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1: Start thinking of
gift giving as a regular part of your day-to-day life. Don’t
think of it as a rare, necessary evil. You need to adopt a new
mindset: one that tells you that any day could be a great day to
find that perfect gift for family or friend. Once you get in
that frame of mind, there are several things you should do to
make gift giving fun for you and great for the recipient:
2: Make a list of the
people you exchange gifts with and a calendar of the dates you
expect to give them gifts. When you receive an invitation to a
wedding or party, mark that date on your gift calendar. This
will help you get organized, which is usually the first step in
any worthwhile endeavor.
3: Keep that list in
a handy, convenient place in your home or carry it with you.
That way you can easily access it when you need it.
4: Have an idea? It’s
funny how you’ll get one right after holidays, birthdays or
other gift-giving occasions. Of course, by this time you have
spent quite a bit of time thinking about your gift(s). When you
have an idea, write it down on the handy list mentioned above,
so you’ll be one step ahead of the game next year!
5: Listen year-round
for that friend or family member to say or do something that
tips you off to the perfect gift! When you pick up on it, you’ll
have a place to write it down. This will help you buy that
just-right gift and prevent gift panic, or worse, the dreaded
Christmas rush.
6: Buy the great gift
you just wrote down! There is absolutely no reason to wait to
buy a gift for any occasion if you have an inspirational (or
just good) idea, unless you think it may later go on sale.
Otherwise, buy that gift as soon as you can! To make gift buying
even easier, buy your gifts online and have them shipped to you.
In many cases you can even have them wrapped for you by the
merchant.
7: Buy a generous
gift WITHIN YOUR BUDGET! Two things you want to avoid, in
decreasing order of importance: being seen as a cheapskate (or
worse, having no gift); or going overboard on a gift, which
usually means spending more than you can afford and probably
making the recipient uncomfortable. It’s also easy to spend too
much on someone (like your spouse or kids) and then find that
you have little or nothing for other important people in your
life (like your parents, siblings or friends). So set a budget
for your gift buying and stick with it.
8: Once you’ve
purchased your gift(s), you need to have a place to put it (or
them). So, make room in your house, apartment, condo or
whatever, and create a gift closet. Keep it stocked with the
great gifts that you wrote down on your handy gift list and then
purchased (within your budget).
Presto! You will
suddenly rise to the occasion with a great gift, or an armful of
great gifts, and you and your recipient(s) will be much happier
for it.
“Yesterday is
history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift.
That's why we call it the present.” ~ Babatunde Olatunji
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