have made this idea tough.
Shopping closer to Christmas allows for better deals and ensures that shoppers can buy the most up-to-date present requests for family and friends.
Also, shopping later in-person adds a bonus to avoiding the online shopping shenanigans. In-person shopping allows for seeing items up close, testing sizes of clothing, being able to feel textures, see colors, and more. Items in stores can most often be bought right on the spot, so this does not impact a shopper as they are shopping.
Finally, early Christmas shopping takes away from people being in the present time. The struggle to shop early takes away the attention from what is happening in life’s present moments such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Homecoming that just recently happened in our JC community.
Early shopping rushes these outside aspects of life and the present seasons people are living in.
Although shopping early for Christmas presents leaves time for backup plans, it takes away from the events leading up to Christmas and the time people can share them.