It’s almost that time of the year – you know the time, the Winter holidays, where people gather around and exchange gifts. I tend to dread this time of the year, as I don’t like being pressured to give gifts, and I have never really enjoyed the idea of having to give someone a gift just because it’s a certain day – whether it’s their birthday, a holiday, an anniversary, or other reasons. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy gift giving – I do – when I come up with a good idea. So over the past couple years I have changed my approach to gift giving, and it has relieved much of the stress and made it much more enjoyable for me. These are the things I have done:

1. Know your recipient: Get Ideas and write them down — immediately.

The most important part of buying a gift is the idea. Nowadays, there are many ways to stalk friends and family. Whether it be through Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, e-mail, chat and old fashioned get togethers, you can get a good idea of what sort of things would be of interest to them. I keep a small moleskine notebook that I carry around for various reasons, and when an idea comes to me, I write it down in a section that I have dedicated for “Gift Ideas”. Instead of scrambling around last minute, stressing out about what to purchase, I can just refer to the list and familiarize myself with what are some of the “likes” of that person. This is especially useful when it may be someone you don’t see very often. It can contain various subjects – ie, a certain list could be like this:

The list has items that are broad yet specific enough to help one gather ideas for a gift. For example, it might give you ideas if they are not too expensive. One example I think is great are photobooks, especially if the recipient enjoys taking photos. Putting a collage of photos together from their vacation, or a selection of their best photos (if you can find a way to access their photos, by way of a friend, etc.) and use a service such as Shutterfly it would make a great gift. Of if you have a penchant for art, try drawing something, or creating something that might be useful. For example, if you can’t afford anything, but have a few art skills, perhaps painting “The Cure” might be something John might value from the list above. Or if you have some fancy knitting or sewing skills, make a shirt, or a nice scarf (not the ones your granny might make!)

2. Set out an agreement on a price limit and exchange a wish list

Though this isn’t very fun, setting an agreement on the max limit of a price also helps minimize the pressures of “how much to spend on so and so”. This doesn’t always work, but for example, one of my best friends and I have been exchanging gifts for years, in exactly this manner. Both our birthdays are in the Fall, so we usually combine the birthday gift and the Christmas gift together. We also live in different states, so this makes the process much easier, instead of having to mail presents two times within two months. Every year, prior to the holidays, we also exchange wish lists of items that we’re either wishing or hoping for, so I rarely ever worry about what to buy her.

3. Keep a gift budget by saving throughout the year

Find that you go over budget often when picking out presents? I used to have that problem. In the last five or so years, I found that spending a little bit more on an item on something I knew the receiver would like was worth more to me than spending under budget for a gift that I knew would just sit in their garage or gather dust. For example, I bought my best friend a digital camera one year, knowing she wanted and needed one. She and I agreed that would be her gift that would cover the next two years. In another blog I read a year ago, someone suggested budgeting for a “Gift Fund”. I thought that was a terrific idea, and I went ahead and started putting $25 every two weeks into this fund (an ING savings sub-account). Whether or not this was too much, I could always tweak the numbers as I saw fit. As a result, anytime I needed to purchase a gift – whether it be for a wedding, a birthday, a holiday, it would be out of that fund. I could get smaller or larger gifts as long as I had the money in my sub account to fund it. It has made it much easier, and does not hurt as much (though I have difficulty watching any of my money being moved out of my accounts, but that’s for another post…)

4. Wait for deals, a sale, a price drop, or a coupon

Once you have an ideas list for those on your gift giving list, you can start shopping at ANY time for a gift. I’ve bought Christmas gifts this year during the summer. Being that you already have ideas, you can determine what the normal price for something may be, and you can monitor the prices and wait until a good deal comes around or a coupon is available before purchasing.

Here are a few sites that I use to monitor deals:

If you’re monitoring a specific web site for a specific product to drop in price, ShoppingNotes will notify you when the price has changed (either higher or lower.)

If you shop on Ebay, this will also make you less desperate (assuming that the item you’re looking for is being listed more than once), and give you time to bid for what you’re looking for at the price you’re willing to pay and not the other way around. You’re far from your deadline, so there will be less stress. Of course, this doesn’t always apply, as some events are time sensitive (like a concert, a musical, play, etc.), but for the most part, they will work.

For the most part, I tend to shop online more than in the retail stores. That’s not to say there aren’t some fantastic deals to be had at the Brick & Mortar (that can be evident by browsing the deal sites), but many times online, I feel I can do research via the reviews on Amazon, Newegg, and do a price comparison via Google, without feeling a bit blind at the store, not knowing what is available. Also, in addition to getting better prices by purchasing online, there are places that give cashback for buying online, just for using their service. I tend to use places like Ebates and MrRebates, Bing cashback though there are plenty more who provide this service. At the same time, these sites also show you what coupons are available from a certain retailer.

5. Wrap your gift – wrapping paper

This is, oddly, my most difficult task – finding affordable gift wrap paper. I find most wrapping paper to be over priced, unless I rush in the day after December 25 and grab whatever discounted wrapping paper is left from either Target, Macy’s Home and Furnishings, or some similar store. That is great for Christmas, but what about all the other special occasions? You could always make your own wrapping paper (out of tin-foil, paper with your own drawings), or you could always buy it wholesale. One example - Mr Gift Wrap – but they do provide obscene amounts of wrapping paper. Another would be Superior Gift Wrap.

If you follow all the above tips, especially the very first suggestion, Gift Giving should be at the very least, no longer a stressful event. It’s not perfect, as some people are just difficult to purchase, but perhaps this might minimize the scary task to a more manageable one, making your life simpler.

What is your system for gift giving? And I need help – where is the best place to buy wrapping paper?