A Last Minute Guide to Last Minute Gift Giving!

Liz Clark, Member Services Coordinator, joins us again as Guest Blogger; Read on!

I do my work at the same time every day—at the very last minute possible.  I admit…I’m a procrastinator.  There are a lot of us, almost 30 percent of the population, so don’t feel ashamed to admit it.  We just choose to live our lives in short bursts of frenzied activity.  As an inevitable result of my “procrastinature,” I am not done with my Christmas shopping, and by not done, I mean have not started.  No worries, I have some tricks up my sleeve that will help me come out on top this Christmas.

 Trick 1:  Find out exactly how desperate your situation is by writing it on paper.  Write down who you need to buy gifts for, a couple of ideas and places you might be able to find those gifts.  It is also helpful to put a price range on the gift for each person.   Once you see that you are facing an obstacle of gargantuan proportions, deal with the panic attack and try not to cry excessively on your list, you’ll need that.  Keep calm and let’s carry on, shall we?

Trick 2: BEFORE you leave the house to start your last minute shopping montage, make sure that you are prepared.  Check to make sure you have list, keys, cash, wallet, debit or credit cards, phone, lucky rabbit’s foot, four leaf clover and insurance information.  Also, make sure that you are comfortably dressed.  You aren’t going out to impress anyone.  You are going out into battle…comfy shoes, comfy pants and all.  Also make sure that you are mentally prepared, instead of being angry when lines are long, remember that you technically got yourself into this situation, so you may as well just enjoy what you have set yourself up for. Who knows? You may actually have fun.  We procrastinators live for the thrill and impending doom of deadlines, don’t we?

Trick 3: Make up your mind.  Don’t waffle back and forth on two gift choices.  Go with your gut feeling! They will love it, or at least pretend that they do until your back is turned.  That’s what counts!

Trick 4: Think outside of the big box store.  You want to be a holiday hero?  Try stopping at small local businesses to pick up unique gifts and stocking stuffers.  A lot of businesses have extended hours for the holidays, and great unique gift ideas.  Also, don’t forget your drugstores, like Walgreen’s and CVS. They are open late and you can score chocolate bars laced with chili peppers and a fish bowl that has a moving lobster, powered by magnets!  One tip within a tip, no one wants a bottle of ibuprofen for a stocking stuffer, no matter how loud the kids are.  Also, you could go with the homemade option.  Easy idea, buy a floating  glass frame, use acrylic paint to put the kids handprints on it, have them sign it and voila, a homemade treasure that will look lovely in the sunshine of Christmas morning.

Finally Trick 5: Make a book of coupons for things like “one foot rub” and “one movie night when the movie is your choice and I promise not to laugh or complain…too much” or “I owe you one awesome gift sometime before May.”  Be creative!  However, the last one may actually make things worse.

There you have my survival tricks for the procrastinator at Christmas time.  Go forth and get it done…you know, in a little while.