COVID-19 has left many of us with unused extra time at home. To help your friends and family make the most of that time without adding any paper, gadgets or other extra stuff to their already #cluttered lives, #give the #gift of knowledge. MasterClass offers online lessons taught by celebrity experts in topics such as cooking (Gordon Ramsey, Alice Waters), writing and filmmaking (Margaret Atwood, Spike Lee), and even tennis (Serena Williams). You may help your giftees open the door to a lifelong avocation.
Tag: holiday gifts
Make Gifts Into Holiday Decorations
Now’s the time to decorate for the holiday if you haven’t already! One easy way to decorate quickly it is to get your gifts wrapped and on display under the tree as soon as possible, says blogger Liz Marie. Experiment with gift wrap, ribbon, ornaments and other elements to lend your gifts festive visual interest, she says. “The dollar store sells brown craft paper that looks great paired with some natural elements you can find in your yard” such as pine cones and boughs.
Shopping for Christmas … From Your Screens
The novel #coronavirus has upended life as we know it. Even the holidays haven’t been spared, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommending that more than 330 million Americans reconsider their Thanksgiving travel plans to stop the spread.
Generally speaking, the fewer people you come into close contact with, the better. And with Christmas, Hannukah and other celebrations due up, CDC lists “Going shopping in crowded stores just before, on or after Thanksgiving” as a high-risk activity.
Since it rarely requires interpersonal interaction, online shipping is low-risk. It has been growing apace with the internet for more than 25 years, and it is now set to eclipse all other channels for holiday gift-giving during the pandemic.
Retailers are ready to provide home delivery and contactless pickup if you’re willing to offer a credit card number. The deals aren’t bad, either; many outlets are offering loss leaders just to get you through their online storefronts.
Sitting in front of a screen trying to source great gifts can be tedious — there’s just no way to browse as fast as you might in a physical setting. That’s where online gift guides can help: They can point you in the direction of good gifts for anyone on your list.
Stuck for ideas? Just Google “gifts” and few keywords of the things and activities your giftee likes, and you’ll soon have a page of links to lists suggesting products with click-throughs to online stores ready to take your money.
Whatever they like — be it tech, gaming, music, movies, pets, exercise, cooking — there’s a gift guide for it. At the Organizing Blog, we like to give gifts that don’t add to clutter, meaning they are immediately useful or take up little space. Gourmet foodstuffs, a subscription to a streaming service, or a charitable donation are good options.
To help fund valuable veterans programs during a particularly stressful and often isolating holiday season, consider donating your extra stuff to ClothingDonations.org or making a direct donation of money or a vehicle to VVA.org. The veterans appreciate the help. Now get shopping!
How to Have a Stress-Free Holiday
By the time you read this, the year’s extraordinarily short #holiday shopping season will be nearly over. If you haven’t completed your shopping by now, you’ll have to pay for overnight shipping or brave the last-minute crowds at an old-school retail store.
As the clock winds down, you may also have meals to prepare and gifts to wrap. You may need to do an airport run to help far-flung family members join in the fun. You may even need to fit all of these activities in around your work schedule.
That’s a lot of stress. But there are ways to defuse that stress and enjoy the holidays.
The first is to know when you’ve done enough. Striving to create the “perfect” holiday can drive you nuts. There may be a few “nice to haves” or traditions that you just can’t fit into the holiday plan this year — and that’s OK. The sun will rise and set without them.
If you’re short a gift, you can give cash, buy a gift card or sign your giftee up for a subscription service that periodically delivers coffee, tea or wine. There are also plenty of all-digital gift options that can help show you care instantaneously.
Take advantage of services that take some of the work off your hands. Retailers are only too happy to wrap that gift or assemble that piece of furniture. The local bakery can provide a pie, and you can ask guests to bring a side dish.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help when the big event arrives. A thoughtful guest will volunteer, of course, but many people may need reminding as they celebrate with family and friends. This is a great way to keep kids occupied ahead of a gift grab.
You can set deadlines on what you need to get done, but build in an hour or two of serenity to maintain your sanity. “Head outdoors for a refreshing change of scene,” Woman’s Day suggests. “Take a starlit nighttime stroll through your neighborhood to view the holiday lights.”
You don’t have to do it all — and even if you could, it wouldn’t add to your enjoyment of the holiday season or anyone else’s. Focus on the big picture and know when to “say when,” and you’ll be able to create warm holiday memories without the stress.
Gifts That Can Help Conquer the Clutter
Whether it’s the desk, drawer or dorm room, there is probably an accouterment designed to help people organize it. Simplemost has gift ideas to help organize tea bags, box lunches, batteries, toys, scarves, closets and more. The Container Store offers every kind of bin and box imaginable for room-by-room organization. But the last word on keeping one’s home organized, however, must be Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which will encourage giftees to slash their inventories of worthless stuff and embrace a new, clutter-free lifestyle.