Best Gift Giving Tips

Best Gift Giving Tips with Meredith Curtis and Felice Gerwitz Episode 384

Best Gift Giving Tips are easier than you think. Here are some great ideas for gifts that will last throughout the year.

Thanks to our sponsor – The Star Movie – limited run December 7 and 8th 2019 – the DVD is still available for purchase.

Faith brings us together. Happy Anniversary to The Star, which debuted on this day in 2017! Celebrate the film by seeing its re-release in theaters this holiday season, December 7 and 8! Tickets here: http://www.thestarmovie-tickets.com

Another great show is here – Gifts You Can’t Unwrap

I’m so excited to talk Meredith Curtis who is the queen of Christmas! Meredith is the “Christmas girl” and likes to turn her home into a Christmas Wonderland — on a budget!

Both Meredith and I have big families, and sometimes it is difficult to juggle both school and home. We’re going to talk more about that but, also how to save money while living within the big family budget!

Here are some quick tips to get you started.

Plan to make schoolwork lighter in December and set some deadlines for Christmas vacation.
Try to do Christmas related unit studies. Read Anne of Green Gables, or a very British Christmas, or study Christmas during Colonial America. We learned not only how people celebrated Christmas, but we would learn as we read through the book aloud. And we also watched Christmas movies and made crafts, created recipes and had tea. When we studied a British Christmas, we tried to cook a goose and we read a Christmas Carol aloud. All of our projects had a purpose. For example handwriting in December focused around Christmas letters and addressing Christmas cards. One of our crafts with wrapping Christmas presents.
One of our projects was making a Christmas budget and Christmas shopping. One of our school projects was creating Christmas gifts.
We baked Christmas cookies. So we would bake cookies and freeze them or we made gifts in a jar. And so by the end of the unit study, we had read all these delightful picture books, but we had also finished all of our presents for neighbors and people at church and all we had to do the final day was just delivered them, you know, right before Christmas.

A focus on Christmas really put things into perspective and to make the time for the things that we really want to do rather than feeling like we have to do the things on a checkoff list and what better time than Christmas!

Best Gift Giving Ideas:

Christmas Carols – if you can sing, give the gift of music.
Prayers – record some prayers and create a CD as a gift.
Keepsakes – whether they are handprints or pictures, be sure to put the date on the gift.
Budget gifts – set a price point or limit.
Books – add to a series of books, or begin a new series as a gift with a few books to begin. Shop used book stores.
Movies – something that is a keepsake like The Star Movie for example. Or the Nativity.
Home-baked goods such as breads, quick breads like pumpkin loaf, cinnamon rolls, or cookies.
Mixes – you can give as gifts. Use decorative tins. Be sure to add the recipe taped to the outside.
Create a recipe book, duplicate and give as gifts. You can print out recipe cards for ease if you want to make your own homemade version.
Create gift photo books. These are wonderful and can be stored easily.