So it's September....fall. Pumpkin spice everything (yum!) and my baby is due in about 5 weeks. So how jealous does it make you to know that I am almost completely done with my Christmas shopping? Oh.....the envy is palpable!
I LOVE Christmas. I love the food, the constant baking to make the food, the smells of it, how a house is all warm when you walk into it, the Christmas lights, and being able to shower the people you love with presents. What I don't love is stressing about Christmas. So my husband and I decided we just weren't going to do that. We spent three Christmases in a row with him being deployed to some country in the Middle East (play "I'll be home for Christmas," around me and I will basically burst into tears as soon as I hear it), so when we finally had a family Christmas together in 2011, our priorities weren't so much about stressing about everything because we were just so happy to have our family together! And do you have any idea how much fun Black Friday shopping is when you aren't going out with some die hard agenda, but just checking out the sales for funsies? I buy more stuff for myself on Black Friday (which is ultimately a present from Santa, I guess) than buying presents for other people because I've already gotten most of the Christmas shopping done. So by the time Black Friday rolls around- we get to kick back and enjoy all the little things that makes the Holidays so much fun, but are rarely ever enjoyed (there is a reason why Christmas is the time of year when suicide rates skyrocket.). Stop and smell the gingerbread and mulled cider, people!
So my first tip is not to really set out and say "I'm going Christmas shopping today!" because that crap still puts way too much pressure on you and then the pressure of finding a gift, any gift so you can cross someone's name off of your to do list- just makes it not fun and keeps you from finding a great gift at a good price. By looking year round for presents- it's more so one of those where if I'm browsing the clearance section of a store or notice something awesome on one of my online shopping sites (like groupon, rue la la, bourbon and boots or zulilly) and something jumps out at me that makes me go "Hmm....that's interesting and so and so would like that...." I can just pick it up and go (or if I'm online- check for checkout promo codes or see if there is another site selling the same thing for cheaper). Without that pressure, I am able to use my head to make sure it's not just crappy gift that is going to get re-gifted or disgarded and make sure I'm not breaking the bank. The whole idea of giving a gift (besides it representing the gifts given to Baby Jesus and whatever pagan traditions it was jacked from as well), is to show your love for someone with a little token of your affection. And as much as I love to buy presents for my family, I know none of them would want me to break the bank just to give them a present.
Another thing is to have a signature present- takes the pressure off of you because people are expecting this present. My grandmother always gets her grandkids and great grandkids a really nice Christmas ornament. I have always gotten a silver bell, I think (...not sure if I totally remember) my sister gets a crystal ornament from Waterford, my son gets a Lenox ornament in the shape of a toy. So taking a cue from her, every year I give my parents and grandparents a calendar filled with pictures of my family (mostly my son...he is who everyone wants to see). They come to expect it now and it's easy to do. We go to snapfish or shutterfly (whichever has the best promos- by the way if you do mycokerewards, you can use your points to get credit at shutterfly), go through our pictures and order our calendars. With our families living far away from us- they get a year to look at Loki's cute little face. We usually do some sort of picture gift, too. Like a nice picture of the family or of Loki in a frame. Pictures are always a hit and if you hit up the clearance sales at various stores (I prefer Target, Homegoods, and TJ Maxx when I'm hunting for cheap frames), you can find really pretty frames.
Stocking stuffers- Kiel and I decided to do an every other year sort of thing when it came to the holidays. One year we stay home and invite our family to see us, the next year we go back east. So of course when our family comes out to see us, they get a stocking. Now since the calendars tend to be the big gift everyone wants and our families are flying out to see us- we get them a bunch of little presents (and maybe one that is their "big present") and we fit it in their stockings so it doesn't take up a lot of room (if we are traveling, we ship the gifts out before hand in flat rate boxes to Kiel's parent's house). Also, if your families are like ours- our parents and grandparents seem to basically have just about everything...IN THE WORLD. So my advice is to look for something quirky, original and maybe even funny. Last year, I found a great deal on Diamond Candles so we bought three of 'em and gave them to our family members. At Pier 1, I found a bunch of cute manicure kits and gave those away as presents, too. Just because it is a clearance item doesn't mean that it's a sucky gift. A gift that is personal or shows that you picked it out with them in mind, really is the important part....except with kids. And we all know that when it comes to presents- the focus is mainly on the kids, not the adults.
KIDS- Granted- I'm not at that part in my kid's life where it's all about a "it" toy. But I do know what my son likes and I have an entire year to look for it and hide it in my house (praying he doesn't stumble upon it). Those reward coupons from Toys R Us? All over it. When I happen to be somewhere with a Five Below- going crazy (and not just for the kids...my husband could literally buy out the whole store- he loves that place). Clearance at Target? I am rummaging through that like a dumpster diver. And when I see something online that I know is a good price- I buy that, too! And while we are on the topic- kids really do have a shit ton of toys, so maybe make a tradition out of having them go through their toys and pick out ones that they don't really play with to give to less fortunate kids. It's a good lesson for children and it's less shit for you to step on when their rooms are messy. Win/win!
Now- just because I shop all year long, doesn't mean I don't need extra money for buying stuff at Christmas. We LOVE to enjoy the holidays which means money for baking, money for Christmas lights (my husband sees it as a neighborhood competition) and money for Black Friday shopping (yes it tends to be mostly presents Kiel and I buy for ourselves or each other, but whatever. Deals are sometimes good). SOOOOO here is my advice for having money a Christmas (DISCLAIMER: I am not a financial expert- I am just a woman that really doesn't like to stress about money. Financial security is a type of security that just makes life easier, in my opinion); after you get your tax refund (as this is a time when people tend to get a lump sum of money, this could also be when certain active duty service members get their annual re-enlistment money)- take a chunk of that money (we do about 2,000 to be on the safe side as I like to over estimate things when it involves money). Put that money into a CD (certificate of deposit) that will mature around early/mid November- which you should be able to do online if you utilize online services with your bank . Now that money is locked in that CD. You won't be able touch it until it matures and it will mature right around the time you will need it. And not only is it sitting there, safe and ready to make your holidays less stressful- but it will gaining interest and making money for you while it sits there. We used my husband's recent re enlistment bonus in August for our CD and it has already gained $14....IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS (ok so $14 isn't a lot of money, but it's money that we didn't have before that our money made for us, just by sitting there)!!!! We won't have to stress about money for the holidays, I will be able to take advantage of great deals (not just for presents, the holidays are great time to add baking supplies to your stock pile and of course all the after Christmas sales where you can get Christmas decorations for next year/candy for dirt cheap).
So try these tips. I know most of them sound like common sense, but that seems to go out the window when it comes to the holidays. Take a breath. Relax and put yourself in a position to ENJOY the holidays and not just "get through" them.
