Holiday Shopping, Simplified

Happy November! I am done with my holiday shopping and you can be too! Here’s how I did it:

1. Establish concrete rules about how your family will approach the holidays. Then make a list and a budget. We celebrate Hanukah, and decided we wanted to get each girl the customary eight gifts (eek!), one for each night. Because we needed so many we made sure to set a budget and then work backwards. We also decided we would get gifts for the girls’ teachers, and one nice item (not to exceed $100) for each other. The rest of the people in our lives will get homemade treats, potted plants, or experiences – i.e a holiday dinner party or a home cooked meal. Check out my article on clutter-free creative gift giving here.

2. Now that you have a budget and a list, all you have to do is purchase or make your gifts. I shopped at my favorite shops (Ruby’s Garden and Ellington and French) as well as Amazon.com. We got our girls lots of fun little things without breaking the bank – hair clips, doodle pads, new washable markers, books, games and slipper socks.

3. Wrap and ready! My local boutiques offer beautiful (and free) gift wrapping services. For the rest I am going to use brown butcher paper and baker’s twine. Until then, I shoved all of our gifts in a large black suitcase so little snoops won’t ruin the surprises.

Around this time of year, feeling the consumer pressure is inevitable and it is really difficult to ignore. I find that establishing rules, setting a budget, and shopping from a list, really help keep me on track. I also keep in mind that all of my holiday memories are of experiences, not things. I remember joyful gatherings with friends and family, holiday foods, and songs, but truly can’t recall a single gift I received as a kid. So why not put your energy into creating meaningful memories for yourself and your loved ones and keep the gift buying simple and economical?

photo credit: oh happy day