Holidays are a busy and chaotic time for most of us. Add family (extra points for those with kids of any age home on break), work and final exams and it is enough to make anyone consider running off to a silent monastic retreat:
“Sorry, I couldn’t… turn in my paper/shop for presents/finish year-end projects. I was, uh, er, at a silent monastic retreat. Really.”
Although worthy of creativity points, it is unlikely to be a direct path to the Dean’s list. So, what is a working student to do about holiday gifts? Here are 5 suggestions. Hopefully at least one will work for you – or at least make you laugh.
1. Take 10 minutes today and make a list of everyone you are responsible to buy gifts for. Include the general gift category and price. If you know where to get it, write that down too. If this is stressful use a crazy- looking font; you will smile every time you see it. Carry the list with you always.
2. Delegate the shopping wherever possible. This can be a fun way for friends and family to help. Ask them to also wrap the presents (gift bags count.) If transferring money is tricky, buy yourself a VISA gift card (available almost everywhere, including 24-hour gas stations) and give it to your shoppers to use for the assigned purchases.
3. Shop online for everything else. If you can’t get it online, substitute. You are in school! When you are rich and famous your people can do this for you. Have stuff shipped directly to the recipient if he/she will not be physically present at your holiday celebration.
4. If it is too late to order and receive the gift, order it anyway then pick up something inexpensive and fun at your favorite bargain or dollar store (like crazy socks or a tiny snowglobe) – stick it in a gift bag with a VERY NICE CARD that includes a note saying the real gift is scheduled to arrive with Rudolph’s second run.
5. Give the gift of time…this has become one of the favorite gifts in my family. Buy and wrap movie passes with a note reading, “Good for one night out together at the movies;” the passes make it real. Purchase the non-perishable ingredients for a dinner or cookie bake. Wrap with a note: “Good for one home-cooked/home-baked cookie making party,” or whatever. Be creative. When the individual opens the gift suggest on the card what month might be fun for the activity. Mark it on your calendar and initiate the conversation in a few weeks to pencil in a date.
Bonus idea: If money is an issue, be personal and creative. One of the gifts my kids remember most was the least expensive. I bought each one a stuffed animal at a discount place, named the animal, then wrote a story and a little song (to the tune of existing children’s songs) about that child and his/her friend (the animal). I think Patty Panda and Henry the Hippo are still around somewhere.
Finally, give yourself the gift of a break. A coffee break. A holiday stress break. A study break. Even a friends and family break. Even extroverts need to hide in the closet every once in awhile. 
Laura
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.