Giving great gifts and presents – The stress-free way

Benefits of applying this knowledge:

• Less stress due to last minute shopping.

• Save money by shopping well outside of holidays-seasons.

• Happier recipients due to better gifts.

• Kick back and relax before and during Holidays.

General information:

• Take a moment and think through all the people you normally buy gifts to throughout the year (family-members, friends and so on).

• Acquire a little notebook or a create a text-file and create a master gift-list with the following information:
• Recipient names (with birthday-dates)
• Occasions
• Gifts given
• Gift-ideas for future

• In this file you can jot down ideas for gifts and also keep track of what you have already given to whom.

• Don’t put too much emphasis on Mothers/Fathers-day and other holidays mainly “invented” to create commerce. To not be overwhelmed, heed only the big ones like Christmas and Birthday.

• You may soon find that a similar gift you bought for John two years ago, may be appreciated by Jane this year. There is no shame in identical gifts to more than one person, as long as you believe the recipients will appreciate the items.

• When a gift-idea strikes you. Rather than being sure you will remember it even a week from now, write it down immediately. If you don’t have your notebook around, jot it down on any piece of paper to be transferred to your notebook later.

• Have your inner “gift-radar” turned on all year round. It does not mean you always should actively search for gifts, just allow a little bit of “gift-awareness” linger in the back of your head, all year round.

• Keep you ears open. Sometimes a potential gift recipient will mention or hint on something that they would like to have, without even meaning it to be a recommendation for you. Be alert and write it down (discreetly).

• At those random occasions when you happen to spot an item and think: “Oh, I think John would really like this thing!”, then buy it right away! If you wait you are likely to forget about it or the item may become sold out. Ask if you can have it gift-wrapped and simply store the package for a suitable occasion.

• If for some reason it is not suitable to buy the item right away (In case of food-items which should be fresh, or more expensive items where a fresh receipt for optional returns or exchanges could be handy), then make sure to write down a reminder note. Don’t count on remembering it in time for a holiday or this person’s birthday.

• By purchasing suitable gifts at the moment you encounter them, you save yourself a lot of hassle and stress. You won’t have to endure the throng of holiday-shopping or the stress of last minute birthday-shopping.

• By buying suitable gifts at the moment you encounter them you actually buy things you believe the recipient will appreciate, rather than feeling forced to buy something just for the sake of it. This will make the recipient happy by getting a gift he/she really is likely to enjoy and also for you being so thoughtful.

• When you discover an item at a good price which you think many people would enjoy, consider “stocking up” and buy a multitude of it.

• Keep the presents in one place.  Select a storage-place; Dedicate a “Gift-closet”, a cupboard or a drawer in the household where you can stockpile your gifts. Gift wrap and -stickers can also be stored in this one location.
If you pre-wrap the gifts, make sure you have some way of remembering what is inside.

• Having a little stock of one-suits-all emergency-gifts is a comforting feeling. It saves you a lot of stress in case you are invited to a birthday or occasion you had forgotten about or didn’t plan to be invited to.

• With this foresight you will save money by being able to buy stuff for bargain-prices rather than just in time for holidays when the prices are generally higher.

• Consider marking your calendar at least a month ahead of an important persons birthday (or other occasion). This way, If you have not already a particular gift in store or in your notes, you can brainstorm (without stress) for ideas and still have time to order something needing to be shipped.

• Even when applying this advice you may still find yourself short on time sometimes. You can then use Brainstorming to come up for gift-ideas.

• Maybe you have items in your home which you think would be more appreciated by someone else? Great if you do!
Just don’t try to pass an item off as being new, if it isn’t new.  A gift does not necessarily have to be either new or expensive to be appreciated.

• Remember that gifts does not have to be physical items. Gifts can also include services (i.e. massage, pedicure etc.) or experiences (i.e: skydiving, a hot-air balloon ride or  theater-ticket etc).

• If you are short on money or ideas, baking something is an option that is often appreciated.

• If you are good at handcrafting something, those types of gifts shows that you have put time, thought and effort into the gift and are often highly adored. However, unless you have a lot of spare time this option may not be practically feasible for all occasions.

• Consider writing short rhyme-riddles on Christmas-gifts, and let the recipients read the riddle and take a guess before they unwrap.  It is a fun little bonus and often very appreciated. If you don’t take it too seriously rhyming is easier and takes less time than you may think.

• Feel free to make adjustments to these ideas and develop a system that works well for you personally.

• As much as people like receiving gifts at holidays and birthdays, keep in mind: Ofttimes, a gift is mostly appreciated when it is given on a random day, for no other reason than wanting to give.