Animated Lessons
Target Giving: Your Key to a Relaxed Holiday Season
Do you struggle with shopping for gifts each year during the holiday season? Is it more stressful than joyful? Would you like that to change? Then take a few minutes to consider a new approach to your gift-giving and find yourself putting the happy back in your Happy Holidays!
I call this gift-giving approach Target Giving. Simply put, Target Giving uses planning, customization and careful record-keeping to make sure that everyone on your gift list receives a gift they will truly appreciate. In addition, you (the gift-giver) are able to reap the joys of a less hectic, more organized season of giving.
Here's how Target Giving works:
- Step 1
Grab a spiral notebook or open a new file on your
computer. Mark your first page 'Holiday 2005' Then
list everyone for whom you'll need to have a gift.
Don't forget the 'small' or 'overlooked' gifts, such
as teacher appreciation gifts, business gifts, etc.
- Step 2
By each name, jot down any quick ideas that come to
mind of things that person enjoys. Books, games,
lunch out, anything at all. The more brainstorming
you do at this stage the easier your shopping will
be later on. Add suggestions you may have received
throughout the year. Give quick calls or emails to
ask family members or other close associates what
they know about the gift recipients needs and wants.
Pay close attention to dislikes, too, and note any
such comments in your notebook/computer file.
- Step 3
Allow a space or insert a column by each name to
note when you need to give the gift. Give yourself
some leeway and make this date a few days earlier
than you actually need. That way you build some
flexibility into your schedule. Count up the total
number of gifts you will be purchasing and divide
by the number of weeks left until you will start
delivering them. This will tell you how many gifts
per week you need to shop for.
- Step 4
Now jot down on your regular calendar/planner one
day a week that you need to look at your Target Gift
List and choose two, three, or whatever amount of
gifts you need to purchase that week. Write those
names in your regular planner or on a shopping list.
In addition...
- note the gift ideas you have already
compiled next to the recipient's name and choose
two or three ideas that you like the most.
- Often a new idea will come to mind during
this time. Mark it down, as well.
The point is, this is the time to organize your actions for this task. Spending a few minutes customizing your gift selections at this point can save you real time - sometimes hours - later while shopping.
Key Tip:
- Not only is this the point at which many of us
lose control of our time management for this task,
it's also the point we shift from giving what we
really want (something the recipient will truly
appreciate) to giving impulsively whatever jumps
off a store display at us.
The main idea here is...
- DON'T GO SHOPPING until you have narrowed down
your choices to two or three definite ideas per
gift. When you get to the store, if you see
something that's even better, great! In any case,
you are prepared to BUY and not just endlessly LOOK.
You get the idea!
- Step 5
Examine your regular schedule and decide when you're
going to shop, where you're going and what
(probably) you're going to purchase. Then do it!
Target Giving also allows you to take advantage of sales and specials. Because you are focusing on only a small amount of gifts at a time, your brain can easily alert you to appropriate sales notices you naturally come across each week. In this way, you are not only using Target Giving, you are also utilizing Focused Shopping!
- Step 6
A simple tip. Remember to take advantage of all
of your options. Making use of lunch time,
shopping by catalog or internet, delegating the
job to someone more qualified or less busy, are
all examples of making use of your resources.
You could assign a chunk of the gift shopping
this year to your teenager, for example. It's a
great way to learn about budgeting time and
money, as well as discovering the joys of giving.
- Step 7
After the gifts are purchased, wrap and label
immediately. Include a note (to yourself) on the
package reminding you when and where the gift
should be given. Mark the day each gift needs to
be delivered on your regular calendar; then store
until the proper time to give.
- Step 8
Lastly, make sure you note in your Target Giving
List what you actually gave each recipient.
That way you'll have a record of gifts in the
coming years and can easily prevent duplication.
Using Target Giving, by the time the holidays arrive you will have completed most or a large portion of your gift shopping. Then you can relax and delight in watching your gifts be appreciated, enjoying the blessings of giving!