My Sweet Transition from Holiday Giftee to Gifter

Each time the holidays roll around I get a bit more cheerful, turn the Christmas tunes to full blast and get a sudden inspiration to give, give, give. Growing up, my mom and I would always volunteer at non-profit organizations and donate any Christmas gifts we could to local families in need. To me, the holidays have always symbolized a time for giving.

It wasn’t until this year that I began to understand why adults and kids alike love the holidays so much. Historically, I’ve made a small list of items that’d I’d anticipate ending up under my family Christmas tree and spent most of my free time enjoying the best holiday attractions Las Vegas had to offer. I definitely focused much of my holiday joy on spreading it to others, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t keep a constant eye out for the most desirable present of the season whenever we volunteered at a store or mall.

Fast forward a few years and I now have bills to pay, a savings account to nurture and family members to buy gifts for. I’ve realized that even though the holidays still live up to my child-like hype, there are many more stresses associated with this season than I’d ever stopped to realize.

This year, I not only made a list of people to get gifts for, but I also made a specific spending budget for each person. It’s also the first year I anticipate having given more gifts than I will receive.

And that’s a-okay with me.

I’ve come to better understand and adopt my mother’s holiday mindset – this isn’t a time to be greedy, nor is it a time to focus your energy on the stress that can so easily come with the season. It’s a time to spread love, joy and to give, give, give.

I hope you are all able to donate your time or your resources to help someone in need this season and that you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Bianca