It’s a week before Christmas and you haven’t bought gifts for anyone yet. You do this every year and inevitably it is hell because you do all your shopping last minute. The idea of hand-selecting gifts for everyone is too overwhelming so you put it off. If only you had a holiday gift giving guide to help the stress melt away.

Say goodbye to the holiday torture and make it fun again! 

Here’s a guide to stress-free gift-giving that will still be thoughtful, but make you want to tear your hair out less! 

1. Organize Your People

Create a list of every person you intend to give a gift to and how much you would like to spend on them. From here, you can decide what to search for, read reviews, buy based on good reviews, and make sure the shipping date is before Hannukah or Christmas! (Sounds obvious, but you don’t want to find out later you’ve ordered a gift that will come in January!).

2. Secret Santa

If you don’t do this already, do a Secret Santa with everyone you spend Christmas with. I love drawnames.com for this. It allows you to enter everyone who will be participating and exclude who shouldn’t buy a gift for who (for example mom and dad shouldn’t buy a gift for one another because they will buy each other gifts anyway). This will reduce the need to spend hours agonizing over what to get for so many people. 

3. Give An Experience 

My niece and nephew are blessed to have a huge family who showers them with presents. My husband and I realized a while ago that our gifts get lost in the pile and don’t have any real meaning. Since then, we give the kids an experience rather than a toy. 

We’ve given experiences such as the movies, the aquarium, a trampoline place, Chuckie Cheese. It doesn’t have to be costly. You can even decide just to have them over and have a pajama/craft day or ask them what games they’d like to play and buy some snacks. The idea is that we get to spend this quality time with them at least once a year and have them all to our selves. 

4. Gift Needed Items

This one is really simple. Rather than guessing what everyone wants, ask everyone what they need.

If you’re going to be spending money on them, they would probably appreciate something they need versus a gift that they might not ever use. They may want a gift card or new socks which is a snooze alert, but if that’s what they want it makes life easier for both of you.  

5. Group Gift

If the gift your loved one wants is expensive, see if you can split it with others such as siblings, cousins or friends. Sometimes it’s easier to get one expensive item someone needs from multiple people than to get a bunch of knick-knacks. Thirteen members of my family got my grandpa a new laptop last Christmas. 

6. Gift Quality Time 

Instead of gift you hand someone, set a date to go out to dinner and enjoy one another. This gift, especially if you wish you could see that person more often, is worth more than the scarf you grabbed last minute from Walmart out of desperation.

7. Gift Yourself

 If it’s a friend or parent you can give a picture or coffee mug of you and them and freeze yourselves in time. If it’s for parents and you have kids, they will especially enjoy a calendar, coffee mug or book of their grandchildren they can cherish all year long. 

Doesn’t feel like enough? Order take out or cook for them next time you are visiting so they can enjoy their grandchildren without having to worry about dinner. 

8. Give A DIY Gift

If you’re feeling crafty or love to bake, go ahead and make your gift for your loved ones. One good thing about this activity is that it is a nice way to occupy your time and distract you from any stress you may be experiencing. 

Some ideas could be homemade cookies or caramel that you wrap nicely, or anything that you can personalize will give that extra warm touch so they know it was meant just for them. This doesn’t have to be costly. Your local 99 cents store will have items in bulk that you can personalize. 

9. Set A Strict Price Limit 

The guessing game of “Will they spend more on me?” is a pain. Set a strict amount of money you will spend on each other and stick to it.

10. Don’t Give A Gift At All

Choose people in your life, such as your partner or sibling, who wouldn’t mind saving the extra money for those who expect a gift, such as kids. This way, you agree to take the burden off of one another. If it feels cheap or like a Christmas killjoy, set aside a special day after the holidays to dedicate to one another and give the gift of your company. 

11. Request A Favor 

Ask for something free that’s worth its weight in gold, such as babysitting. If you have kids this is a monumental gift! you can even ask for advice from a loved one based on their career. You have an Uncle who’s a financial advisor and you’re in debt? Request financial advice instead of a soy candle!

I hope you aren’t experiencing gift-giving stress this holiday season, but if you are, here are some ways to lessen that stress. 

Step back, make a plan, share yourself, and enjoy what’s best about this time that only comes once a year. Allow the gifts to matter less and enjoy your time with those you love.

Check out these holiday posts:

Working parents face many challenges. It can be difficult to balance work and parenting. Since the time you spend with your children is less than you’d like it to be, quality time with them is essential. If you are away from your children for an extended period of time as a working parent, you may feel guilt and a sense of disconnection. Although it’s not easy, there are some simple, stress-free ways that parents who work can spend quality time with their children while feeling like they’re bonding with them like no one else.

1. Be The One Who Bathes Your Child

Bath time can be a time of bonding and play. It is also a good time to recount the day with your little one while they get all sudsy. The bonus is you get to wash your little cutie and feel you are connecting with them. If this isn’t realistic to do every day, make sure you set aside the time at least a few days a week. You won’t regret it.

2. Read Your Child Their Bedtime Story

This is a great way to provide them with a sense of connection with you right before they go to sleep. This ensures your engrained in their memory and mommy or daddy is there to safely usher them to sleep. If you’re a busy parent, obviously you are, be sure to tell your child reading time is 15 minutes and then it is lights out.

3. Give Your Child Special Time With Just You

For some, this may be a controversial idea if there is more than one child. Be sure to do the same with your other child or children. For your little one, there is nothing like alone time with mom or dad. Give your child a “special time with mommy or daddy” dollar to use for just the two of you. Don’t worry if you’re not crafty, they will be excited anyway. Allow them to use their imagination on what you can do together. If you feel parameters need to be set, offer them three options and allow them to pick one. The will surely make them feel they’ve gotten special treatment and therefore mommy or daddy love them so.

4. Be Silly With Your Little One

Life is busy and can get pretty stressful. Your child has the luxury of being relatively care free. If they are being silly, go ahead and join them. Stop what you’re doing altogether or just be sure to give them good face time as you keep doing what you’re doing and be silly with them. There is nothing like letting go and laughing with your child. Have dance parties in the kitchen while you’re cooking. Tickle them and chase them around the house. Whatever it is you enjoy together that makes you both laugh that hearty, innocent laugh. Your child can be the perfect human stress ball if you are mindful and stop to enjoy these moments with them. As a working parent there is always something you can be doing to catch up at home. Whatever it is you need to do can wait a little longer.

5. Say Yes

As a working parent, you have little time to clean up a mess. Do you ever find it can feel like you say no to everything your child is doing or asks to do? Try saying Yes. I’m not saying to allow your child to run through the street naked. But, if there are moments in which you can lose the reins a little, like allowing your child to play in the dirt, eat messy or stay up just a few minutes longer, be a yes mom.

Understandably, there are going to be things you worked hard to keep your child from doing for their safety or because it’s just annoying when they do it. But, if there is something in which you can offer some wiggle room, your child will appreciate the freedom.

6. Do Chores Together

If there is no magical chore fairy and there are things you need to get done to maintain your home, why not involve your child? Let them be your sous chef and throw away the discarded part of veggies. Have a race to see who can empty the dishwasher and put things away the fastest. Make it fun and allow them to feel they have a special task. They will enjoy this tedious task because it is with you.  

One study conducted by Amy L. Paugh and Tamar Kremer-Sadlik , interviewed 32 dual-earner, two-parent American families. What they found was that everyday activities (like household chores or running errands) were the unplanned, unstructured instances of quality time that helped with relationship-building.

Put away your wallets because they want your attention more than objects!

Engaging in these everyday tasks with your child will eliminate having to choose between things that need to get done and spending time with your child. You don’t need to take them to Disney World to feel you’ve spent quality time with them. It is most often the seemingly mundane things we do with them that mean the most.

Trust that they will enjoy whatever you do with them because it is with you. Try your best to free your mind when you are with your children and stay in the present to remain stress-free. It is not easy being a working parent but you are doing your very best. Enjoy because, to be cliche, they grow up fast!