Wrapping Up Your Holiday Shopping in a Stress-Free Way

The holiday season is a magical time filled with joy, family gatherings, and festive celebrations. However, it can also bring about stress, especially when it comes to shopping and organizing. 

If you’re reading this post, you’ve probably already made a good dent in your holiday shopping. Now’s the time to finish your holiday shopping sprint and add those final, but meaningful, touches.

1. Finish Your Shopping & Wrap Everything

First things first… if you haven’t finished your holiday shopping, now’s the time! While traffic online and at the stores picks up in late November, it only gets busier as Christmas gets closer. Tick off those last items on your gift list as soon as possible to avoid the worst of the December rush. It is possible to stay ahead of the holiday rush with these smart shopping tips.

Once your shopping is complete, dive into wrapping. Getting a head start will save you from frantic, last-minute wrapping sessions. Consider setting aside an afternoon or evening in early December where you wrap gifts while enjoying your favorite holiday tunes.

Pro tip: Keep all your receipts well-organized. You can even decorate an old shoe box, if you want something festive to hold your holiday receipts in. A moment of planning now will save you hassle later if exchanges or returns need to be made. Consider snapping a photo of each receipt as a digital backup.

[Related: Stay Ahead of the Holiday Rush: Smart Shopping Strategies for the Season]

2. Finalize Details & Prepare for Holiday Events

Now that your gifts are all purchased, focus your energy on holiday event planning and tying up any loose ends. If you haven’t already scheduled your gatherings, confirm arrival times and any dishes that you (and your guests) are making. Once you’ve confirmed what dishes you’re making for the event(s) you’re hosting or attending, start purchasing non-perishable ingredients for your holiday events. This task, tackled early, will give you peace of mind and more time to relish the festivities.

If you have any perishable goods that you’re getting as a gift (beer, cheeses, chocolate), now’s the time to make a plan to do so. Another thing to do? Double-check that all gifts are wrapped, labeled, and sorted to prevent any mix-ups on the big day.

3. Enjoy the Season

Last, and definitely most important: enjoy yourself. Once we’re in the heart of the holiday season, it’s crucial not to get lost in the preparations and miss out on having fun.

Remember, holidays are all about creating lasting memories with friends, family, and your other loved ones. Cherish the time that you have. While there will always be last-minute tasks that pop up, you’ll find it easier to remain present (pun intended) with your loved ones since you’ve handled most of the logistics ahead of time.

Take those pictures, get a little silly, and most of all, let everyone close to you know how much you love and appreciate them. After all, from our perspective, that’s the best (and most important) part of the season.

Unwrapping next holiday season

Once you’ve sipped all the eggnog and opened all the gifts, remember that it’s never too early to begin to plan savings for next year. While even 4-5 months of budgeting and planning for the holidays can help alleviate financial stress, having a 12-month budgeting strategy for the holidays can turn your frantic frenzy into a holi-yay.

Here’s to a joyful, organized, and peaceful holiday season!

[Shop Holiday Favorites] [Shop Stocking Stuffers]

Other posts in this series:

• Part 1: Set Your Budget & Determine Who You’re Shopping For
• Part 2: Brainstorming Gifts, Doing Your Research, and Creating Itemized Lists 
• Part 3: Ethical Options for Common Holiday Gifts
• Part 4: Stay Ahead of the Holiday Rush: Smart Shopping Strategies for the Season