Is just the thought of Christmas shopping enough to make you want to stay in bed?  I know we aren’t in a festive mood when grieving but whether we are ready for it or not, the season of gift giving isn’t going to go away.  Here are some easy tips to help you: Stick to just one present per person. People who receive one big or thoughtful present are more impressed by the gift when it’s given by itself than when it’s paired with less expensive or personal gifts. As a result, one great present makes you appear more generous. Get them to go online and put what they want on their “wish list”. See web retailers such as Walmart.com, ToysRUs.com and Macys.com. Ask them for links to their online wish lists and then you can easily pick out a gift within your budget. Do last minute shopping and get the best discounts. Typically savings can be as high as 50% off their original prices. Christmas is a time to reach out and help the less fortunate. Get great last-minute holiday cards from UNICEF where seventy-five percent of sales go towards good works. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to really impress people with your holiday gifts. All it takes is letting them know why you selected that present for them, writing the reason on the card – “when I saw this, it made me think of you and …..” Just knowing the thought that went into picking a present makes others appreciate it even more. This one foolproof shopping trick is done throughout the year - jot down things your loved ones have mentioned they like or need so you can get t hem something that they will appreciate. Save on shipping by sending gift certificates, magazine subscriptions or club memberships. Maintain a year round gift shelf where you keep items you discovered on sale. Marketing is setup to make us feel like scrooge if we don’t shower our loved ones with gifts. Some of us have bought into the idea that love is contained in the dollar value of our gifts. Please know that it’s all marketing and that the holiday spirit doesn’t come from what can be bought. Instead we need to focus on the giving of spiritual and emotional abundance. Instead of focusing on what money can buy this holiday, give a gift that will never be discarded, such as money into a college fund or doing a gift for others or donating your time. You must budget for the holidays or else everything from gifts to social events will end up on your credit cards.  Set price limits for gifts among family members and stick to it – with no apologies.  Also, don’t shop with your credit card, instead leave it behind and take cash only. Sometimes being thrifty entails doing without, what was once known as “making do”.  Being thrifty means making dinner out of leftovers. Being thrifty means never having to say, “If I hadn’t wasted that, then maybe I’d have this now.” Our brains light up when we do a kindness for someone else.  And it’s the small things, from crafting a homemade stocking to making fruitcake from scratch that gives the most pleasure with the least amount of money being spent.  These gifts are true gifts of the heart because they are made and given with love. Mary Francis, The Sisterhood of Widows Widows and Christmas, the sisterhood of widows, widow support, grieving, how to grieve, grief, life of a widow, #thesisterhoodofwidows, #widow, #grief, #griefsupport, #widowsupport, #howtogrieve, #widowshelpingwidows