'Tis (almost) the season to be frugal
By Clarissa Nassar
With the economy still in a decline, many households are planning to have a more frugal holiday season. Group gifts, family baskets and re-gifting are a few of the ways families will budget to keep the holiday spirit alive this year.
Parents of more than one child are looking to larger gifts children can share. The “shared gift” message is a good one for marketers whose holiday season offerings don’t fit neatly into the inevitable "gifts under $50" stories. The Disney Netpal is one buy that caught my eye. It's for children ages 3-12 years old, and features a spill-proof keyboard to help protect parents' investment.
Family time is always a staple of the holidays, making a basket with a special theme is one gift the entire family can appreciate. Companies such as Better Gifts & Gift Baskets have a wide selection of themes and also sizes.
Formerly a taboo, trends such as re-gifting are more socially acceptable according to an Ebay survey. Last year, 83 percent of adults said they received unwanted gifts. Forty-six percent of those re-sold or re-gifted those items. As many as 54 percent of adults are repeating that process this year with over half citing that the gifts are weren't their taste or they didn't think they would use much.
Sites like Wishlistr help to avoid the problem of receiving unwanted gifts at all. Users can collect, organize and share the things they are wishing for with family and friends. Many popular sites like Amazon have a wish list creator that can also be shared and a comparison tool reassures online shoppers they’re getting the best price. For the teens in your life, you can sign up for sites such as Shop it to Me and enter their favorite brands, stores and sizes. The site will send you email alerts when those items are on sale in your area.
While likely spending less money, moms will be spending more time researching holiday purchases—an opportunity for brands to get in front of moms planning a holiday season to remember.
Clarissa Nassar is a 360PR MomSquad member and is one of the Walmart Beyond Elevenmoms. She writes The Poshpreneur blog, and is an ambassador for Glamour magazine.
Lack of time still number one issue for moms
We asked a randomly selected group of our MomSquad members to weigh in on a recent survey by The Boston Consulting Group, the results of which point to time constraints as continuing to be the #1 challenge for women today.
' If [a mom] works outside the home there is a pretty good chance she wakes up first, preps the kids, and gets home to make dinner.'
"Women carry the burden of not just household duties, but worry more about children’s health and social progress,” says Kadi Prescott, a mom of seven and the blogger behind Womb at the Innsane.
"Even when both my husband and I are home on a weekend day, I am making lunch, putting out clothes, cleaning up toys during nap,” says Jamie Adler-Palter, mom to a toddler in Lexington, Mass.
"The rat race for women is by far the worst. The 'duty' of childcare is always added onto the regular role a mom has, working or not. If she works outside the home there is a pretty good chance she wakes up first, preps the kids and gets home to make dinner,” says Nirasha Jaganath, a mother of two who writes the blog Mommy Niri.
"This quote [from the survey] rings especially true: 'Women say they need time for themselves, and they are willing to pay for help and agents of leverage, according to the findings.' I am always stealing time from housework, my day job, and anything else I can to spend more time with my family,” says Brenda Mulligan of Boston, a mother of two.
Moms make 'back-to-school' resolutions
Moms we talked to aren't waiting for New Year’s Day to start fresh. Spurred by the new school year, moms say fall is the perfect time for them to turn over a new leaf.
"Right now we’re focused on saving money to move into a bigger house, and at the same time being able to offer my child the best, such as enrichment classes."
Jamie Adler-Palter, Lexington, Mass.
"I have many things I want to accomplish but have given myself a few weeks to get back into the routine before I tackle them head on. The top ones are getting organized. The oven timer is my new best friend. I set it and focus on an organizing task until it beeps and then set it again for the next project. Living greener is another focus. I designated a bag for used batteries. We are looking into new energy-saving appliances. And I'm trying to use less plastic bags for my son's lunch—and faithfully carrying a reusable bag into any store I go into."
Carol Knight, Encinitas, CA
"Saving money is really my primary concern as I am unemployed and my husbands' job is less than secure. I’m tracking what we are spending, eating at home more, and limiting expenses on entertainment, clothing, and general items. I have been monitoring prices and buying more store brand items."
Adrienne Jacobson, Foxboro, Mass.
"My back to school resolutions for this year are to work on my time management skills, consistency in helping my kids study for tests and benchmarks, and sticking to a budget while learning to live without using credit cards (this is the hardest one by far since we have seven kids.) We have a set bedtime for the kids and only deviate on weekends. We have dubbed Thursdays test prep day. We do multiplication, spelling and history quizzes on a regular basis. I am asking for hand me downs, shopping sales and learning that we only buy needs not wants."
Kadi Prescott, Hesperia, CA
"My kids are not yet in school, but nonetheless I do make resolutions during this time of the year. Recycling and green living is THE hot issue right now. I am embarrassed to say we are behind the times in our recycling practices. One of my major resolutions for the fall is to work on this."
Brenda Mulligan, Boston, Mass.
Back to school means homework ... for moms?
Cale Nichols
As the school year gets underway, it's an abrupt jolt from the lazy days of summer to the hectic juggle of new schedules. Moms want time to get organized after having the kids around all summer, and at the same time we are bombarded with kids' fall activities, PTA and other school volunteering, and our own kids' education needs and homework. We grapple with how to make our lives a bit easier as we go through this yearly change. I constantly ask myself what I can do to keep it healthy, simple and fun for all of us.
What can marketers do to communicate to moms?
Testing 1,2, free. My kids love the stores that have free samples and it really helps me determine a purchase. Marketers can take it further – outside of the store – to reach moms where we live, participating in school or other community activities. Our school is hosting movie nights this fall, which seem like a natural opportunity for sampling healthy snacks.
As a mom on the receiving end, I believe this grass-roots, one-to-one connection really works. We probably won’t take time to fill out a survey, but if you want feedback we’ll chat with you for a few minutes. If we like it, rest assured, we’ll spread the word for you. Right now, moms in my circle are most interested in healthy products and products with educational value.
Where’s the mom? Tell us what you have when we are held captive at the doctor’s office or check-out line. Keep it simple, easy, fun, and then let my kid follow the dotted lines to turn it into a paper airplane. I swear it will stay in my car for days and I’ll remember you affectionately for entertaining my kid.
Cale Nichols is a member of the Southern Marin Mothers' Club. Her children are 3, 5 and 7.
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