What, it's the Holidays already? Wasn't it just the summer?

Unless you live under a rock, you know the Holidays are upon us.

Overall, I'm not a big spender, so I don't drop a lot of money on gifts or anything, but I spend more than I normally do and it's all in a matter of weeks. Additionally, I get HUGE gift-giving anxiety and that is one reason why I wait so long to buy gifts. I usually end up buying gift cards, but there's not much thought in that and the loved ones don't appreciate it as much. Of course, I'm one of those individuals who likes to wait for the best deal (to be read as: I'm a procrastinator who waits until the last minute and never really saves any money.).

To avoid that crazy, rushed feeling, I try to make a plan. Granted, I rarely follow the plan, but planning makes me feel like I am in control during the Holidays, so it's all good!

While it's probably a little too late to get ahead on the Holidays, wishful thinking always prevails. As such, here's the plan:

Decide if I'm going to be crafty and make anything by mid-September. This lets me have time to buy supplies and put the needed effort into the gift. Does this ever happen? No, but we can all dream!

Figure out who I am going to buy gifts for by the end of October. My list is really short, so I can wait longer than some people who do this by September, at the latest.

Harass those people into telling me what they want for Christmas. This takes as much effort as shopping because people never know what they want until the week before Christmas - or is that just my friends and family?

Start shopping! I actually like to shop at the malls and see all the holiday decorations and items that I never knew I needed, so this part doesn't bother me like some folks.

This year, I am prepared for the little gifts that seem to pop-up (work parties, mainly). I went through http://www.mypoints.com/ for free gift cards - Starbucks, Barnes & Nobles, Bath & Body Works. (Send me an e-mail, as I get referral points, PRETTY PLEASE!!!).

I wait to wrap everything on one day because it's such a pain in the ass to take everything out for only a few things, put it away, and then take it back out in a few days when I've gotten more things. Plus, I'm extremely anal about my wrapping - folded edges, creased perfectly, etc. Unforch, this doesn't work for me very well and I end up wrapping things last minute and very haphazardly - prism tinfoil, anyone? I would like to go green and use newspapers or plain white paper accessorized nicely, but I get laughed at; so I settle for second best and use recycled wrapping.

Enjoy the holiday time with friends and family!

Enjoy!

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