Even with a longer sales season, Black Friday is still the biggest shopping occasion of the year for many. But the deals keep going after that day and Cyber Monday, so don’t miss out on solid saving opportunities during the last month of the year. Whether you need to shop for yourself or others, December has plenty of sales to take advantage of, and they can help you keep your budget intact.

Check out our guide on what to buy in December, but remember that not every deal will be a great one. We’ll tell you what you should wait to buy, as well!

The 8 Best Things to Buy in December

Green Monday Sale Items

Green Monday is a huge day for online sales that falls on the second Monday of December. If you aren’t burned out after all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday events, you can take advantage of this big shopping occasion. This year the holiday is on December 12, and should offer discounts ranging from 20% to 60% off. Categories on sale will include electronics, home improvement, and clothing, among others.

One of the most popular Green Monday sales last year came from Best Buy. The electronics retailer offered deals like up to $500 off select laptops, up to $875 off the latest iPhones, and up to $150 off headphones. Other big opportunities included the Home Depot Green Monday sale that took an extra 20% off furniture, bedding, kitchenware, and more via a coupon code. Of course, since eBay basically invented Green Monday, you won’t want to miss their sale. Last year, they discounted apparel, tools, headphones, holiday gifts, and other items during their event.

Gift Cards

Gift cards are great to buy any time of year, but especially in December. Not only do they make excellent presents when you have no idea what to get someone for the winter holidays, but they often include bonus perks during this month. These gift card deals are offered by a ton of restaurants and retailers, and usually involve purchasing a minimum amount in gift cards. Typically, it’s $25, $50, or $100, though sometimes it’s more. Buy that amount, and you’ll receive a bonus card for between $5 and $25, most likely. Some offers may also come with other freebies, like coupons for free meals.

These offers generally run through the holiday season, ending around Christmas or New Year’s Eve. The redemption period for a bonus offer typically doesn’t kick in until after the promotion ends, though, so don’t forget to use the perk at the right time!

Holiday Decor During & After Christmas Sales

In general, the best time to shop for holiday decor is the day after the holiday itself, and winter holiday items are no different. We can see early deals on these kinds of products around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but the very best discounts drop the day after Christmas.

While we may see deals for individual items during this time, expect the majority of the offers to be for clearance sales boasting deep discounts. Watch for general sales, like up to 75% off at Lowe’s, up to 80% off at Amazon, and at least 70% off at Macy’s.

Fall Clothing

Black Friday is huge for fall clothing, so we might not see as many deals in December as we do in November. But that doesn’t mean December is a wasteland. In fact, last December we listed nearly 1,400 clothing and accessory deals, with roughly 15% being Staff Pick-worthy; that means they were among our “best of the best” offers. Popular offers from December 2021 included up to 80% off at Uniqlo and up to 75% off at Nordstrom Rack.

Additionally, watch for deals like polo shirts from $6, dresses and Oxford shirts for as little as $7, sweaters from $12, and boots from $18. We expect to see rare sales, as well, like an extra 60% off at J.Crew, 70% off at J.Crew Factory, and 80% off at Frederick’s of Hollywood.

Tools

If you like gifting tools to friends and family — or even yourself — know that December is an excellent time to shop for these items. In November 2021, we saw nearly 470 tool deals, with only about 11% being Staff Pick-worthy. But the month after, we saw about a 10% increase in the number of tool deals overall; roughly 15% of them earned our Staff Pick badge.

Some of the most popular offers we saw last year included a Stanley sawhorse 2-pack for $20, a DeWalt 100-piece Flextorq set for $15, and an Ace 100-piece ratcheting screwdriver and bit set for $20. We also saw plenty of popular sales in December. Shoppers could get up to 44% off DeWalt 20V batteries and tools at Amazon, for example, and up to 49% off power tools at Lowe’s.

Victoria’s Secret Sale Items

The well-known lingerie brand offers up a summer and winter semi-annual sale each year, with the latter expected to begin in late December. It should start right after Christmas and run for a couple of weeks into January, providing plenty of opportunities to save on intimate favorites.

Last year, Victoria’s Secret offered 50% off more than 2,400 items, with fragrances and other beauty items starting at just $4, underwear priced as low as $4, and jewelry costing as little as $5. Plus, watch for swimwear to start at $6 and bras to be priced from $8.

Seasonal Produce

You might not think of seasonal produce as a great buy in December, but the cold temperatures don’t mean you’re out of luck when it comes to fresh fruits and veggies. Look for mandarin oranges, Meyer lemons, and kiwi to be at their peak. As for veggies, pick up wild mushrooms, beets, turnips, rutabagas, winter squash, collard greens, kale, kohlrabi, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and chestnuts to serve in your winter dishes. And if you want to shop local, check out this seasonal food guide to find out what’s in season in your area.

Wedding Dresses (Maybe)

This one isn’t a guarantee, but if you’re in the market for a wedding dress, then December might be a good time to shop. Designers tend to drop new collections in January, which means previous lines see discounts the month before. However, since engagements are popular around the holidays, some stores may hold off on dropping prices until January. Given that many future brides don’t shop for dresses immediately after getting engaged, though, this doesn’t mean we’ll see any cheaper deals in a month; if you’re ready to shop, start browsing for deals now.

And 4 Things NOT to Buy in December