Holiday tipping guide-Holiday Gifts
The easiest way to shop without hassle and stress is to shop early. Most of us use shopping as a way to get into the Christmas spirit, but it also promotes a stressful holiday season.
What types of gifts do we buy? Mostly, items that we think someone would like to have based on our tastes. The most meaningful gift is one that meets that person’s desire or need. If Cousin Susie is always running out of stamps or envelopes to write letters, a thoughtful gift would be a personal mail center complete with stamps, envelopes, and writing tools.
This type of thing can be purchased early in the year. As you find gifts that will suit a person, hide them in the closet or the garage where no one else would think to uncover them. Once November rolls around, pull everything together and begin wrapping. While everyone else is standing in line, you’ll be comfortable in the house with all of your gifts purchased and wrapped.
Another suggestion is a budget. We already have a general budget that accounts for Christmas gifts. The task now involves breaking down that larger sum of money into line items for individual people. Families can be grouped together and given one gift for everybody.
The point is not to spend all that you have, but to give a little something to everyone so they know that you care for them. Really, it doesn’t take much to satisfy someone. As long as the gift will be useful to them in some capacity, that is enough.
My family does a name exchange. With a name exchange, each adult in the family puts their name in a hat. Everyone picks a name (not their own) and that is the person they are responsible for buying a present. The family understands that they will only receive one gift unless the person with their name wants to get them more than one.
Each person participating in the name exchange will write, under their name, three things that they would like to have for Christmas. The monetary limit for the gift is set by the person buying the gift. They have to use one of the choices given.
Children are not usually included in a name exchange. Because they are young, adults agree to give a gift to each child. To cut the cost, families can give one gift from them to each child.
Name exchanges work for more than just family gift giving. Churches, workplaces, and neighborhood groups can use the name exchange as a way of getting more people to participate in holiday activities. Buying one gift is easier on the wallet than purchasing one for everyone in each of these places. This year, suggest a gift exchange as a way of participating in holiday gift giving without breaking the bank.
When we were kids, it was a tradition to make holiday gifts at school. In art class, homemade cards were the normal thing to give to everyone for Christmas. Family and friends thought they were cute and thoughtful. They hung the cards on the wall to display them. Others would put a hook through it and turn the card into an ornament.
Homemade cards can be an idea for the season this year to save money in that budget. Most of the supplies can be purchased at a dollar store or a craft store. Set the kids up at the kitchen table or another area covered in newspaper.
Let them experiment with different decorations for the cards. They can utilize glitter, glue, stickers, stamps and an ink pad, and crayons and markers. Construction paper cards can be hand delivered to local friends and family members.
For the adults, creating a construction paper Christmas card may seem a bit too childish. For you, card program software for the personal computer can fashion cards that look as professional as the ones bought from the store. The program is filled with a variety of holiday themes and sayings. If none of these suits the fancy, blank templates are also provided for putting your own words into sentiment.
Heavy-duty card stock paper in holidays colors works best for these types of cards. The card sizes will fit a standard card envelope if any of them need to be mailed. Reasonable prices for card envelopes can be gotten at the local paper or party store.
The card program will pay for itself in no time. After the holidays, use the software to create cards for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Easter, graduations, weddings, and other special occasions. This is a tool that is useful beyond Christmas.
Food makes a great gift to others for the holiday season. At one time, when people didn’t have much else, they could always share some food. Wrapping up a cake in cloth and some decorative ribbon, sweet treats were given to others as Christmas gifts.
During a time when people were more in need of food than a new doll, it was a welcomed gift. Now, the family would have something special to eat after dinner. Breads were also given as gifts.
We might not be in need of food in that way anymore, but food gifts still carry a sentiment of good will with them. For teachers, Sunday school instructors, the mailman, and coworkers a food gift is appropriate. Kids like to give sweets like cookies, cakes, and homemade candy that they helped to make.
With food gifts, presentation is important. A batch of homemade cookies means more when given in a decorative jar or tin than in a simple Ziploc bag. Take the time to jazz up the gifts.
Instead of baking the cookies, take a Mason jar and layer the dry ingredients inside. Create a label with the recipe instructions on it and stick it to the jar. Cover the top with a piece of holiday print cloth and some ribbon. Fix up six or twelve of these with each cookie recipe repeated no more than twice.
If the gift is homemade sweet bread, wrap each one in decorative plastic wrap and tie a bow and a card to it. If there are any special instructions for food gifts let the receiver know or tuck printed instructions inside the card.
Another great idea for homemade gifts is a gift basket. Gift baskets can have any theme that you desire. Uncle Paul may like to play board games. A basket filled with his favorite board games and smaller travel size editions is a thoughtful gift that couldn’t be purchased just like that from any store. It is a unique gift that only you could have given.
This is an idea for every member of the family. Who knows them better than someone who spends a great deal of time with them? Best of all, gift baskets can be started early in the year and worked on right up until the holidays.
Begin by choosing a basket. The basket is a part of the gift so let it be one that can be used for something else once all of the gifts are removed. Baskets come in a variety of colors. Some have lids like a chest; some are shaped like laundry hampers; others are tall and narrow like the kind that hold umbrellas by the front door.
As you find items that fit the special person’s character, add them to the basket. When the basket is filled with their favorite things, cover it all with decorative wrap. The gift is now ready and the cost will be far less than a premade basket or buying one expensive gift.
CONCLUSION
The sentiment of the holiday season is life and love. We celebrate our families, our blessings through the year, and extending a helping hand to the community. That is love at its best.
Instead of keeping up with the Jones’s, keep up with the sentiment. Honor the holidays by making it the thought that counts and not how many dollars that can be spent. Money doesn’t bring a smile to the recipient since they don’t know what you spent for the gift. What they do know is if it is something they have been wanting. If it is then, they know that you really know them.
