Giving gifts during the holidays is a wonderful way to express love to family and friends. But how do you make sure everyone gets what they want, without stressing at the last minute? De-stress your holiday giving with these tips.
Write Gift Ideas Down
Why try to keep a mental list of gift ideas when you can write them down? Save yourself the brainpower and jot presents down as you think of them throughout the year.
Keep the list in one place, and when it comes time to shop, you’ll know exactly what to get.
Check things off the list as you purchase them, so you don’t double-buy something because you forgot you got it months ago!
Encourage Re-Gifting
It’s easy to go overboard during the holidays and buy too much stuff, which creates waste and unnecessary clutter—and not just for you, but for gift recipients! Before you shop, look around at what you already have. If you got a great book for your birthday that you know your sister would love to read, re-gift it! Things don’t need to be new to be great gifts.
Encourage others to re-gift, too. Let your friends and family know that you would treasure used items just as much as brand new ones. Lead by example, and normalize re-gifting as a great way to cut down on waste and get items to the right person.
The holidays can be a wonderful(ly stressful) time of year! There’s family to connect with, decorations to put up, and gifts to arrange. With so many moving parts, how are you supposed to keep track of everything? Plan, plan, plan!
Start Early
Think back to a time when you and your family made last-minute holiday plans. Is your blood pressure going up? The solution is simple (if not always easy): start early.
There’s a reason I’m posting this in early October, and that’s to give you time to get your ducks in a row. After all, it takes a special kind of person to enjoy last-minute gift shopping, or booking a flight when you know a few months ago it would have been cheaper!
If you want to see your family in December, look at tickets a few months beforehand (hint: that’s now). When you opt for refundable tickets, there’s no harm in grabbing that flight early. It’s a lot less expensive, too!
Make a Gift List
Keep an eye out year-round for gift ideas. Jot them down in a dedicated list, even if it’s June! You don’t need to go out and buy the gift right away, especially if you live in a smaller space that doesn’t have room to store presents for months. But it’s nice to have ideas down on paper, in an app, or in a spreadsheet. When it comes time to shop, you know what to get.
I have seen many, many storage spaces stuffed full of holiday decorations that are only used once a year. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have decorations—decorating is one of the best parts of the holidays! But there are ways to decorate that don’t take up your whole garage when you’re done.
Use organizers
The boxes that ornaments come in are usually flimsy and difficult to repack neatly. Recycle them and use a tote to keep all your ornaments in one safe place. Ornament keeper storage totes are a good way to keep fragile ornaments safe when they’re in storage, and consolidate space. This one offers three removable tiers of ornament storage
Tree storage bags are great for artificial trees. Specifically designed to hold each part of your tree tightly, they reduce storage space and keep your tree free of dust and damage, so you can use it year after year.
Repack carefully
One of the best ways to reduce holiday purchases is to take care of the items you already have. Storing things properly ensures you don’t have to re-purchase broken decorations, and can use them for years.
When it’s time to take down the decorations, pack your items with care. By “with care” I mean in such a way that they won’t break, and also with an eye on ways to save space. Packing all the wrapping paper in one place ensures you don’t have to go hunt for it next year.
The holidays are a time for friends and family to get together and celebrate with annual traditions. How do you get the most out of your family traditions? I have a few tips here to help make holiday traditions more fun and more meaningful.
Family traditions are FUN
The more somber traditions we take part in this time of year are certainly important. But it’s also important to have some fun with your family!
You can make a paper pickle if you prefer!
Family traditions are a great way to enjoy the holidays and bring your family closer together, and they’re as unique as you are. Some families celebrate The Christmas Pickle, hiding a pickle-shaped ornament in the Christmas tree. The child who finds the Christmas Pickle first gets an extra present. Some families break the turkey’s wishbone after dinner for good luck. You can use traditions that already exist like these, or come up with your own.
Sometimes traditions evolve over time by themselves. Different families celebrating the same holiday will always do something a little different. If your family celebrates Hannukah, do you include gifts or not? Even the time you eat a holiday meal can be a tradition that develops over time.
Giving gifts during the holidays is a wonderful way to express love to family and friends. But how do you make sure everyone gets what they want, without stressing at the last minute?
Write gift ideas down
Why try to keep a mental list of gift ideas when you can write them down? Save yourself the brainpower and jot presents down as you think of them throughout the year.
Keep the list in one place, and when it comes time to shop, you’ll know exactly what to get.
Check things off the list as you purchase them, so you don’t double-buy something because you forgot you got it months ago!
