Time to Finish your Holiday Shopping!

December 15th already?! How did that happen? This means Christmas is only 10 days away. Less than a week and a half to finish (or start) your holiday shopping. Despite this month absolutely blowing by, I am about 99% done with my holiday shopping. I thought I was done last night until I remembered another gift I still need to purchase. Why does that always happen just when I think I’m finished?!

I made some major progress on my shopping last week at Tempe Marketplace. If you been to Tempe Marketplace before then you already know this giant outdoor shopping center has almost every store we could need or want to finish our list. Heck, I’m pretty sure Santa outsources things to Tempe Marketplace when his elves are sick. That’s why it was a no-brainer when Tempe Marketplace reached out and asked if I’d like to collaborate on a post this holiday season. I don’t live too far from Tempe and I had a lot of holiday shopping to do. I’m in.

My entire family (husband and kids included) decided to make a trip to Tempe Marketplace and do a little shopping. Now, let me be honest. I prefer to shop without kids whenever possible. However, the fact we had a 1:1 kid to adult ratio, I knew we could still make some progress with the kids in tow. Plus I’d rather spend my money on gifts than childcare, so here we are.

I love outdoor shopping centers for so many reasons. Fresh air always makes me feel better than walking around indoors. A little Vitamin D does a body good. Plus, there are a billion things around to keep the kids entertained. I swear they had a blast just walking around climbing on bike racks, fountains and benches. We are lucky here in AZ since most of the year we don’t have to worry about the elements. We had a gorgeous 70 degree and sunny day, which was perfect Christmas shopping weather if you ask me. Gotta love Arizona winter!

We started out by making a visit to the giant Christmas tree in the middle of the District. My kids spotted this beauty from the parking lot. It was huge and begging for photos to be taken in front of it. The tree alone really helped put us in the Christmas spirit. In case a tree isn’t enough for you, Tempe Marketplace also has nightly “snowfall” next to the tree. You know, machine made snow falling from the sky, which is as close to snow as we get in Phoenix. We missed the snow on this particular day, but my kids have seen it before and love it.

We then wandered over to H&M since it was right next to the giant tree. I think we miiiight had a little too much fun in that store. Like people in the fitting room wondering why we were laughing hysterically. I strongly considered showing you our fitting room photos, but the lighting was terrible. And some things are probably better kept to ourselves, like my son in zip-up tiger pajamas with a hood. I love H&M personally because it is affordable and has items for everyone in the family. We bought the kids a couple items to wear for the holidays, as well as a few gifts.

Next, we stopped in Charming Charlie. I always love their huge selection of accessories, plus the fact they are uber-affordable doesn’t hurt, either. I ended up buying the scarf I wore in China, which was perfect to keep this Arizona girl warm. We also strolled through Bath and Body Works, Barnes and Noble and Ulta before stopping by Nordstrom Rack.

Nordstrom Rack is by far one of my favorite places to shop. There I can get Nordstrom quality, brand-name items at a more affordable price. I found the cutest velvet pom pom Sam Edelmen shoes that were begging to live in my closet. I could have stayed in that store for a good hour or two, but my husband and kids weren’t quite as enthusiastic for discount designer goods as I was. Why didn’t I leave them at home again? Just kidding. Well, sort of. We then grabbed lunch at Bar Louie and stopped by Target. I failed to take any photos at either location because when food or Target is involved, everything else seems to no longer be important. Especially at Target. Just take my money.

Overall, we had such a great family day. It was one of those where we had a good balance between fun and productive. I can’t say that everyday, so I consider this one a huge holiday win.

Check out the full list of stores and restaurants on the Tempe Marketplace website, including all their fun holiday events. A number of stores even offer discounts for ASU students, which makes me wish I was still in college. Why didn’t my favorite stores do that back in the day?

Are you done with your holiday shopping? Let me know in the comments below!