Organizing Christmas gifts doesn’t just mean the actual gift. It also means the planning, buying, and storing of the gifts. Since I love giving gifts but don’t want to spend a lot of money, I decided to create this gift lists. It served me well for at least 15 years and I hope it helps you too. Here’s how I used this gift list.
First, let’s start with the planning. Do you have a Christmas gift list? It helps manage your spending and keep you focus on what you need to buy. There are many ways to organize a Christmas gift list. This is how I organized mine.
How I Organized My Christmas Gift List
The first section is for my immediate family this includes gifts and stocking stuffers. I added a column called “Completed” which I mark the date or a check mark on when I purchase the item. In the next column, I have the budget amount I want to spend on that person. This helps me determine how much Christmas shopping will be this year.
The second section is for any family gatherings that I may have that year. This can also be used for workplace parties. I like to include the date of the party to remind myself of when I need the gifts. In this section, I also include the budgeted amount.
In section 3 and 4, when my kids were smaller, I would manage the gifts for the teachers and instructors/coaches. For example, the week of Dec. 17th was for the week before the holidays, that is usually when they would see their music/dance instructors for the last time before winter break. The kids usually saw their teachers the following week so we created a separate section for them. I also added gifts I wanted to give to service people, like a postal worker, trash pickup persons, hairdressers, and anyone else (clients, employers, etc…).
The 5th and 6th sections were used for holiday parties that I always had. I liked to have a Christmas eve and Christmas day party. There were usually several people attending and I loved giving holiday favors to them.
The 7th section was for my New Year’s Eve party. I usually celebrated this with friends that I didn’t have a chance to see during Christmas. By adding them to this section, it reminded me to get them a small gift as well.
And, finally, if you are like me and have several family and friends that were born around Christmas, you will like the last section. This section helped remind me to buy birthday gifts for family and friends.
If you were wondering what the “points” column meant, well, I would use this section for the “Free” gifts I would get like gift cards and other items from credit card companies like American Express. Since I can pick up $25.00 cards for only 2500 points, I would get these gift cards for the teenagers in my life. They had many to choose from and I didn’t have to spend actual cash for them. I would just use my points. I would indicate how many points I would need for each person and write what gift card I was going to give them in the gift given column.
Well, that’s it. I hope this gives you ideas on how to manage your Christmas Gifts List. Feel free to change it up and make your own sheet.
Where to hide the presents?
After I wrote up the Christmas Gift list, I went out and started shopping. I liked to hide the items in a closet or attic area. Keeping them covered so they don’t get damaged or seen by the recipient. It helped to write on the box or bag in small letters the initials of the recipient who will be receiving the gift. Hopefully, my kids aren’t reading this right now. LOL It helps remind me when I wrap the presents. Keeping all the presents in the same place really helped me remember what I purchased. There were a few times where I forgot to wrap a present because it wasn’t with the other presents and I did this made rush to find and wrap the missing presents. How stressful, right?
Well, that’s it for now. I hope this helps you too. How do you manage your Christmas list? Please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.
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What a clever checklist! I love that you broke out Christmas Eve and New Years. Thanks for sharing!
I love lists, i usually have my holiday entertaining needs posted on a list on my fridge to keep me on track. Great idea.
Great checklist Sabrina! I love that you included holiday birthdays… mine is on Dec 21st and you wouldn’t believe how many people forget a card or gift or write Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas on the card. Not being selfish, but growing up it was tough to not have my birthday be distinct from Christmas. I’m very aware of it now for anyone else with a December or early January birthday!
Happy birthday, Hilda. I bet it was tough as a kid. I have several December birthdays in my family so I got into the habit of getting them two presents. Adding it to my list really does help me remember.
It is so helpful to use categories like these. I have a way to keep track of what I’ve ordered (but hasn’t arrived) and what I’ve wrapped as well. It is really an inventory system for this busy time of year. Terrific!
What an impressive way to organize your holiday gift giving!
Great ideas to make sure that nobody gets left out. Love your spreadsheet 🙂
Great ideas for holiday organizing. Sometimes it gets so hectic, I often forget who wants what, what I’ve bought or worse yet how much I’ve spent. Lol. This will help. 🙂