Take your money and run to the discounts at SoHo

Finally, the holiday season is upon us. This means we have to take all of the money we earned selling sweaters to Belgian tourists or serving over priced cheeseburgers to the residents of the Upper East Side to then purchase momentous and well thought out presents for those select loved ones in our life.

For the economically strained and unemployed, however shopping for the holidays won’t be so easy.. “This Christmas people are going to have to buy less, but more meaningful things,” sophomore Eric Pagan said.

Luckily, we may not have to put that much thought into the gift giving process since each year every single retail store is pressured to comp and go beyond last year’s sales, which means many stores are offering great deals on items you can definitely buy as a gift and still be saving some of your hard earned cash.

If you were feeling brave enough to risk a stampede of crazed New Yorkers, shopping on Black Friday would have been a great opportunity to check off some people who may have been on your shopping list.

According to the National Retail Federation Black Friday Survey, conducted by BigResearch, 195 million shoppers across the United States took advantage of sales offered throughout the weekend with the total number of sales reaching $41.2 billion.

If you did not want to wrestle with 195 million people all trying to buy one Easybake oven for their niece you consider the day after Thanksgiving a day for television and napping. Not for long lines and sales associates with attitudes.

For all of those who still need to manage buying presents for your loved one without breaking the bank a great shopping destination for you is SoHo where many retail stores offer sales and promotions daily.

First off, it is important to have a budget and prioritize the people you have to buy a gift for. For example, you should always buy a nicer gift for your close family members then for distant ones or someone for whom you were forced into a Secret Santa thing.

Like freshman Michael Zona a well thought out budget is always the first thing he thinks about. “My budget this year is very limited, I’m a student so I can only work part time so for my family and friends the total I can spend is $400, $500 tops,” Zona said.

If your budget is less than Zona’s, you can still afford to shop.. One thing all religions, ethnicities and political parties have always been able to agree on is free is always better and a lot of stores offer a free gift with a purchase over a certain amount.

At Banana Republic, a free set of scented candles is given with the purchase of a large sized fragrance and at White House Black Market, a free large tote is given with any purchase, although it may seem a little cheap gifting things you received for free but it’s also important to remember that it is the thought that counts.

Even sophomore Colette Castellano realized that shopping at the places with the best sales that may offer free incentives is best.

“I find the best sales at Macy’s and sometimes they even give away extra merchandise when you make a large enough purchase.” Castellano said. Among all of these little give-a-ways are extraordinarily generous sales that offer a buy one get one deal.

At the Gap, if you purchase one men’s or women’s top you get the second 50 percent off.

Also, if you are purchasing for someone in the high school age range, American Eagle is having a sale where if you buy one sweater or hoodie, get the second 50 percent off.

For your trendy friends and hipster siblings, Urban Outfitters has a large range of merchandise for sale such as 30 percent off a selection of Outerwear, $50 blazers for women, $30 hoodies for men and a large selection of graphic tees and Skippy’s from $10 dollars and under.

At the amazingly underpriced and current Uniqlo is conveniently celebrating their 25th Anniversary by having 25 days of 25 different promotions on a large selection of clothing.

At everyone’s favorite discount store H&M is offering a number of new merchandise at 50 percent off and with their new Jimmy Choo for H&M line, this deal should not be missed. Like H&M, there are some stores that always offer great deals. “I love Forever 21, they are always cheap!” sophomore Samantha Bassford said.

Even designers such as Kenneth Cole and Hugo Boss are offering reduced prices of their winter lines and D&G by Dolce and Gabana is offering 40 percent off their winter 2009/2010 line.

If designer stuff is not a viable gift option, sophomore Liz Crouse recommends, “Target is very affordable and they always sell great stuff.”

Other nice sales that may spark some gift ideas of your own would be 50 percent off at Aldo shoes, 25 percent all outerwear at Armani Exchange or buy one and get one 50 percent off at LTB jeans. One last great tip for holiday shopping is to go to your favorite stores’ Web sites and sign up to become an “insider.”

It is a way to say that you will receive notice through email about when new merchandise is available, but you will also be offered coupons and sales exclusively for insiders.

Such as the friends and family coupon sent by Rugby by Ralph Lauren, which features a discount 25 percent off a pair of jeans though this is the season for giving it’s still very important to treat yourself.