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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to decide on a gift of the year.
You can make gift giving easier on yourself by being more streamlined, but you can preserve a lot of thoughtfulness too.
My guess is that if you are the sort of person who listens to this podcast, you want to give gifts that people will love.
You also don't want to spend huge chunks of your life hunting through the entire universe of gift options.
If that is the case, you will probably benefit from having a default plan.
Just as I have a basic structure for each Before Breakfast episode, so I don't sit down and say hmm, how should I begin things today?
It can be helpful to add structure to your gift giving.
For instance, you can always give one particular thing. for people's special occasions.
I know of a couple who give every young couple that's getting married whatever bedding they have registered for.
No deliberating over gifts and no need to remember what they gave anyone else or whether it was equivalently priced.
You put sheets on your registry?
That is what this couple is going to give you.
You can do something similar as we go into the holiday season.
Decide on a gift of the year.
Choose something you like that you think others will like too.
And then give it to most of the people on your list, in some form or another.
So, for instance, if you like those L.L.
Bean boat bags, and who doesn't, give them to everyone on your list.
You can vary the specifics by person.
The family that loves picnics gets a big, open-topped bag, while your niece, who commutes by train, gets a smaller one that zips up so she doesn't have to worry about everything spilling out.
You can choose a color each person likes and get it monogrammed if you prefer.
You could also put stuff in the bags to amplify the gift.
The gifts are not in any way identical.
But you don't spend time wondering, what should I get my in-laws?
You consider which particular boat bag your in-laws would like the best. and go with that.
There are other gifts that will appeal to just about everyone on your list.
For instance, you might get everyone your favorite water bottle or Yeti coffee cup in different colors or patterns.
You could give everyone a Christmas ornament and choose specific ornaments that relate to each person's taste.
You could give everyone stationery with their initials or a gift of regional food from your area.
I bet there is a local restaurant or store that would be happy to have you give a gift basket from them to everyone on your list.
What I like about this idea is that it is personal and easy.
There are a lot of presents in this world.
By narrowing things down to one small category, you keep yourself from spinning your wheels.
But within that category there are probably lots of options that can speak to each particular person.
You save time and put thought into your gifts.
That is not a bad combination at all.
If you try choosing a gift of the year, let me know how it goes.
You can reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com.
In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening.
And here's to making the most Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
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