Saving and Hassle-Free Gift Giving

Christmas isn’t supposed to be a stressful season. But sometimes, because Christmases oblige us to fill our gift list and throw so many parties left and right, the season snatch us from the essence of it—relaxing and family bonding. Oftentimes, busy people like us need to get into our work-tight schedule to buy and shop for gifts, and usually walking and buying through crowded malls and discount stores give us headache than relief. The Christmas sale is not sale after all, when you find out that you have thrown all your bonuses and holiday salaries to worthless gifts that turn out to be junks.

So here are some tips to SAVE and get out from the hassles of Christmas shopping rush:

1. Plan and write ahead. During your lunch-break perhaps, you can write in your diary or palmtop, the people whom you want to give something to. Try to remember things that you think they will use. What I do is to list down, people and the things I observed they need daily. Many gifts become useless because, while they serve the idea as mementos for the holiday, they usually go to the attics and cabinets to be preserved for the next life. People appreciate the gifts more when they are useful to them than being mere white elephants. So, try to buy gifts that will be useful to the one’s you will be giving. Like, CD canister for a brother, claypots for a holticulturist granny, or pens for a school-aged nieces and nephews. Many gifts need not be that expensive.


2. Recycle Gifts. Well, let us admit that many of our clients, or the some acquaintances or our favorite bar or restaurants give freebies or sort-of-something like free movie or theater tickets or just anything. Your company too for sure throws out corporate give-aways. These are the excellent items for gift recycling. Well, if you receive before Christmas, 10 mugs of same shapes and sizes, what do you think you’ll do with the other 9? Don’t keep it inside your cabinet. Pack them up, and give it away. You can give to anyone who needs a lift, and perhaps for you to show, you remember them. You can also give out, repetitious freebies you receive from others like, shirts, complimentary bags, caps, CD’s, free meal stubs and others. Just pack them nicely and give them away to family and friends. Save and Share.

3. Be Creative. Many of the gifts that the people want are those that they need or they really want, and these items need not be bought for a price. For instance, I gave 3 infant pacifiers to a cousin who had just recently given birth. She was thanking me for the nice gift, (which I am sure, will be used by the cute baby). It was easy to buy (just hop in your pharmacy), and so cheap. You can give gifts from your attic and give away items that collect dust from your storage. You can give out a candlestick by polishing it and give it to an aunt or a married officemate. You can dust out old hardbound books, or an old wooden clock and give it to a collector friend. If you are not a philaletist, you can carefully remove stamps from your old letters and give it as gifts. You clean up your dusty store room and you made someone happy. Just be creative, you don’t need to spend a cent.

4. Buy gifts in advance. It is not really true that you save during the holiday rush. Sometimes you end up buying something that isn’t useful or sometimes, not worth giving at all. Your gifts to people became junks in their houses and become a pile of clutter. So, buying gifts in advance by knowing what your friends want will do the trick. For example, during my trip to a local beach spot, I bought very cheap shell collectibles which my friend really loves to have (because of course, if they will buy it on off shore stores, it will be expensive). So, I spare some to buy it for her. Remember that since you are buying in advance, be sure, it won’t wear or tear, like figurines, brass items, collectors CD or leather products.

5. Send Snail Mail Cards. For the loved ones overseas, sending them a courier-sent gift would be buying twice. It is not economical and relatively useless. With the bulk of orders and parcels during holidays, sending gifts on boxes would sometimes be a nightmare than a surprise (though some couriers are on-time yet costly). So, try to buy in advance around October or November (to avoid delays) Christmas cards sold in packs. I usually find them in bookstore, with packs of 10’s, 20’s and even 50’s. You can write off to family and friends and officemates (even nearby) and express how much they mean a lot to you. The cost of mails in bulk is cheaper and in this time where e-mails are regular sight, receiving postman delivered mails, even though late, are still exciting.

Be different, all you need is a little imagination and some nick of a time thinking. Happy Gift-giving!