Money Wise Pastor

Career, life, and money wisdom from a pastor's perspective

Last Minute Christmas Gifts & Tips

| By Rich | |

News flash:  Christmas 2012 is just days away.  Are you ready? Or are you still looking for some last minute gifts?

How to save money this Christmas.When I was a kid, it seemed like Christmas would never come. But now that I’m in my 40’s and have kids of my own, it seems like Christmas comes sooner and sooner every year.

This year, my wife decided to leave the Christmas shopping up to me entirely.  We worked together to set our budget in advance, and she did a great job of assembling lists of gift ideas for our five kids.

We set a goal to get most of our Christmas shopping done before December 1st.  I got 85% of our shopping done on Thanksgiving weekend – the majority on Black Friday.

Then I didn’t really do any shopping for three weeks.  I got busy with some business trips and other family activities.

Over the last few days, I’ve tried to complete our shopping before heading out of town to my in-laws’ home – they live near Toronto.  I didn’t quite get it all done before we left, so now I’m wrapping it up at the last minute.

I know some people feel a lot of stress by doing things at the last minute. But not me.

I think I’m immune to holiday stress because I absolutely love the holidays, shopping, crowded stores and malls, and shopping for last minute gifts on Christmas Eve.

For those who do feel overwhelmed during the holidays, I’ve written a few posts recently on how to beat holiday stress.

Christmas Money Tips

Here is a round-up of posts I found interesting regarding Christmas giving, shopping, and stress.

FMF at Free Money Finance asks his readers to join him in his $25K Red Kettle Challenge to raise money for the Salvation Army. FMF is matching all donations dollar for dollar up to $25,000, for a total amount raised of $50,000. I made my donation a few days ago. So far, over $30,000 had been raised!

Christian PF featured my post on The Christmas Store: A better way to adopt a family at Christmas, where I shared a neat way to help families in need while preserving their dignity.

The Christian Dollar featured a post I wrote on how to cut back on Christmas spending for your family.

Faith and Finance shares 7 Great last minute Christmas Gifts.

Out of Your Rut offers 4 Easy Ways to Save Time and Stress on Christmas Shopping.

Money Beagle gives some great advice on how to enjoy Christmas as if you were a child.

Mighty Bargain Hunter shares his ideas for last minute Christmas gifts.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and remember the real reason for the season!

What’s your favorite tip for enjoying Christmas without the added holiday stress?

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About the author

Rich Rich writes on money and personal growth from a pastor's perspective here at Money Wise Pastor. He loves In-N-Out Burger (and has the t-shirts to prove it), big cities, international travel, running marathons, and helping others create more freedom, purpose, and fulfillment in their life and work. Find him on Twitter and Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Mary Kaplan says

    I think the best tip for avoiding holiday stress is to set a budget, think about what needs to be purchased before you go shopping, and shop early. If you do all these things, you won’t over spend, and you’ll be able to spend December decorating and singing along to the Christmas songs on the radio. Merry Christmas!