The holidays can be a stressful time. Dinners to cook, decorations to hang, guests to host, gifts to wrap, school parties to make treats for, events to attend, gifts to buy, coordinating with family…uh I’m sure I’m missing some things but you get the idea. Here’s some tips to decrease some of the holiday stress:
1. Does your gift shopping list include all your nieces and nephews, great uncle Bob, grandma, your bother Joe’s new girlfriend (because she’ll be at the party and it ‘s just not right if she doesn’t get a gift too) on top of buying for your own kids and spouse. Consider doing a family name draw. Everyone buys for one person rather than everyone buying for 17 people. You can set a price limit too. Everyone still gets a gift but it’s a lot less stressful and affordable.
2. Set a budget and stick to it. You know what budget works best for you. Set a limit for each person and stick to it.
3. Take advantage of gift wrap services when available. Some stores will offer free gift wrap or gift wrap for a nominal fee. It will look great and save you time. Our local Boscov’s department stores offers free gift wrap all year round when you buy a gift in their store. Ran out of gift wrap? Don’t sweat it, check out this post I did last year for Parade Magazine’s website on last minute gift wrap ideas.
4. Ask your significant other, family members, or even your kids (if they’re old enough) to email you their wish lists/gift ideas. That way if you forget a written list while you’re out you can pull them up on your phone.
5. If you’re not quite sure what to get your recipient there are lots of lists specific to hobbies, careers, and more online. Just search your phone for things like “gift ideas for the new driver” and you’ll have a stream of ideas at your finger tips.
6. Shopping online is an easy way to avoid long lines, avoid searching for parking spaces, and forego dealing with rude people but delayed shipping can cause stress. If you’re worried that you or your recipient won’t receive the gift on time. Opt for quicker shipping when possible.
7. Oh no, you’re getting ready to head out the door to the family party and you realized you forgot to get somebody a gift! You can buy an egift card online, print it out and put it in an envelope. If all else fails, cash is always the rights size.
