MY GIFT GIVING PHILOSOPHY.

Life

Dec 2

Date

12.2.22

time

5:00PM

Place

Home Office

MY GIFT GIVING PHILOSOPHY.

That time of the year has arrived...gift giving season. If I am being honest, the pressure of gifting can feel immense. The endless emails, the gift guides on social media, the television commercials…it all becomes a LOT! While we are so thankful that we have resources to help us gather inspiration, I do believe it can cause a little bit of trouble...trouble in the sense that it can separate us from the spirit of gifting. It becomes more of a “check the box” situation than a meaningful experience. With that in mind, I wanted to share with you my gift-giving philosophy to bring us back to the heart of gifting. One of my love languages is gift giving, and over the years I have developed a few tips and tricks on how you can incorporate this philosophy into holiday gift shopping and beyond.

My philosophy is simple…

When gifting for the season, I want the experience to extend that magical feeling beyond just Christmas morning. How do I do this? I think about the gift recipient and look at the totality of their life. I think about what lights them up, what they’re passionate about, or a topic that naturally comes up frequently when I’m chit-chatting with them. I pay careful attention to conversations and use the insights and discoveries from our interactions to find things that will add value to their life. The goal is for the gift to be meaningful.

Also, aside from adding value and finding meaningful gifts, this philosophy serves another purpose. All of the effort you put into thinking through what to gift someone, will allow you to enjoy the experience of shopping. It shouldn’t feel like labor - this is the beauty of shopping intentionally. As you source pieces to gift the people in your life, this philosophy will allow you to feel an energy that fuels that process! It’s truly magical.

As I developed this mindset of intentional gift-giving over the last several years, I have developed a few simple steps to keep me focused on the task at hand, so the process remains fun and enjoyable!

3 Tips to Keep Your Gifting Focused:

First, I assign a budget for each gift based on my proximity to the person, or their priority in my life. For example, I have a higher threshold for how much to spend on a gift for my husband versus a gift for a colleague. Setting this budget ahead of time helps avoid financial drain by the end of the season. Which we will talk more about in early January!

Next, I make a targeted shopping list for those individuals. This list helps me set a timeline for when I’d like to be done shopping. If you want all of your shopping done in order to fully enjoy certain holiday activities, work backwards from there.

And lastly, I package and wrap the gift as beautifully as possible. My goal is to make the gift feel magical and experiential from the moment the recipient lays eyes on it until the big reveal. I love finding gorgeous and creative ways to wrap gifts to create a thoughtful experience for the individual. This year, for example, I’m wrapping my gifts with black craft paper and luxurious brown velvet ribbon. Taking this extra step really elevates the experience for both the recipient and the gift-giver!

Really, the big idea here is intentionality. Gifting is a wonderful opportunity to make people feel known and loved. The gift does not need to be expensive or flashy, although those gifts can be fun, too! It is my hope that sharing this gift-giving philosophy will inspire you to be purposeful this holiday season. In my heart, I believe this purposefulness will help deepen your relationship with family and close friends, and simply make this time of the year the most magical it can truly be!

As you prepare to head out this weekend to source all things, I hope you hold this post close to your heart <3