Jackson Free Press

Focused on my financial and mental wellness this season, I have a plan for holiday shopping this Christmas. An actual plan that I will follow to completion so that I can be more relaxed during all of the activities this time of the year brings our way. See, I'm the type that usually waits until the last minute to do all of my holiday shopping and then splurges on gifts that had no real thought put into them. The first thing I have to remember this year is: I can't buy a gift for everyone! This one I have to keep repeating to myself over and over. I would love to really; I thoroughly enjoy gift giving and making people happy. But there is always something you can make them (just ask Martha Stewart) or something you can write in a card that came from the heart that they will appreciate just as much as something store bought. Step two: Make a list. I let my husband tell me approximately how much we'll be able to spend on everyone. Kids come first. Then immediate family. We make a table with the person's name we want to buy for, a budgeted amount to spend on that person, a gift idea and then a column for the amount actually spent after we find the gift. I'm also trying to budget in all of the extras like cards, wrapping paper, postage & shipping. This really allows me to focus on everyone's gift and be mindful of the budget. Step three, STAY AWAY FROM THE STORE! This one is almost impossible. I'm trying to do most of my shopping online. I've been somewhat successful at this. I think it takes more time to shop online because of all of the navigating through certain sites that are poorly organized or are too organized, and of course quite a few gifts I've tried to order were out of stock online but available in the store. So, I will have to make at least one or two trips to the toy store. I plan on doing this during the week when the stores aren't as busy and I will meditate for at least 30 minutes beforehand. If you've been shopping on a Saturday lately, you know what I'm talking about. I don't want to walk out of the store ready to scream and the traffic is horrible. There is nothing about last minute Christmas shopping that is pleasant. And finally, step four: Enjoy the holiday! After the shopping and wrapping and cooking, I will take time to sit down with my family and enjoy the time that we have to spend with each other.