It is the middle of September, yet I have already started thinking about what I am getting my friends and family for Christmas! I know, I know, it seems just a tad early. I started doing something a few years ago that has really helped me with gift planning for Christmas, birthdays, and other gift giving events that I would love to share with you. This started off in my planner, but has now moved to my iPhone. Any time you are talking with one of your friends or family members, and they make a comment about how much they like something, or would love to have this or that, jot it down. When it comes time to choose a gift, just take out your notes, and you are ahead of the game! Plus, it means so much to the recipient when they realize that you remembered something that they only mentioned once. This also takes away any pressure and gives you time to do some comparative shopping to find the best price on the item.
Speaking of comparative shopping, I love shopping on the internet! Now, I am a woman who loves to shop, but braving the crowds, especially around the holidays, kind of ruins it for me. Now that I'm the mother of two young children, three years old and 16 months respectively, I just cannot drag them to the mall with me. We went to see Santa last year, and the five seconds that your child has on Santa's lap is preceded by 2 hours of potential misery waiting on line with millions of happy, holiday germs. But, I digress... There are quite a few websites out there that help you find the lowest price on items. You simply enter in what you are looking for, and you instantly see who has the lowest price! It doesn’t get any easier than that. I love ordering from QVC, because I trust the quality of the product, and I know that I can't find a lot of these items anywhere else. There is definitely something to be said for exclusivity!
One last thing! Make sure that you are consistent in your stash of holiday gifts. You simply MUST be creative. Not only do you want to keep prying eyes from the treasures to come, but you don't want to forget where you keep everything. Take the time to come up with a really good system. I've hidden some things so well that I couldn't find them when the holidays rolled around. Those holiday gifts suddenly became birthday gifts. It didn't help that I put several of these gifts in different places around the house. Once you get your system, the holidays become so much more enjoyable for you and your family! Now, what about you? Have you ever forgotten about a gift or hidden one so well that even you couldn't find it?
XO,
-Sharon
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