How often have you found yourself killing time by scrolling through Facebook and Instagram when faced with a few spare minutes of downtime? Pretty often, we bet.
It’s no surprise that Australians spend hours researching and planning for Christmas, and according to new research, we spend five times more hours planning than celebrating the actual day.
But what if those tiny snatches of downtime each day could be used more productively?
With that in mind, four Mamamia writers had $300 loaded into their PayPal accounts and were then given the enviable challenge of completing their Christmas shopping over 24 hours – but only on their mobile during brief moments of spare time.
Here’s what happened:
1. The 20-something: Alexis Carey.
As a typical Gen Y, I’m pretty much joined at the hip to my smartphone. Every spare second is spent on social media or reading the news – so I was pretty excited to be given this task.
First up – my sister, who is planning a trip overseas. While waiting for my iron to heat up in the morning before work, I logged into the Bags to Go website and with a couple of clicks I had bought her a suitcase for $139.95.
Next was the boyfriend. While it’s not my idea of a fun Christmas present, he is a keen cyclist – so I visited the Wiggle cycling website later that day while waiting for a work meeting to start. There I snapped up a couple of bike-y things for $144.20 all up. Easy.
Top Comments
The skill is getting presents under a tight budget, that aren't horrible. Spending $100 plus on items mentioned above is easy. Unfortunately most have so many people (family, friends, carers) to buy for that the money is spread thin. So tell me about awesome gifts you've found under $15 that don't involve food, candles or wine and then you'll have my full attention.
my husband and I have for years bought a present for our self, wrap it up and I give the present my husband has wrapped to him and vice versa. It is great to see what my partner loved enough to buy since we can really afford what ever small thing we want at any time in the year.
we used to do the same for birthdays but lately (retired) our birthday gift is a lovely meal out.