Christmas Bliss

Enjoy the holiday spirit all year long!

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Planning Ahead for Handmade Gifts

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One thing that I love to do at Christmas is to surprise those closest to me with something handmade in addition to, or even instead of, other gifts. Handmade gifts can really reflect what you know and love about the other person, and they always show how much you care. Planning ahead for handmade gifts makes the entire process more enjoyable. You’ll enjoy the creative time and your friends and family will love their gifts!

There are no shortage of gift ideas online and in craft books, of course, so it is easy to collect ideas for DIY projects for family and friends. In fact, I usually save gift ideas in my Christmas planner, or just in a list on my phone.

In order to have handmade gifts ready for Christmas – and to enjoy the process of making them – it is important to begin early. Handmade gifts should be made with love, not stress!

Decide which handmade gifts to make (and for whom).

The first thing to decide is who will receive handmade gifts this year. This can be decided a couple of different ways. Maybe you’ve seen ideas for DIY gifts that would be perfect for a few people on your list. Start with those ideas or begin with the recipients in mind and think about what they may like or need.

First, list who will receive a handmade gift and what you plan to make for each person. Gift ideas should be fluid, as not every project will work as expected. But by being flexible, you will be able to treat everyone on your list to something special made with love.

Buy the materials now.

While fabric stores often start showing Christmas fabrics in May or June, online fabric stores have these materials available all year long. But for most handmade gifts, specific Christmas materials are not needed. General craft supplies, fabrics, or other materials may be purchased now, so that you have what you need and can work on the projects when you have the time over the coming months.

Print out any patterns for your projects and keep them in your planner. Make a list of needed supplies and watch for sales.

Organize materials by project.

Because life is busy, you’ll want to be able to pull out your handmade gift projects whenever you have a chance to work on them – and without having to hunt for the pattern or materials. Use shoeboxes, or other small containers (even the extra-large Hefty zipper bags work great!) to keep all the related materials with the pattern so that you can easily pick up where you left off and complete the projects over time.

Store the handmade gifts safely.

As you complete your projects, store them in a gift closet or wherever you keep your early Christmas purchases. Make sure to note them on your planner and to congratulate yourself on a job well done!

Handmade Christmas gifts make the holiday extra special for the you, the giver, as well as the recipient. So enjoy a little Christmas spirit anytime, and start planning for handmade gifts today.

The Perfect Time to Make a Gift List

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Winter is almost over, and maybe you are thinking ahead to spring planting or a summer vacation. But now is also the perfect time to make a gift list! By planning ahead, you can take advantage of unique gift ideas and late season or other sales or make handmade gifts for a lucky few. Most importantly, you can spread the shopping out over the year, which will save you time and money in November and December.

If you have a created a Christmas planner, you may already have a gift list started. If not, creating a gift list is a great way to begin planning. I keep a running gift list on my computer, which I usually update once immediately after Christmas, and again in September or whenever I start looking for gifts in earnest.

For Family First

I love waking up on Christmas morning to a huge pile of presents under the tree. I always have numerous gifts for each member of my immediate family to open. My gift list reflects this. Next to every family member’s name, I add spaces for the number of gifts I want to have for them. I can also use this to keep track of what I have already bought and to make sure I have a good variety of gifts for everyone.

My immediate family page also has a section for stocking stuffers. Here, I also leave spaces for the number of small gifts for each stocking. Extended family and friends are on a separate page. Their names are simply listed down the side, with one space for gifts beside each name.

For Everyone Else

The second page also lists the more general gifts that I know I’ll need. These include small hostess gifts, gifts for exchanges, something for neighbors, work colleagues, or household helpers (babysitters, dog walkers, etc.). I often also include a couple of “emergency” gifts, good for last minute giving to anyone. By putting those smaller items on the list, too, no occasion or person is forgotten and you will always be prepared for any last minute needs.

Giving the right gift to everyone on my list is, for me, the most fun part of the Christmas season. By making my list early and keeping it updated throughout the year, I can be sure to find something special for everyone.

January – Time to Plan Ahead and Organize

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It’s January, and time to plan ahead and organize for the the next holiday season. Sound crazy?  Remember how November and December were a whirlwind of decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking, and entertaining? In those moments, it is hard to think about what could be done differently or done better.

But January is the perfect time to plan for the next holiday season. Each year you can make the holidays more your own, minimize the last minute tasks, and have more time to enjoy family and friends.

Organize and Plan Ahead

Here, snow covers the ground and currently the windchill is at -7. I’ve put away the tree and all the decorations. In the calm of deep winter, I miss the tree lights and the warmth that the holiday decorations bring. One way to enjoy Christmas all year long is to spread some of the activities over the year.

January is a great time to think about what you wish you had done this past year. For example, every year, I promise myself that I will make little gifts for my family’s stockings. This year, I waited too long to start, so again I relied on buying something. I felt frustrated that I had not taken advantage of the time I had during the year to make something really special.

Other Tasks for January

  • If you buy Christmas idea magazines in the fall, you may never really take in all the ideas because you are so busy. January is a great time to tag the ideas you’d like to try next holiday season. Tear out the pages and keep them in a notebook or file folders, or just put a Post-It on the pages you want to remember. You can even color code your tags for gifts, decorating, recipes, etc.
  • Organize your gift wrap and bows. Look for sustainable items such as cloth gift bags or scarves that can be used each year to wrap gifts.
  • Make gift tags by cutting up Christmas cards or hitting up a craft store for premade tags that can be decorated for each recipient.
  • Update your Christmas card and gift lists with any new addresses or recipients.
  • Organize your decorations and donate anything that you are no longer using. This year I gave an extra tree to a friend, and a gigantic bag of ornaments to my oldest daughter, who was happy to have them for the tree in her new home. As for me, I was happy to pass them along and keep my own Christmas collection more curated and manageable.
  • Order holiday invitations or Christmas cards for next year. In January, you can still get a great selection and usually a good sale price. Just remember where you put them for next December!

It is never too early to start planning ahead for a wonderful holiday season!

Christmas Combos: Spend Less, Give More

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Want to spend less this Christmas, but give more? “Christmas combos” can help make shopping easier, more creative, and less expensive.

Shopping for kids at Christmas can be daunting. Buying multiple gifts for multiple children can be expensive under the best of circumstances. If you are someone who finds gifts throughout the year, it can be hard to make sure that everyone has an equitable sort of Christmas. But those old Christmas guidelines your parents used can be a helpful way to keep the shopping – and spending – under control.

Christmas gift

What are Christmas Combos?

What are Christmas combos? Remember the adage of “Something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read”? This is a what I call a Christmas combo. It does three things that make your holiday shopping easier.

First it sets a limit on the number of gifts that each child will have. Second, it sets categories, which can be flexibly applied, but ensure that each child has an equitable set of gifts. Lastly, if you set a budget for each child or each part of the combo, this plan can help control your spending. Think creatively about filling each category and look for sales throughout the year.

Christmas gifts wrapped with bows

Building your own Christmas Combo

In the past I always thought that four-part Christmas combos we too restrictive. Besides I wanted my kids to open more than four gifts on Christmas morning. But my thinking on that has changed, especially as my kids have grown. I start with those four categories (need, want, wear, and read) to cover the basics. Then I add other gift categories to complete the combo. The process is creative and fun!

Other Categories to Add

Here are some other ideas for gifts to add to your Christmas combo:

  • Something to do: An experience, such as concert tickets, a trip to a museum or gallery, music lessons, an online class, an overnight camping trip, or a hike on a new trail, makes a great gift. The choices are endless and don’t have to cost much or anything at all.
  • Something to eat: A variety of Christmas cookies, homemade jam or chocolate sauce, their favorite dinner with a friend once a month, or gift cards to a favorite snack spot are all easily made or reasonably purchased.
  • Something homemade: A sweater, scarf, blanket, pajamas or doll clothes, if you like to sew, knit or crochet; gift baskets of skin or shaving products, yummy snacks, or art materials – these DIY projects become cherished gifts. And they are fun, creative, and generally inexpensive especially if you start early!
  • Something to learn: Sewing or guitar lessons, a session with a personal trainer, online language courses, computer coding classes, a gift card to Masterclass, Udemy, or Skillshare – now is a great time to give the gift of a new hobby or a familiar passion.

While you can see that each of these categories can overlap, that’s OK because it allows you a little flexibility when tallying all the gifts and making sure each child is receiving something for each part of your combo.

Have fun creating your own Christmas combo, and see how much easier and less expensive your Christmas shopping can be!

New Gift Ideas This Christmas Season

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Are you in a gift-giving rut? Need new gift giving ideas? If you consistently buy one type of gift for someone (clothes or books, for instance), it may be time for a change. Break your predictable Christmas gift-giving habits by developing new gift ideas this Christmas season.

Think Creatively

Time and cost factor always factor into giving gifts. But you can find great gifts by starting now to think creatively and specifically about each person on your list. By keeping your eyes open for the unique and special, you can take find new gift giving ideas everywhere you look.

Think Individually

Time to get a head start on your Christmas shopping. Here are five strategies that can make your gifts stand out this season:

  • Decide on a formula. Last year, I used a Christmas Combo. This is a formula for choosing gifts: something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read, something to do, and something I made. It all added up to six quality gifts to open. While it was a bit tricky to come up with some of the gift ideas, I enjoyed the challenge. More importantly, everyone was delighted to be truly surprised on Christmas morning!
  • Brainstorm for each person. The key to being creative with gifts is taking the time to really think about each person. Consider their interests, likes and dislikes, before deciding on a gift. It is hard to do in November or December when when time becomes an issue. Take a day or two now to really think about each person. List their interests and gift ideas throughout the year. It will make your shopping much easier no matter when you start!

Look for New Sources

  • Experiment with new stores or sites. Part of why gift-giving becomes predictable is we fall back on the same stores or sites such as Amazon, especially if time is an issue. Why not treat yourself to a small business shopping excursion each month? Go to smaller boutiques or specialty shops in a nearby town. Check out curated lists of exceptional but lesser known shopping sites. You can find something that might delight those on your list, while you get a head start on your Christmas shopping, too!
  • Don’t forget handmade gifts. Last year I had grand ideas to make something special for everyone in my immediate family. However, I waited too long to do anything substantial. Not wanting to give up that piece of my formula, though, I made small gift boxes with sweets, cocoa and a cute mug in each. It was not what I originally planned, but it was handmade-ish and still very much appreciated. Start now to think about what you could make yourself, check out Etsy or use the gift basket/box approach to up your creativity game this Christmas.

Try Something Different

  • Consider gifts of time or experience. One way to get creative with Christmas giving is not to give “stuff” at all! I once gave my mother the gift of taking her to lunch at a different restaurant each month for a year. It ended up being a global culinary tour as we tried all types of cuisines, and it was lots of fun for me as well! Consider tickets to a show, a museum pass, an online course or a tour of some unique local feature. Try a service such as cleaning, yard work, babysitting or cooking. The only caveat with a gift like this, though, is to make sure you actually follow through with whatever you promise to do!

Now is the perfect time to start thinking creatively about your Christmas giving. Have fun and happy hunting!