If this is the first Simple Balance tip you’ve read, make sure you click on the rainbow image as it will take you to the index and overview of the series. ;o)

So, it’s the holidays and most people are feeling the sense of the hustle and bustle that go with it. As I was sitting here thinking this morning, I realized how much of what I wanted to say fit so well with this series. So today you get a quadruple whammy as tips will cover: Organizing & Planning, Technology & Resources, Family & Entertainment as well as Cooking & Shopping!

This post began with a title of Christmas Gifts.

Sidetrack: Since I began blogging, I’d drop in a title and any notes to an article idea in my dashboard (is that another organizing tip?! LOL) So now when I go to write there is a list of several to choose from. Well, this past week I got smart and started adding links to articles that were related, inspired the article or just plain fit with what I had in mind. Today’s post will utilize several!

Back to the point: Christmas gifts - - finding the right ones, not breaking the piggy bank or losing too much sleep over them. This article was a fun find of shared ideas for gift giving and kids. One of the most helpful things I’ve found with gift giving has been themes. Big or small, group or individual, starting a theme can provide a lot of satisfaction and a great deal of simplification and balance. The bonus is that if done well, it can provide these things for many years because you create something you can add to.

In our families we began a theme of books with all the grandchildren on both sides. All the cousins names go in a jar and each cousin gets the name of another cousin. That is who they will buy a present for and the present will be a book - any kind, just a book. The kids love this because not only do they each get a gift each year, but they are actively involved in the process. Do you have any idea how much easier it is to take a young child shopping for someone when you already know what you’re going to look at? Finding the right book becomes fun, easy and even enjoyable. This simple “themed” gift giving process has brought about more sanity and simplification than I can put into words.

Themes continue to aid me with my own kids and immediate family. As parents get older, there are few things they dearly love as much as shared memories. Could there be a better theme? Several years ago one of my cousins and myself made a scrapbook binder for our grandmother. We invited every family to submit a scrapbook page to it for her. It became a tradition, with each sibling and grandchild adding a page or two each year at Christmas and that book got some serious mileage. It was the first thing you reached for when you went to Grandma’s to catch up on all your cousins and their kids! This year, I’m starting something similar with my kids. Each year I want to make sure they receive a gift of memories - be it a personal sized scrapbook, DVD movie of photo slideshows, video clips, etc. or a page to go in an existing book they have. The point is I want to start sharing the memories now when they can really enjoy them. Gifts of memories are gifts from the heart, and these are always home runs. *wink*

Even with the many toys today, themes can really help. For example, my daughter is collecting the Littlest Pet Shop and clothing articles for her Build-A-Bear stuffed animals. Last year her Grandma started the American Doll for her. The great thing about collections like this is how easy it makes giving gifts, and she has so much fun having an entire collection instead of just a few pieces to play with. I enjoy not having to filter through the toys so often clearing them out and controlling the volume. My son’s collections consist of matchbox cars, wooden trains and puzzles and Legos. Less volume, less mess, less space required to store and less worries for mom.

This idea goes one step further because it requires you to organize a little before you hit the stores. And speaking of stores…the best and easiest shopping can be done online these days. The joy of finding just what you want, avoiding crowds and getting things shipped to their destinations is truly a thing of beauty. If you’ve never utilized this technology for shopping, there’s no time like the present (no pun intended). Here’s a few starters for you: Lakeside, Overstock, Amazon, not to mention every favorite store you already visit that has its own website. The thing is, a little organization will go a long way! I loved this article that tackles so much on this topic of holiday balance.

One other tip I have to throw in is how I’m learning to pick something up whenever I see it if it just “sings” someone’s name to me and is affordable - regardless of the time of year. When you tell yourself you’ll go back or get it later you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and you’ll be kicking yourself later. Who needs that? Besides, it’s a nice suprise to start wrapping and realize how much shopping you’ve already gotten done just because you didn’t walk by that perfect thing for “(choose a name)”. Just don’t hide it as well as Chevy Chase hid the Mother’s day gift. *laugh*

So we’ve covered shopping, technology, organizing and family in one topic. Whew! I’m exhausted so we’ll save other related tips for their own post….LOL

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Parenting Shopping Sharing Organizing Balance Success Holidays