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Giving gifts to your family and friends is a huge part of the season but is also one of the biggest holiday stressors.

You’re already stretched for precious time and having difficulty balancing work and family.

It’s a constant juggling game between the two and when you add all the holiday preparations to your overflowing lists, all the joy is often sucked right out of the holiday season.

Now is the time to make a plan of action and get organized with all that needs to happen before the holidays are upon you.

Practical tips for less holiday stress:

• Take control of your finances early. Before your holiday shopping begins, develop a realistic budget to follow. If you can avoid using credit cards and only pay cash for gifts, you will breathe easier in January when the credit card bill arrives. Paying cash helps you stay on budget and may prevent you from making any rash decisions or buying outlandish gifts.

• Make a list of your gift ideas for each person prior to driving to the mall, so you won’t be left wandering aimlessly from store to store, hoping for some divine inspiration. Bundle your shopping trips to stores that are near each other. Remember that your time is valuable. 

• Decide who you are buying gifts for. When you sit down to write your gift list, decide if you will buy gifts just for family members or if you will also include your children’s teachers, bus drivers, garbage haulers, postal workers, religious education teachers, sports coaches, and so on. The list could get very long and break your budget if you don’t plan well. But don’t forget the grandparents and pets!

• Take advantage of your lunch break to shop online. Ordering online is especially a benefit when you need to ship items out of state. Many companies offer free shipping for a period of time during the season if not always. But paying for the online company to ship a gift is far less costly and time-consuming than packing it up yourself and waiting with half the town in line at the post office. Check out my Resources pages to see if you can find anything to order.

• A great gift idea for these “extra” people in your life is something homemade. If you are a holiday baker, simply buy a few pretty gift containers and bake a few extra batches of your favorite cookies or breads. If you don’t bake, look for some recipes for making “Gifts in a Jar.” You can buy large or small mason jars at craft stores and you simply layer the dry ingredients of your favorite cookie recipe, close the lid, tie with a pretty ribbon, slap a gift tag on, and you have a lovely gift. Don’t forget to attach a copy of the recipe to the jar. A tree ornament would be a great gift as well.

• Be focused and use any breaks in your work schedule to your advantage. Write out a few holiday cards or wrap a few presents in between calls. Both tasks become more manageable when broken down into smaller time frames.

• Organize your holiday card list early to eliminate many headaches and hand cramps later on. Pare down your list, order your cards early, order your stamps online or with your postal carrier, and put all the addresses on computer labels. You can find labels with holiday designs and you can add a fun font for a customized look. Don’t forget your return labels with your name and address. Many card companies also offer to have your cards stamped with your family or business name, thus saving even more time.

• Delegate holiday prep to your older children or spouse. Your computer wizard teenager might be willing to input your holiday card list so you can print out address labels. Maybe an older child would be willing to babysit for the day so you can shop for gifts in peace. If you are preparing a holiday dinner, ask other relatives or friends to bring a dish.  Older elementary school kids can help read recipes and layer the items in your gift jars.

Conclusion

Rather than build up your holiday as perfection complete with handmade gift wrap, make your holiday plans realistic to suit the needs of your family and your schedule.

Instead of experiencing holiday stress, focus on the peace, love, and joy in your life and take time to count your many blessings. Afterall, those make the best memories!

Happy holidays to you and yours!