The holidays are here already, and with them come responsibilities like gifting and throwing holiday parties. To make this less stressful, have a look at the tips below. They’re four things you should keep in mind while gifting this holiday season.
If You’re the Host, Don’t Worry About Gifts
If you’re throwing a holiday party, then you can consider this enough of a gift for those who attend. Bypassing gifts in favor of a party will allow you to save the extra expenditure and probably dedicate more to the party, creating an event that those who attend will enjoy and think about for a while to come. With 51% of survey respondents saying that hosting a dinner or party during the holidays was the most stressful event for them, you can make it a bit easier by only focusing on the party rather than both the party and gifts.
Keep Gift Etiquette In Mind
For the actual gifting, don’t forget about gift etiquette. This involves smiling and saying thank you if you’re given a gift by hand and ideally offering a gift back. Also, send handwritten notes if possible or call to say thank you to the people who give you gifts. Doing this will foster a great relationship between you and the people you gift and receive gifts from. Some other considerations to make are giving the gift in good time rather than too early, and not making the gift about you but rather getting people the items they like.
Shipping May Be Delayed
When planning to get gifts, keep in mind that there may be delays in shipping. When you think about the fact that every year almost $400 billion worth of American trade gets exported on wooden pallets and in containers throughout the world, you understand that it’s possible for your gift to take a bit longer to get cleared. To avoid the scenario of having your gift stuck in transit at a crucial time, shop early enough and keep shipping times in mind. Because this may see the gift arrive a bit earlier than you would like it to be received, you can buy it early and have it shipped to you rather than directly to them.
Be Patient With Small Businesses
Finally, if you will be getting your gifts from small businesses, this is commendable. Just remember to be patient with them, because most are small enterprises that may be overwhelmed by seasonal orders or simply lack the capacity to be as efficient as corporations and large industries. Read reviews online before making any purchases, and if everything checks out, you can expect to have your purchase fulfilled because the small business depends on you and others like you to grow, and they likely don’t want to mess this up.
Shop responsibly and allow for reasonable timelines, following up if you have any concerns but not putting undue pressure on the small businesses you patronize. The market for custom t-shirt printing is estimated to have a value of $6.9 billion by the year 2027, showing that more people than ever are seeing the benefits of custom gifts and purchases in general. Many of these are small businesses, and without their customer’s patience, they may not have been able to get where they are.
When you keep the four suggestions above in mind during your gifting this holiday season, you will find that it can be a fulfilling and hassle-free experience. Give them a try and keep perfecting them with each new season, and you will soon be a pro at gifting the people close to you!
