Are you looking for Christmas gifts? During the holidays, people often grapple with the pressure to get gifts right. And in doing this, it is easy to spend beyond your set budget. You want to get your colleague a new set of pens, your brother a new grill, and a toy for your toddler. And on top of all these, there are Xmas gift ideas for her here that are sure to blow her mind. So how can you balance your needs and those of your family? Do you have to lose in this quest to make them happy? The good news is that you can have your cake and eat it. And here’s how you do this:
It all starts with setting categories for your family members, such that everyone ends up with three gifts. Those are quite many presents, especially when you need to tighten the belt. And you will not have to go over budget. See? Killing two birds with one stone.
Practice Equality
Suppose you have two kids and you want to get them three presents each. All you need to do is to come up with a budget, which should be the first thing. Let’s say you have eighty dollars to spend this holiday on gifts. That means that each child will get forty dollars to spend on gifts. Following this can be hard, especially where there is a considerable age difference between the kids. After all, how can your fifteen-year-old compare to your toddler? Well, they don’t, and in practicing equality, you will have to ensure that the gifts are of the same standard. That means that if you buy a teen a new phone, think of toys that could compare to that for the baby.
Where you have kids of the same age, practicing equality is easy. If you spend five dollars more on one kid, you will need to do the same for the other. And you would end up using more money than you had intended. So stick to the budget no matter how hard their puppy dog eyes tug at your heartstrings.
Here is how you can get this right. First off, you need to understand that presents for older kids will cost a lot more than those of the younger ones. That is because, in most cases, you will have to keep up with trends. If there is a new video game, your teen is probably telling you about it. The same goes for a new phone in the market that your daughter cannot stop gushing about this season. It would not compare to grabbing a toy set for a young child. As you set your budget, keep this in mind.
Start with the overall budget, say $300, and write down the ages of the children. Say you have a 6, 8, and 10 years old, sum these ages up and get 24. Now divide the budget by 24, and you will get the price per year. You can then multiply each age by this price to figure out how much you will spend on the presents. That is equality.
Delegate the Shopping Tasks
You have been in control for a while now, and it is time to hand over the reins. Yes, that means that your kids get to do the shopping on your behalf. And this has many benefits, including giving you a break from hitting the mall this weekend.
Work with the budget you set. Where you have toddlers, this strategy may not work as they may not understand what the other children want. But from ages three, you can let them have fun choosing suitable gifts. Using the budget, divide it by the number of kids. Let’s say your kids are 6, 8, and 10 years old, and you want to spend sixty dollars on the presents. Have them go shopping with twenty dollars each.
This experience will teach them to think about others. It will instill the whole ‘giving is better than receiving’ mantra. And this will work in your favor. They will run up and down the mall, viewing different offers, and choosing what works for their sibling. In some cases, they could pool the money and buy one big thing.
Aside from making them thoughtful, buying each other gifts will teach them a lot about money. And in this age of financial literacy, that is a gift that nobody can take from them.
Do some shopping
As much as kids going shopping is a great idea, you should also spend some time seeking gifts that will please them. So figure out what they want and have a budget for these presents.
Use the 4-gift Rule
There are age-old traditions that people have used time and again, and they have worked. A good example would be something blue necessary for brides on their special days. And in this case, the rule will help you in deciding on what your loved ones should get. The first rule is something they want. So if a child has already let on that they want a new game, this could be the first gift. In this way, they will feel that you listen to them, and this will give them satisfaction and a feeling of warmth.
The second rule is something that they need. Maybe your son needs a new bike to move around the neighborhood because the old one cannot work anymore. Then this would be an ideal gift. The third rule is something that they wear. Do you have a child who cannot seem to get enough of sneakers? Getting them a trendy pair would earn you quite a big smile. And they could add this to their collection, awaiting the next release. And the final rule to abide by is something that they read. From jokes to recipes to DIY skills, there are so many categories from which you can choose.
By following these tips, everyone should end up with three to four gifts. And by limiting the quantity, you will focus more on the quality of the presents, making them more meaningful. Thus, unwrapping the presents this year will be so much fun. And you will not need to max out your credit cards to put a smile on your loved one’s faces.