It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

...in August?!? I'm actually running a little behind already.  However, I have a head full of ideas for everyone on my list plus some.  I just need to get started.

Ok, let me back up and explain why, after three years of blog silence, I'm starting back up with a countdown to Christmas beginning in August.  Those who've known me a long time know this about me already, but recently some newer friends have discovered that I shop all year long for Christmas gifts.  I used to joke that I start Christmas shopping on December 26 for the next year.  That isn't entirely accurate.  I usually start around Memorial Day.  Why?  Well, two reasons.  First of all, I love the Christmas season and I love to enjoy the Christmas season (which is why I let RL continue watching Elf into the spring this year).  If I'm running around like a headless chicken trying to find gifts at the last minute and then settling on whatever is left on the store shelves, I'm stressed out, unkind, and am most certainly not enjoying the season and neither is anyone else around me.  I used to work in retail and let me tell you that during a season of love, joy, and giving, those are the last things on any stressed out person's mind.  I cannot tell you how many times a customer would be angry at me, a sales associate, for not having exactly what their recipient "wanted" when it was just a few days before Christmas.  I wanted so badly many times to bark back at them and lecture them about waiting until the last minute to find the right gifts for the right people.  "What do you mean it's not on sale this week?!? It was half off last week!!"  Again, if you had not waited until two days before Christmas, we would have had the item in stock AND on sale.  By shopping all year round, I am almost always able to find exactly what I want to give and rarely pay full price for it.  Gift giving is one of my love languages so it's thrilling to me to hunt for the perfect gift (and the perfect price) for each person on my list.  Secondly, I have a pretty lengthy list of family members we exchange gifts with each year and it's imperative to our family that I stay on budget.  So, there's my "why".

"But how do you do it," you ask?  First of all, I have a small notebook (I believe I purchased it at Walmart) that is used ONLY for gift giving recording.  It is "Mommy's notebook" and NO ONE is allowed to touch it!  I was fortunate enough to find an inexpensive one with a harder cover and an inside pocket.  So, it's small enough to fit in my purse, durable (I've had it for several years now), and the pocket is super convenient to hold all my receipts.  At the top of the page I write the year.  On the front of the page, I list each person on my side of our family that we buy for and on the back of the page I list everyone on Jon's side of the family plus our immediate family (Jon and the girls).  Now, I keep a record of the gifts I purchase for several reasons.  First, so I know who I've purchased for already and who I still need to shop for (no, it really isn't that overwhelming--I'll explain why in the next post so make sure you check back in a few days).  Second, I don't like repeating gifts every year.  You can only give so many candles or bath sets, even if the recipient loves candles or bath sets.  By keeping a record book, I always have my list of people and no one is forgotten.  Here's the thing...Christmas comes the same time each year and our families don't really change (with a few small exceptions, but those don't usually happen overnight).  It doesn't surprise us with its appearance.  It's not a surprise that if you have bought a gift for Great-Aunt Ida for the past 20 years, you'll likely buy a gift for her again this year.  This also holds true for budgeting money so that you aren't going into debt over one holiday (more detail/hints/tips/ideas to come in another post as well).

I thought about taking a picture of my list, but it's really not much to look at and you wouldn't know the names or familial relation to help you think about your list.  So, I'll list the relation I have in its order:
My Side--
Mom
Dad
Brother
SIL
Niece
Maternal Grandmother
Aunt
Uncle
Cousin
Cousin
Paternal Grandmother
Paternal Grandfather
Paternal Step-Grandmother
Uncle
Aunt
Cousin
Cousin's Spouse
Cousin
Cousin
Uncle's grandchild (x3)
Uncle
Aunt
Uncle
Aunt
Cousin's kids (x2)
Cousin's kids (x3)

On the other side of the page, it looks something like this:
His Side--
Mom
Dad
Niece
Niece
Nephew
Niece
Nephew

Jon
M
RL


Now, you may be wondering, "but how do you know for what to look for each person so early in the year?"  Well, come back in a few days and I'll have some ideas posted for you.  Until next time, find a notebook and start making your list!