Transcripts

November 25, 2003:
Holiday Shopping Ideas
Interview with Katherine Harris, Babson College Marketing Professor

Katherine Harris:
Calendars are perfect. There are, there's a calendar for almost every occasion; and for somebody that's got absolutely no room in their house…they've got everything…they need a calendar every year.

Katherine Harris, assistant professor of marketing at Babson College in Massachusetts has some good ideas to make holiday gift shopping easier and more fun. Rule number one…don't put it off.

Many people I think believe that it's going to be a terrible experience and so they keep putting it off. But really if you start early, it can be actually a pleasant experience, believe it or not. Because people are still in a good mood, they're not frazzled yet, you're not fighting for clerks' attention, and there's more items for you to choose from.

And Katherine says it's always a good idea to keep some generic gifts on hand.

Imagine that your next-door neighbor shows up with a gift, and you've got nothing for him or her. If you've got in the closet, you know a nice bottle of wine or a box of candy, then you can say "Oh, well you know, here's your gift!" Another thing too, is that children will invariably tell their parents the night before that they need a gift for an exchange at school tomorrow. And if you've got some kid gifts in a drawer, it could be a real lifesaver. My favorite for the children is the "Tootsie Roll Banks." Kids love to get those, they're inexpensive; they last forever. Any kind of Christmas decorative items always works for a gift at the last minute.

At somethingyoushouldknow.net, I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.