One of the most joyous aspects of the holidays is exchanging gifts with the
people you love, admire, and work with. Yet shopping for gifts can be
frustrating and even anxiety-provoking during a season that’s packed with
too many things to do and so many people filling the stores and parking lots. We all want to get special gifts for our loved ones and see the excitement they feel whenever they open the present. With just a few adjustments you will be gift giving the stress free way!

If you would like to listen instead of reading enjoy the Gift Giving the Stress Free Way Facebook Live I did here:

7 Strategies for Gift Giving the Stress Free Way

1. Make a list of who you plan to give a gift to. It’s just easier to have a quick list to refer to, whether it’s on your smartphone, tablet, or written in a spiral notebook you carry with you. The earlier you make your list, the better.

2. Consider your budget. How much money will you spend on holiday gift giving?
And how much will you spend per gift or person? Set these amounts in advance to ensure you don’t break the bank due to holiday spending. In ideal circumstances, set aside money all year that will be available to you when you’re ready to start shopping.

3. Start shopping early. The earlier you start shopping, the less you’ll be stressed about last-minute holiday issues. Plus, you’ll have more time to get packages wrapped and labeled. If you like, buy one gift per month and place it in a “gift drawer” in your bedroom dresser. By the time the holidays arrive, your drawer will be filled with gifts ready to give.
Ensure you write on each gift who they’re for so you won’t get confused
about what you got for whom. I have even numbered packages for my kids and wrote a list of what each present is so that I can refer back to in case I decide to let them have one early.

4. Keep notes. If you see an ad about a toy you’d like to get for your niece,
jot it down on your list. If your co-worker tells you about a
jewelry store with great deals, ask her for the location and jot it down to check it out. If your brother says he’d love to have the new CD by a favored music group, make a note of what he said so you can check Amazon’s weekly deals on music.

‣ If you’ve got a Smartphone with a voice recorder, you can simply speak
the info into your phone to listen to later. These notes will help you
buy gifts that people want and could even save you money.

5. Ask those on your gift list to give you 2-3 ideas for gifts they want. As
mentioned in Stress Free Holidays- 8 Simple Holiday Time Savers, text, email, or call and ask them to give you a response within 1 week. Then, copy and paste their lists and names onto one sheet to print or in your note section of your phone before you go shopping. Set a limit of how much you’ll be spending. Simply tell them to name 3 gift ideas for under $25 or whatever your budget allows.

6. If money’s an issue, give gifts of homemade food items. Nothing is more appreciated during the holiday season than a plate of cookies or a decorative bag filled with homemade peanut brittle, peppermint bark, or caramels. You can even give jar gifts with all the dry ingredients to make a soup, or brownies mixed in the jar. Put a note on it how to prepare. Soups come in real handy when the recipient is sick which happens more often in the Winter months. Decide who and how many you’ll give gifts of food to. Then, decide how you’ll package the gifts.

‣ Next, shop for holiday containers, plastic plates, or decorative bags. Decide what to make and how much to give each person. Pull your recipe(s) and make your shopping list of ingredients. Schedule a whole day to prepare the goodies. You’ll enjoy giving a homemade gift of love. Giving homemade food is a really nice holiday tradition to establish.

7. Consider giving gift cards. Although you might not enjoy the experience
of buying gift cards as much as you do shopping for hours and ending up
with sore feet, nearly everyone appreciates a gift card and it is the ultimate gift giving the stress free way. A gift card is the closest thing to cash you’ll ever give. Even with gift cards, you can establish a nice tradition for the holidays. One tradition could be that you shop with that person. Have a nice lunch out and spend quality time with each other kind of like two gifts in one. Besides the after Christmas sales are sometimes just as good as Black Friday sales.

‣ Consider each person’s interests and lifestyle to help you decide which
type of gift card to buy. For example, if your niece is glued to her
iPhone like most are nowadays, get her an iTunes card. If your brother loves to shop in
sporting goods stores, then a gift card from stores like Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods, or Bass Pro Shops will work.

‣ Help your mother or sister avoid cooking a meal and doing clean-up by
giving restaurant gift cards like Cheesecake Factory, or Outback Steakhouse. A Toys ‘R Us card works for the kids on your list.

‣ If you feel less than fulfilled about handing over a gift card, why not make a batch of cookies, bag them in decorative bags, and tape or tie an envelope with the gift card in it onto the package. That’s another way to give 2 gifts in one that they will love!

Gift-giving is one of the most cherished holiday traditions. You can better enjoy the process if you have a gift list, take care with your budget, shop early, keep helpful notes, ask for gift ideas, and consider giving gift cards to reduce your gift-shopping stress. Your holiday celebrations can be nearly stress-free when you follow these strategies for gift giving the stress free way.

Let me know in the comments have you already finished with your gift purchases, just getting started or somewhere in between?

Stress Free Holidays: How to Survive Your Relatives this Holiday Season is a part of a blog series. In case you want to check out the other parts in the Stress Free Holidays series here are the links to each part.

Stress Free Holidays -Holiday Traditions and Memories

Stress Free Holidays- 8 Simple Holiday Time Savers

Stress Free Holidays: Survive the Holidays Without Blowing Your Budget

Stress Free Holidays: Stress Free Holiday Traveling