Two views Two holiday shoppers

One woman braved the mall with her young kids, while another sat back and shopped online. Here’s why both will be sticking to their strategies next season

I’ve gone retro with my Christmas shopping this year, and I’m not talking about the types of gifts I’ve bought.

I mean I shopped old-school, live in-person, exchanging cash for gifts-in-hand. I strolled the halls with my peppermint mocha and indulged the kids in food court junk food. We stood awestruck in the presence of Santa, and actually — shockingly — had fun. In fact, it was so refreshing to go offline that I think I’ll do it again next year.

Let me preface this by admitting I was an early adopter of the online-is-the-only-way-to-shop mentality. “I did all my shopping in my PJs from the comfort of my couch!” I remember boasting to my mother. Anything to avoid the mall, anything to save me time.

But it never really saved me time. I spent hours scouring the web for the gifts my loved ones had asked for. An $80 pair of jeans would double in price thanks to cross-border shipping and the terrible exchange rate, and that’s if the company would even ship to Canada.

So I would shop around, compare prices, open a thousand screens at one time and curse the heavens. Just for one present. Then I’d do it again and again and again.

Last year was the last straw — the year the magic of shopping online died for me.

I watched as our recycling bin overflowed with cardboard from mail-delivered gifts that were only going to be rewrapped in new packaging. We ordered a roll of wrapping paper that came in a box meant for a yoga mat. A pair of kids’ pants came in a plastic bag in a box, in a box, in a box filled with foam peanuts.

Presents also came piecemeal. Three pairs of socks ordered from the same store, being shipped from the same warehouse in Mississauga, showed up in three individual boxes over the course of a week.

Then there were the gifts that never showed up. My husband opened three IOU gifts on Christmas morning. I opened two. A pair of earrings he had ordered in November showed up in February.

So this year I vowed not to buy a single gift online. Thinking it would be overwhelming, I started early. When I saw something — even if it was July — I bought it.

Then, a couple weeks ago, after taking stock of the people I had yet to shop for, I asked them for a wish list of gifts that could be bought in town and inperson, and braved the crowds.

Listen, I hate malls, slow-moving gaggles of people and Mariah Carey Christmas music as much as anyone. But somehow I got swept up in the mall trees, Salvation Army bell ringers and festive coffee shop beverages — and shopping actually felt like fun.

My day-of strategy was to get there when the mall opened. I grabbed a stroller-shopping cart for my preschooler and toddler, got them each a hot chocolate and myself a coffee, and hit up Indigo because its inventory is so varied, nabbing gloves for my sister-in-law, a book for my brother and a box of crafts for my niece. Then I strolled the mall, stopping once at the family play area so the kids could run bonkers, and ended at Shoppers Drug Mart, picking up gift cards for anyone left on my list.

It was fun because I made it fun — I didn’t rush, I let the kids watch the iPad, eat Godiva chocolate and spend $10 on trinkets from Claire’s. I went before the December madness, I wasn’t under pressure and half of my presents had been purchased earlier in the year.

Were there a couple of arched back, flailing meltdowns from the kids? Yep. But they would have had done that in the living room, too. Did I have to listen to at least three Mariah Carey songs? I did, unfortunately. Was I exhausted by the end of it? Sure was.

But I came home at 4 p.m., with my shopping done and every present in my possession.

I brought reusable bags so there was no superfluous packaging. I don’t have to spend the next six weeks tracking gifts online, warning my husband not to look at the labels of parcels sitting on our doorstep. Our shared laptop isn’t full of ads for the products I just bought him online and I didn’t blow my budget on shipping and exchange rates.

I get shopping online if you work crazy hours, don’t have a car or the bulk of your presents are for people out of town. But it’s not the fast, hassle-free experience I once thought it was.

Returning to the mall last weekend with my 1-year-old to visit Santa, I realized this was the first time in years I actually enjoyed buying gifts for the people I love.

And isn’t that the point?