Involve the Whole Family in Christmas Gift Basket Giving

Perhaps you may feel overwhelmed with all the planning, shopping and wrapping of gifts that needs to be done at Christmas. One thing you can do to make the holidays less stressful is to involve your family. From the oldest to the youngest there is something everyone can do. This is especially true if you are giving homemade Christmas gift baskets. There are just a few guidelines that will help make the whole thing go smoother and make your holiday a lot less stressful and whole lot more fun.

•Planning is the key to success! This is not the type of project that can be successfully done on the spur of the moment. You will want to make a list of all your gift basket recipients, what type of basket you will be making and what will go in each basket. Also do not forget to list what type of container you will need for each gift basket. This will serve as your plan of action. From there you can determine what items need to be bought and what can be made.

•Use the team shopping approach. Older teenagers and other adults in your house can help with the shopping for the gift baskets. This can be accomplished one of two ways. If you need to shop at several different stores make a list for each store, give each person a list (and the necessary money) and tell them it is their responsibility to bring back the items on their list. If you prefer to shop as a family feel free to go together just make sure that everyone knows what you are shopping for and not to get distracted by other things. This is especially helpful if young children will be shopping with you.

•Divide and Conquer. Once everyone is back from shopping it is time to assemble the gift baskets. Make sure that you have set aside sufficient time to be able to creatively assemble your gift baskets. If you are making several different baskets it might be helpful to sort out items in groups according to what is going into each basket. This way the wrong things won’t get put into the wrong baskets.