Tips & Talk 39 – Grab My Personal Holiday Gift Planner (FREE)
Little did I know then but 12 years old, I created my first process. It was a system to run through each and every holiday season to ensure all gifts were purchased, wrapped and ready. This was prompted due to a disaster I share in the podcast.
Over the years, it’s been perfected to include the more “adult” elements of gift giving and holiday planning. And it’s been a life-saver that I’d like to share it with you today.
You may not think this is very business-related – as are most of the topics we cover here on the podcast … but it really is. I’m sure you’ve heard about the value of having processes and systems in your business so things run smoothly. Even if you haven’t, I bet you have them set up without even knowing it. When you make your products, you follow a certain step by step process. Same with filling orders and a number of other tasks you do that are necessary for your business to function properly. You may just not have them formalized and written down.
When you have a structured process, projects become so much easier because you don’t have to rethink the steps, you only have to follow them. I have processes for lots of things in the business, from order processing, to blog writing and promoting, podcast creation and production, and of course, social media posting.
So, you’re probably not surprised now when I tell you I have a process for holiday gift planning. And guess what?
I want to share with you the Holiday Gifting Worksheet I created and use every year. It keeps me organized and sane when it comes to holiday presents. It’s totally free – my gift to you – and you can download your worksheet right here. No opt in or anything. The link sends you directly to the worksheet.
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Transcript
Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue.
Speaker:And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.
Speaker:If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DME, over on Instagram at gift biz unwrapped,
Speaker:I was 12,
Speaker:I think,
Speaker:old enough to plan and purchase Christmas gifts without my mom
Speaker:checking on me,
Speaker:I felt so grown up and particularly loved the wrapping part.
Speaker:I'd set up shop on a card table in my mom
Speaker:and dad's bedroom in front of the TV and watch a
Speaker:holiday movie while rapping.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:I got such satisfaction with folding the paper just right.
Speaker:So the corners were really tight and the best was when
Speaker:I completed a seal with the holiday design that ran seamlessly
Speaker:from one side to the other.
Speaker:Even today,
Speaker:I will say I'm a wrapping pro that particular year.
Speaker:We had exchanged presence in the morning within the immediate family,
Speaker:my mom,
Speaker:dad, brother,
Speaker:and me,
Speaker:and on Christmas afternoon,
Speaker:my extended family came over and there was a gift exchange.
Speaker:Then to being the youngest,
Speaker:I distributed all the gifts.
Speaker:There were only a couple per person,
Speaker:not huge piles of gifts or anything had there been,
Speaker:my oversight may have gone overlooked,
Speaker:but I wasn't that lucky as we were exchanging gifts,
Speaker:my mom asked,
Speaker:what did you give uncle Jack Sue?
Speaker:The whole family turned and looked at me.
Speaker:And then at his small gift stash,
Speaker:I looked under the tree for my gift to him.
Speaker:Perhaps I missed it when I was passing out presence,
Speaker:not there.
Speaker:Did I forget to wrap it?
Speaker:I quickly ran up to my bedroom closet where I had
Speaker:stored my holiday gifts.
Speaker:Not there either.
Speaker:My heart started racing.
Speaker:Is it possible that I didn't get uncle Jack that traditional
Speaker:holiday tie I had intended?
Speaker:Okay. No judging my gift choice.
Speaker:This was years ago and my uncle was a lot older
Speaker:than me.
Speaker:Horror of horrors.
Speaker:Sure enough.
Speaker:There was no present for my uncle and I had to
Speaker:go back downstairs and confess that I'd messed up.
Speaker:I was mortified and right then and there decided this would
Speaker:never, ever happen to me again.
Speaker:And it hasn't little did I know back then,
Speaker:but at that young age,
Speaker:I created my first process,
Speaker:a system to run through each and every holiday season to
Speaker:ensure all gifts are purchased,
Speaker:wrapped and ready.
Speaker:Over the years,
Speaker:it's been perfected and adjusted to include more adult elements of
Speaker:gift giving and holiday planning,
Speaker:but it's been a lifesaver.
Speaker:And I want to share it with you today.
Speaker:You may not think this is a very business related topic.
Speaker:As most of the things that we cover here on this
Speaker:podcast are,
Speaker:but it really is.
Speaker:I'm sure you've heard about the value of adding processes and
Speaker:systems in your business.
Speaker:So things run smoothly.
Speaker:And if you haven't,
Speaker:I bet you have them set up without even knowing it.
Speaker:When you make your products,
Speaker:you follow a step-by-step process,
Speaker:same with filling orders and a number of other tasks that
Speaker:you do that are necessary for your business to function properly.
Speaker:You may just not have them formalized and written down right
Speaker:now. When you do have a structured process,
Speaker:projects become so much easier because you don't have to rethink
Speaker:your steps.
Speaker:You only have to follow them.
Speaker:I have processes for lots of things in business from order
Speaker:processing to blog writing and promoting podcast creation and production.
Speaker:And of course,
Speaker:social media posting.
Speaker:So you're probably not surprised.
Speaker:Now, when I tell you that I have a process for
Speaker:holiday gift planning,
Speaker:and guess what I want to share with you?
Speaker:The holiday gifting worksheet I created and use every single year.
Speaker:It keeps me organized insane.
Speaker:When it comes to holiday presence,
Speaker:this is totally free.
Speaker:My gift to you,
Speaker:and you can download your worksheet at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash gift planner,
Speaker:no opt-in or anything.
Speaker:The link send you directly to the worksheet when you grab
Speaker:your copy.
Speaker:Here's what you'll see first,
Speaker:right at the top is a place for you to put
Speaker:your holiday gifting budget.
Speaker:I've found.
Speaker:I stay way more in control of my expenses.
Speaker:When I start out with a solid number in mind of
Speaker:what I'll be spending,
Speaker:do I always stay in budget?
Speaker:Not always,
Speaker:but I don't get way out of control either.
Speaker:And then spend months into the next year scrimping to cover
Speaker:my holiday generosity.
Speaker:Next comes a form where you can list all the people
Speaker:who will be receiving gifts from you this year,
Speaker:family, friends,
Speaker:even your employees can go on this list or you can
Speaker:make a separate worksheet entirely for your business.
Speaker:If you'd like after each name comes my estimated dollar amount
Speaker:of what I'd like to spend for each gift next,
Speaker:the actual cost.
Speaker:Once it's purchased a description of what the gift is,
Speaker:and then a place to keep track when the gift has
Speaker:been ramped,
Speaker:mailed, or otherwise completed,
Speaker:I don't have to tell you how satisfying it is to
Speaker:mark off progress.
Speaker:By checking these boxes,
Speaker:continuing down the form.
Speaker:There are also sections for gifts for those who provide services
Speaker:throughout the year,
Speaker:think of your mail carrier,
Speaker:yoga instructor,
Speaker:or whoever you choose to acknowledge with a holiday gift.
Speaker:Even if it's an added holiday tip,
Speaker:this is still a holiday expense that you may forget about.
Speaker:And finally,
Speaker:I also include a category for holiday decor.
Speaker:Okay. Admission here.
Speaker:My house looks like a Christmas gift shop.
Speaker:I don't even know how many trees I have up only
Speaker:one main real tree,
Speaker:but others throughout the whole house and decorations in every corner
Speaker:when Hanukkah and Christmas fall at the same time,
Speaker:I admit it overboard.
Speaker:But my treat to myself is to add something new to
Speaker:the house every year,
Speaker:sometimes it's little last year,
Speaker:it was a photo of Santa where it lights up from
Speaker:the back.
Speaker:Have you seen those photos that are popular now with all
Speaker:the little lights?
Speaker:They're almost like little Christmas lights that show up within the
Speaker:imprint of the photo.
Speaker:It's so cute.
Speaker:It sits on my kitchen counter and just makes me smile.
Speaker:There are other items in my decor category too.
Speaker:This is where I put things like holiday cards,
Speaker:wrapping paper and bows hostess gifts.
Speaker:Oh, here's a hint.
Speaker:I always buy a number of hostess gifts early in the
Speaker:season to have ready and waiting.
Speaker:So I don't need to go out the day of a
Speaker:party and find something.
Speaker:If I have hostess gifts left over after the holidays.
Speaker:Well, I always find some way to use them.
Speaker:Also. I always have a gift or two ready,
Speaker:wrapped and waiting.
Speaker:If someone gives me a present that I wasn't expecting,
Speaker:I can say,
Speaker:oh, I have something for you to let me go get
Speaker:it. I just add their name to the gift tag and
Speaker:I'm offering it to them in seconds.
Speaker:It's a great backup plan.
Speaker:Listen, anything done in advance that can avoid potential.
Speaker:Embarrassment is the way I roll.
Speaker:This was my commitment to myself.
Speaker:Way back when I was 12 and to saving and referencing
Speaker:the prior year's gift planning worksheet is also really helpful.
Speaker:You can adjust your gift giving easiest when you know what
Speaker:you did last year and let's face it.
Speaker:You aren't going to remember 12 months later.
Speaker:So having this worksheet to reference is great for moving forward
Speaker:for the current holiday season.
Speaker:Anyway, if you'd like to use my system here,
Speaker:it is for you for free.
Speaker:Just go to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash gift planner.
Speaker:Oh, and happy holiday gifting.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream
Speaker:of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.