How To Battle The Christmas Sales Shopping

Generally the prospect of post Christmas sales tends to terrify me. The sheer notion that anyone would actively choose to leave their festive cocoon of warmth, happiness and food to queue at 6am on St.Stephen's Day for a 10% discount off a telly is just baffling to me. I tend to be more of a chancer when it comes to sales, nonchalantly swanning into town a few days later in the hopes that I might nab a bargain without getting trampled by mob of angry shoppers still in pursuit the elusive Elsa doll.

This year was much the same. Armed with some vouchers from doting relatives, I was city centre bound- hopeful of purchasing a new item of clothing or two. However, the scenes that greeted me in town were apocalyptic. Despite having waited a few days for the madness to die down, town was still mobbed (dashing my hopes of being the only one to have had this idea). There were throngs of people in every direction, with the majority of shops looking like battlegrounds comprising of broken rails, heaps of clothes and shattered salespeople. I circled on the periphery for a while, ambling down Henry Street and popping into Jervis Street to survey the scenes without fully engaging. To my surprise even Penney's, which is normally Mecca for shoppers on a budget, had massive signs in their windows declaring that they had reductions on stock. My apprehension mounted, as I wondered what scenes of carnage may await within.

I felt compelled to delve into the madness. Shoppers had a glint in their eyes as they filtered through rack after rack of mismatched items of clothing with manic precision, emerging triumphant when they finally located something of interest. There was something entrancing about their frantic movements, and I wanted to join them. Fast forward three hours later, and to my surprise with minimal spending I had managed to acquire quite a lot of shopping bags from various high street stores. Granted, my feet felt like they were about to fall off and my head was spinning from stuffy air-con and over-heated stores, but I had emerged victorious!

But how did I manage to do so and how did this rapid turnaround occur? The following factors seriously helped my sales shopping experience… Determination or a certain sense of focus is required. A list of items you're hoping to find will make culling the shops a lot easier, browsing has no place here. A cut-throat attitude is also crucial, you said you wanted a sensible black coat but what you're walking to the till with is a bright pink poncho you will wear once – don't do it! Dressing sensibly on the day using just the right amount of layers so that you aren't freezing when outdoors but sweating when indoors, you don't want to be the shopper who faints and gets carted off in an ambulance. On that note, hydration is key - a bottle of water is your best friend in these strenuous shopping conditions. As is a teeny tiny snack in your bag – perfect for when your energy is waning, you're getting hangry and you don't think you can go any further, yet you're only halfway through the shops.

With a celebratory trip to Bunsen to take a weight off and re-energise, I assessed my purchases as I smugly sipped on a Fanta... I had conquered the sales! There's still plenty of gems to be found amongst the mess, so get out there and start searching. Sure don't we all love a challenge?