It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Remember last year when you left your Christmas shopping until the last minute? When you had to deal with the crowded shops, limited selection, and minimal time to search for deals? The panic you felt when you found yourself with just one day to pick out the perfect gift? You promised yourself that next year would be different. Well, guess what – it’s next year! Hit the shops early this time around to maximize your chances of finding that special item.

How do you know what to give your Neofriends for Christmas? Hopefully you have been paying attention all year, and know a lot about the things that they like to do on Neopets. If that’s the case, you should already have a lot of ideas in mind. If not, well what are you waiting for? It’s time to do a little snooping to find out what hobbies and events your friends enjoy!

Browse your Neofriends userlookup for any hints to what they might like. Have a look at their gallery to see if they have any themed collections. Look through their stamp album to see if they appear to be collecting stamps for any of the album pages. Most importantly, just pay attention to things they say – read the comments they post on boards or in guilds, taking note of things they like, things they might be collecting, teams they are supporting, or items they have mentioned saving up for. Work within your budget, be creative, and think about what will make your Neofriend happy.

Let’s start off by talking about what you should NOT buy for your Neofriends. There really are an endless amount of horrible ideas out there, but here we will take a look at a few examples of gifts you should definitely avoid giving this year:

• Last year’s advent calendar items – that just screams cheapskate.
• ‘Smelly Sock’ – really, any socks are a bad gift idea. These ones are particularly bad.
• ‘Woollen Socks Knitting Set’ – socks are an even worse idea if they have to make them themselves.
• ‘Bag of Coal’ – would you like to find that under your tree?
• Anything made of dung or snot. Unless your friend collects gross things, this is a bad plan.
• ‘Stack of Tax Return Forms’ – who wants to think about that at Christmas?
• Any bobblehead doll – the gift itself isn’t horrible, but have you ever tried to wrap a moving bobblehead doll? The bobbling heads rip the wrapping paper, so they’ll know what it is as soon as they see it. Not good if you wanted it to be a surprise.
• ‘Thief-in-a-Box’ – that’s just mean, they’ll steal your friends stuff every time they pop out.
• ‘Rock Christmas Cookie’ – Christmas cookies are great gifts, but not these ones that will break your friend’s teeth.
• ‘Christmas Pile of Soot’ – even though it’s cute soot, let’s face it, it’s still soot.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a minute and talk about gifts that your Neofriends would love to receive. Here are some examples:

For The Pet Lover:

Search for items related to your Neofriends favourite pet. For example, if your friend loves Grarrls, you could consider giving them a ‘Giant Red Grarrl Commemorative Mug’. The mug celebrates the species, also happens to be red and green so it’s festive, and most importantly, they can use it to drink their Neggnogg throughout the holidays. If your friend is more of a Cybunny lover, what better gift than an actual Cybunny? Give your friend a ‘Magical Blue Cybunny Plushie’ and they can have another Cybunny of their own.

For The Stamp Collector:

Take a look through your Neofriends stamp album and see if you can find any stamps that they are missing from their collection that are within your price range. If they are true stamp lovers, you can also consider a ‘Stamp Doormat’, or a ‘Stamp-shaped Pillow’ that they can use in their Neohome. They might also really enjoy a ‘Rare Stamps’ book to read to their neopet, or a fun Stamp Puzzle to play with.

For The Battledomer:

Codestones are always great gifts for Battledome fighters, as most of them actively train their pets. You could also get them a new weapon to try out with their neopet. If you are buying for your best Neofriend and your budget is higher, you could get them a whole set of codestones, or a nice reusable weapon. Make sure to check your friends pet stats to know which types of codestones they will need – basic codestones are pointless if their pet requires the red ones.

For The Book Worm:

There are an endless amount of books available that you could give your Neofriend. Search for books on topics that interest them, such as books about their favourite petpet, or favourite Neopian land. A large variety of books are available in every price range, so there is no shortage of options for you. What about a ‘Vandagyre Bookmark’ to help them hold their place in their new books? Why not give them a gift to display their collection in the library of their Neohomes, such as an ‘Elegant Wooden Bookcase’ or ‘Curvy Book Shelf’?

For The Customization Addict:

Have a look at your Neofriends pets and buy them some clothing made specifically for their species. Pick out your favourite outfit that you would love to see their pet wear. Backgrounds always make great gifts as well. Any background that you think they would love and will look good with their pet is a good choice. If you are feeling festive, you could buy them a nice Christmas themed background, such as the lovely ‘Holiday Home Background’.

For The Avatar Collector:

Buy your Neofriend a good book to read on the subject, like a copy of 'Avatar Collector Guide'. Find out what avatars they still need, and search for items that you can give to help them increase their count. Buy them a paint brush that will paint one of their pets a colour needed for an avatar that they don’t have yet. Buy them a stamp that they are missing in an avatar album collection. Buy them a nerkmid that they can take to the vending machine and hope that an avatar colour paint brush comes out. If they’ve never used the vending machine before, they will also get an avatar for depositing their first nerkmid.

For The Gamer:

Buy your Neofriends some fun gaming furniture, like a ‘Snowmuncher Side Table’ or a ‘Hungry Skeith Bean Bag’ to spruce up their Neohomes. How about a ‘Dicearoo Replica Trophy’ for the shelves in their den? If they are not the furniture type, how about a ‘Turmac Roll Play Set’ or a ‘Meerca Chase Plushie’ for their pets to play with? If you know what their favourite games are, there are a lot of options out there for you.

Now that you have decided what gifts to get your neofriends on the list, it’s time to get shopping!

Don’t forget your final chance to buy gifts in the Neopian shops on “Half Price Day”. Everything is sold at a 50% discount in all Neopian shops on the 3rd day of every month. The last one before Christmas will be on December 3rd, so clear your calendar and plan to be there. Make sure your neopoints are ready to spend and that you are prepared to get the best deals. Do your homework ahead of time so you know what items you are looking for when the shops restock. If you are not a frequent restocker, practice beforehand so that you are quick enough to get what you want when the time comes. There are plenty of guides available to help you with tips on restocking if you need help.

If you don’t feel like braving the Neopian shops, you can also spend some time searching through user shops. Search for the items you are looking for using the Shop Wizard (or if you’re a Premium member, the Super Shop Wizard), and have a lot of patience. If you search often enough, eventually you just might find a great deal on the gift you are buying. You can also use the Trading Post and the Neopian Auctions to find everything on your list. Since you are starting early this year, you have a lot of time to find the right items at the best possible prices.

Remember that your budget is not important – you can be creative at any price. It’s the thought that counts, and your Neofriends are your Neofriends for a reason… they’re probably really nice and will love whatever you end up choosing for them.

Best of luck with your shopping, and Merry Christmas!