Shopping & Wrapping ~*~ Avoid Stress During The Holidays!

LindasBusyKitchen · Post by **LindasBusyKitchen** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:21 pm

~*~Tips And Hints To Avoid Stress During The Holidays~*~

Shopping:

One of the major causes of Christmas stress is not planning the holiday in advance so that when the day draws closer, you feel caught off guard!

Here are some tips to reduce your stress, so that you can truly enjoy the holidays!

Get to know the interests of family and friends to help you when choosing gifts for them.

Make a list of all the gifts you wish to buy before you go shopping, Tithat way you won't waste money on buying lots of extras. Keep the list with you each time you go shopping, so you have it handy at all times.

Ask family members for a list of things they might like for Christmas. Check with the parents to see what the kids want most, and what they are buying for them, so they don't buy duplicates.

Don't forget that money is a great gift for teenagers and those hard to buy for family members. It allows people to choose what they want and need. Gift certificates are a great alternative also.

Some well-organized people do their Christmas shopping gradually over the course of the year, starting with the post-Christmas sales, where you can get some great buys. Shopping in this fashion doesn't break the bank and allows you the time you need to find that "Just Right" gift for everyone on your list.

If you don't shop throughout the year, September and October is a great time to start your Christmas shopping as the stores aren't as crowded, more things are in stock, and the items aren't picked over.

Give yourself plenty of time to buy your gifts by mail catalog, over the Internet or through QVC or HSN on TV, where you can order unique gifts that are not always available in the stores. The best thing about this is that you can shop from the comfort of your home, which saves money on gas. Many times you can find something unusual that is the perfect gift for that special person!

Buy a few extra presents such as chocolates, candles, jars of candy, pairs of gloves, etc., just in case you forget somebody or you have unexpected guests bearing gifts.

Don't forget to cross people off the list as you buy, to avoid duplication.

Wrap gifts as you buy them, so you aren't stressed with lots of wrapping to do at once. Better yet, buy gift boxes and bags, which save lots of time because you can just pop the presents in them, add some tissue paper and voila, they are ready to go!

racrgal · Post by **racrgal** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 3:10 pm

I do many of these things. The one thing I don't do is wrap as I buy. I wrap everything in one day, with one kind of paper, one kind of ribbon and one style of label. Before I even start wrapping, I sit down at the computer and print all the labels. Gather the presents, scissors, tape, labels, turn on some music and wrap away.

HeatherFeather · Post by **HeatherFeather** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:45 pm

Wrapping is the part I dread the most. I have my wrapping paper and bows purchased early, but I still always wait to wrap until closer to the day. The shopping part I enjoy - I love picking out things for others and usually can get everything done quickly.

I am not sure if I will be able to put my presents under the tree this year. I already had to shoo my dog out from napping underneath the tree several times. I finally put a musical carousel under the tree and let it play... the dog is afraid of the motion, sounds, and blinking lights so now she's keeping her distance.

HotPepperRosemary · Post by **HotPepperRosemary** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:43 am

My sentiments exactly Linda's Busy Kitchen!

I am a Virgo and can't live without my lists and anal retentive nature when it comes to planning something big!!! Or planning anything! ;) I am also the eldest in birth order so that may explain some of my quirks too!
I do it all except the wrapping of things as I gather.
Wrapping is my favorite part so I wait til I have everything else checked off and sit down and have some fun!
I like different colored wrapping paper and some shiny or picturesque. I also like Santa, Candy Cane and all sorts of Christmas Character papers!
Bows, ribbons, and red and green yarns too!
Labels and tags are so much fun to write out! I know I am crazy!!!!!!
It is a time when I truly enjoy being a bit artistic!!!!!
Each package is carefully placed so all can be displayed...even if a corner or a top!
The bottom of the tree looks like an extravaganza! Woo hoo!

It is that Leo rising that I hold accountable for the extravaganza part!

racrgal · Post by **racrgal** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:52 am

Jelly, I would love to see your colorful packages. I have to be very careful with what I put on the packages. Snickers is not a problem but Spooky will eat most ribbons and some ornamentation. No tags with string because Spooky thinks it's a toy. I've found the wired ribbon to be the best Kitty Proof ribbon. Worse than a child, I could tell a child "no".

Denise · Post by **Denise** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:57 am

I do enjoy the wrapping! My Cmas is stress free because every gift is ordered online and shipped directly to the recipient. All the kids get gift cards to Simon Mall, that's what they want, that's what they get

The obviously great thing about this is that your account with Simon has all your order history. You don't even have to enter addresses. Brothers, sisters, parents all get gift baskets containing things they like. One set gets all specialty chocolate items as they are chocolate fiends, one set gets cheeses and jams, another gets all sausages. Dave was easy, he needed a new iphone, ordered that a couple of weeks ago, it arrived in one day. And that pretty much wraps it up

I do need to pick up some slippers and small items for Dave as he only has one gift to open. But that's actually the fun part for me, when everything else is done and then you just go out and enjoy the season, wrap a few gifts, relax.

racrgal · Post by **racrgal** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:12 pm

Sweetie thinks I haven't started shopping for him. I keep telling him that I don't have a clue what to get him. hehehehehe There is a flat screen TV for the garage, hidden under the guest room bed.

HotPepperRosemary · Post by **HotPepperRosemary** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:23 pm

Racr you are going to make that one happy man this Christmas!!!!!

Denise · Post by **Denise** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:25 pm

racrgal wrote:Sweetie thinks I haven't started shopping for him. I keep telling him that I don't have a clue what to get him. hehehehehe There is a flat screen TV for the garage, hidden under the guest room bed.

Nice! Dave gave me one for Cmas last year and I love it!

HotPepperRosemary · Post by **HotPepperRosemary** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:26 pm

Talk later! Kevin wants to help wrap packages!!! I let him hand me tape!

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