How to Organize Christmas Gifts Easily

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 your 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 checkmark 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 sections 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 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 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. I am 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 gift because it wasn't with the other presents, and I did this mad rush to find and cover 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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