Gift Giving This Christmas

Are you fond of giving gifts on Christmas? I am! It gives me joy whenever I make a passionate effort in delighting my loved ones with gifts. This is my way of giving back because the Lord blesses me with so much each year. Here are some of the things I do to make my gift giving spree fun and hassle free:

photo courtesy of Blisstree.com

1. I write down all the names of the people I'd like to give gifts to. It would be better if you place it on an MS Excel file so it'd be easier to sort and calculate.

2.I'd browse online for gifts because not only am I 90% sure I wouldn't give the same thing as everyone else, but it also saves me trips to malls. And there's more! (Lol!) Online sellers ship their products anywhere in the Philippines, and sometimes, anywhere in the world. So they're a big help to my dilemma of sending gifts to friends and family I don't get to see often. Check out my shop, shop, shop links!

3. Set either an overall budget for everyone or a budget for each person and do everything in your will power to stick to it. MS Excel or a similar software should be able to help you out with this task because you'll automatically have a calculation of your list and know if you're going over your budget. Now everything can be done in front of the computer! Yey!

4. Start early. I'm starting as early as now. I calculated the sum of all my gifts and it would be easier to save for them little by little every payday...Much like the "lay-away" concept which is better than the "credit card" concept, budget-wise. I'm gonna save mine on my gcash because I'm pretty sure that my gifts will be 99% coming from online sellers.

5. Recycle. While I understand that gifts are highly appreciated when brand new, it wouldn't hurt if you give out pre-loved items. Depending on your recipient, you can opt to give something you know the other person would really like, regardless of the status. I wouldn't mind getting a set of pre-loved make up brushes and I'm sure babies wouldn't mind using some of Ella's pre-owned stuff too.

6. Try conventional ways of wrapping your gifts. I used Japanese paper and bought a couple of ribbons to wrap all my gifts last year. I'm thinking about magazine pages this time...also to solve my problems regarding the growing number of read magazines in our house.

So this'll be how I'd manage to give joy to the people who have loved me and my family. Would you have other tips to share? I'd love to take them as Christmas gifts! :)

Love lots,