parenting
Gift Giving Etiquette Made Easy
Unless you are Santa Claus, you do not have to give the entire world gifts. It's tempting—the holidays tend to bring that spirit out in people—but for your own sanity and wallet, you need to put limits on gift giving. And you need to streamline your shopping so that you are not rushing around at the last minute or getting people things that they do not want. Follow these tips to make the process easy and fun!
- Keep a list of all the holiday gifts that you give. This includes family, teachers, hairdressers, postal carriers, etc. You can reference this list each year to make sure you don't miss anyone.
- Make a budget and stick to it!
- Only give to those who give to you. Unless you truly enjoy gift giving and have the budget to support it, eliminate gift buying for those who don't reciprocate.
- Give the same gift. If you have a great gift idea, give it to as many people on your list as possible. Originality is overrated.
- Keep a supply of hostess gifts and gift bags handy. A bottle of wine is always appropriate and can be put into a pretty bag from https://chrisstuff.com/collections/wine-bags-gift-bags in seconds.
- Shop online. This will allow you to easily comparison shop. You can also have the store gift wrap and send the package directly so that you don't have to worry about anything but hitting "Buy."
- If you do like to gift wrap, pick a signature wrapping paper and ribbon and do everything the same. This will eliminate the hundred rolls of wrapping paper. Yes, everyone will know that the gift is from you, but that's okay.
- Be prepared with suggestions when someone asks you what you or your kids want as gifts. If you're at a loss, ask for a giftcard. Return the favor and give giftcards whenever possible.
Barbara Reich is a professional organizer, author and mom out of New York City. She takes a tough love approach that turns organization from a chore to a lifestyle. Her book, "Secrets of an Organized Mom," is on shelves now. You can find more information about Barbara at resourcefulconsultants.com, as well as on Facebook or Twitter.How do you manage gift giving during the holidays?
Picture courtesy of Flickr, Feartured image courtest of Flickr
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Barbara Reich is a professional organizer based in New York, NY. Her tough love approach turns organization and clutter from chore to lifestyle. Barbara’s book, “Secrets of an Organized Mom” hit bookshelves in February 2013.
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