Christmas Shopping Crowds. Photo courtesy of Peter Hilton

One in three people feel stressed out during the holidays, according to a Gallup poll. That’s not hard to believe when you think about the obligations, the crowds and the craziness that comes with the Christmas season. To make sure you’re on the other side of that statistic, here are five ways to have fun shopping for holiday gifts, rather than getting stressed.

Put Someone Less Fortunate on Your List

When gifts become so extravagant you worry more about what they’re doing to your budget than how they’ll be received– take a step back. Rather than getting your kids one more video game or your spouse another sweater, try sharing your gift-giving spirit with someone less fortunate. Buying new shoes or a winter coat for someone who doesn’t have one will remind you of the true reason for the season. And it does a lot to squelch stress.

Bring Along a Friend

Solo shopping can be dangerous– especially when the crowds grow to enormous levels. Bringing a friend will make the excursion seem more festive and fun. Plus you’ll have someone helping you make difficult decisions.

Don’t Overspend

Nothing can swell stress levels more than money problems. Make a Christmas budget and stick to it. Ending the holidays without lingering debt will wrap up the season on a much happier note.

Start Early

If you haven’t started on  your shopping list– now is the time to do it. Waiting until the last minute will turn joy into stress because you’ll have less time and be dealing with more crowds.

Remember Why You’re Doing It

Don’t think of Christmas shopping as an obligation. Instead, think of it as a way to bless your family and friends. It’s your chance to show them you care about them by buying a great gift. And if they don’t like it? Don’t stress out.

 Almost three weeks ago I started a discussion on BlogCatalog on this subject. The question I asked was quite simple: what do you do with gifts you don’t like?

Some of the answers I was kind of expecting, some others took me by surprise. Here are a few suggestions that I received (in no order whatsoever):

• - regift ( wait till someone’s birthday comes up and give it to them)
• - “white elephant” gift exchange ( which is a party game played during Christmas season; the participants are supposed to bring one gift that they received but they don’t like and they all leave with another one. An approximate value or type of gift is usually decided ahead: “under $10” or “Christmas ornaments under $15” or something like that)
• - Sell them on Ebay (have you noticed how many gifts are on Ebay after Christmas?!)
• - Church rummage sale
• - Garage sale
• - Neighborhood sale
• - Donate them (as a tax write-off or just for a good cause: Goodwill)
• - potluck clothes swap parties
• - return them to the store (if you have the receipt, that is)
• - just keep them in the closet and try to find a use of them…
• - give them to a Toy drive on National AIDS Day (this was an interesting one!)
• - keep them for sentimental value…

Do you have any other ideas? Leave us a comment!

Note: I would like to say THANK YOU to all those who participated to my discussion on BlogCatalog.

Image by: mmagallan