In my quest for a slower and more meaningful December spent with friends and family, I plan on completing 30 Days of tasks to get ready for Christmas before Thanksgiving...and I invite you to join me.
Day 3: Make a List of Gift Recipients
Now that we've spent the first 2 days in big-picture activities, it's time to get down to the nitty gritty.
Devote one page in your Holiday Notebook to creating a list of people for whom you plan on buying gifts. Be sure to include anyone and everyone you think you'll buy for, including yourself, your spouse, kids, extended family, teachers, etc.
Once you have your list, be mindful that tomorrow we'll be working on our holiday budgets. Not to be a grinch, but perhaps there are ways you can cut down your list if it's large? Several years ago, the adult siblings in both of our families decided that we were only going to buy for the kids (and our parents) rather than for everyone since at one point we were buying for 6 adults (excluding ourselves) and 7 kids (excluding our kids) just for my husband's family alone. We decided gifts for the adults weren't important...we'd rather spend the time together and watch the kids open their gifts.
Or if you have a large family, perhaps everyone could draw names and buy for that person? We did that several years ago with my family to fill our stockings. We all drew names and then we were responsible for filling that person's stocking for Santa on Christmas morning.
Of course, if your budget allows it and you love to buy for lots of people - go for it!
Our list:
We still buy for quite a few people, including:
- My husband
- Myself (not that I have to have a gift 🙂 )
- My 2 boys
- 9 nieces and nephews varying in age between 2 and 23
- Both sets of our parents (4 adults)
- Teacher gifts
What about you?
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