This post is part of a series – “31 days to take the Stress out of Christmas”. You can read all the posts in the series here. And to make sure you don’t miss a post you can subscribe to have every post delivered to your inbox, or follow me on facebook.
So today is another homework day. Remember I said one of my frustrations with presents was waiting until the last minute to wrap them. So I am challenging myself and YOU to wrap any gifts you already have bought. And as you buy gifts to immediately wrap them. Make sure to keep a detailed list of what you wrap so if you plan to add another gift or can’t remember what you bought for a person you don’t have to unwrap it to find out! 
If you need some gift wrapping ideas check out the 25+ creative & easy DIY gift wrap ideas I shared yesterday.
So how many gifts do you already have purchased? When do you usually do the bulk of your shopping? Are you a Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopper?
Because I shop year round, wrapping them as I buy them doesn’t really work for me. It is easier to store them when they are not wrapped. I “schedule” a day or two for wrapping and in early December and that works best for me. Because our families live out of state, we have to mail packages, and they have to be done early anyway!
Loving this series……
Lanita
Yes, I agree. I guess my point was just don’t wait until the last minute (like I ALWAYS do) 🙂 So once you are done shopping (and hopefully that is by Thanksgiving or early December – wrap them all then 🙂
I also shop a few months in advance, and keep the bulk of the presents well hidden in my basement. Since wrapping usually involved lugging out a huge gift wrap storage container, bows, ribbons, tape, scissors, boxes, tissue paper, etc., I prefer to do this all at once on a Sat night while watching a Christmas movie early in December. After the kiddo has gone to bed. Then it’s not so bad wrapping just a few here or there as I collect “straggler” presents in those last few weeks.
Yes, I agree. I guess my point was just don’t wait until the last minute (like I ALWAYS do) 🙂 So once you are done shopping (and hopefully that is by Thanksgiving or early December – wrap them all then 🙂
I am a black friday shopper, but I wrap them all at once, once I’m done shopping. Like another commenter said, it would be more stressful to keep digging all the wrapping stuff out every other day.
Question for you (and the other commenters): how do you shop year round? I really want to, and I see that as a fine option for a generic gift (like to your boss or your child’s teacher or whatever), but if I’m shopping for my husband or the rest of the family, what if they don’t like what I got them, or they already bought it for themselves? They can’t return it if I bought it 6 months ago, so how do you get around that?
It does work better when the gifts are more on the generic side. Often I’ll just see something that reminds me of a person, so I’ll grab it then. Usually for my husband and daughter, I do have to wait closer to the holidays to buy specific things on their list. But shopping early is also great to knock out those teacher/boss/daycare provider gifts, too.
yes it is! You could even buy non-perishable type gift (like decor, stationary, etc) the year before on clearance for teacher/daycare gifts! 🙂
I usually do the more generic gifts year round. Then for extended family start shopping a few months before. What I am buying is usually nothing they have or would buy for themselves. For my husband – his is usually no later than October. Just do what works for your family! I am a big thrift store shopper too so if I was to find a cute outfit or even toy I would purchase it months ahead – you aren’t spending much.