This week marks one month that my kids have been in school.  Halloween is 39 days away and Thanksgiving is in 66 days.  No one seems to mention this, though.  It’s all “just 13 more Fridays/weekends/weeks till Christmas,” not to mention the retail outlets that have had their holiday displays up for months now.  Months!  So let me ask — is this foreshadowing getting you excited or is it stressing you out?

Personally, for me, it’s stress inducing.  It’s a constant reminder of a little stopwatch that’s ticking away to the end of the year.  Just add it to the list of things we race to accomplish by the yearly deadline of the holiday rush.

But, alas…there’s a light at the end of my tunnel.  My stress is cut in half.  Holiday shopping seems considerably less daunting because I’m using Giftster.

While Giftster is a year-round registry, it’s also the go-to place for stress free holiday shopping.  Here are a few tips for turning these little social reminders into a proactive, gift giving action plan:

I will jot things down in my Giftster list all year but now would be the time to prioritize them.  If there are any lingering items that I’ve already received, I can archive them with the I Got This button.  And remember – you can list anything on Giftster.  ANYTHING!  It can be online, found at your favorite small local retailer, or even a handmade item from a special family member.

Have a group for your family, your in-laws, your friends, co-workers, just you and your significant other, whomever you’ll be exchanging gifts with.  New to Giftster this year, you can set which groups have access to which lists.  My favorite member feedback from years ago was a husband wanting to share a wish list only with his wife because “[his] wife needs to know that [he] needs new underwear but [his] mother-in-law does not.”

There’s always one or two family members who are resistant to link up to Giftster and share or use the wish lists.  I have one in my family, too.  Or, maybe you have new members of the family you’d like to have join.  Send out your invitations and get them linked up.

That same family member I referred to above, who shall remain nameless, just told me last week, “I like to go shopping for my gifts; not be told what gifts I should or could give.”  In other words, she likes to play gift roulette.  Sometimes it’s a win, other times it’s a miss.  Still, she can use Giftster to make sure the items she choose are more hit than miss by looking at a person’s gift preferences.  Details may include clothing sizes, hobbies and interests, color preferences, and even a section of what not to get a person.  Very helpful information if you choose to go off-list.

Lather, rinse, repeat all these steps for your kids.  Another new feature to Giftster this year are child accounts that you can control and shop from within your own account.  You’ll have all the same great features as you do with each child account.  Set up as many as you’d like for your children or even for family members who may not use a computer but others in the family would like to give them a gift.  I’m asking my father-in-law to make one for my husband’s grandmother.

By getting gifts right every time, you’ll surely be the envy of all your friends.  Share your secret to success and tell everyone you know about Giftster.

Let the countdown continue!

New to Giftster?  Sign up for free today and learn the joys of peace, love and good gift giving.