7 Ways to Simplify Your Holiday Gift Giving

The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and sharing. But for some of us our gift giving traditions have become so stressful and budget breaking that it’s almost impossible to recognize the true meaning of the holidays anymore. Here are a few tips to help you simplify your gift giving!
1. Set limits on the gifts for kids. It’s so tempting to give your kids lots of gifts. But when you do, you are actually teaching them to expect that every year. The best gift you can give your kids is to teach them that the true meaning of the holidays is to give of yourself to others, be with people you love. It’s not supposed to be about how many gifts you get.
2. One of the biggest sources of holiday stress is overspending. Make a list of everyone you want to give a gift to and set a budget that allows you to celebrate the holidays without creating a financial hardship.
3. Create your gift list based on what you know people really need and use. If you aren’t sure, find out their favorite stores, restaurants, activities or service providers and give them a gift certificate. Even better, give a clutter-free gift of an experience or something consumable like food or ink for their printer! Do a Google search on “clutter-free holiday gift ideas” for lots more ideas.
4. Don’t go shopping just to look for gift ideas! When people shop looking for ideas, they often end up finding too many great gift ideas, can’t decide, and then they buy too many gifts!
5. Don’t bring home “possible” gifts thinking you’ll return the ones you decide not to give. That almost never happens! And it just causes more stress. The best time to make decisions about what gifts you want to give is BEFORE you go shopping.
6. Shop online. Especially for people you have to ship gifts to. Having your gifts wrapped & shipped directly to them can save you a lot of aggravation waiting in line at the post office!
7. Instead of spending a lot on gift wrap, make creative gift wraps out of items in your home. For example, use fabric. You can even cut strips of fabric to make bows.
What tips do you have for simplifying your holiday gift giving?