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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be the most expensive and most stressful. What gifts to buy? Have I remembered everyone to thank? Who’s hosting? How do I keep the whole family happy? How do I keep costs down? With many people feeling the cost-of-living pressures more than ever, festive season stress might be greater than normal. Here are some ways to reduce it and give better this festive season.
Let’s start with the most important thing. Don’t forget to treat yourself. Self-care might look like easing the pressure you put on yourself to get everything done and have everything perfect these holidays. Now let’s get into the gifting ideas.
Volunteer your time for a charity or cause you care about. Or, simply clean up a beach or your local park by safely collecting rubbish and preventing pollution in our waterways (glove up, use tongs and rubbish bags).
Social enterprise gift marketplaces, where every dollar you spend matters, are a great way to gift with purpose. You can also buy gifts from Social Enterprises, where every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want. It's a season for giving back, and with each purchase, you become a part of the movement to create a better world.
It’s estimated that $400 million is spent on unwanted gifts at Christmas time in Australia alone. Rather than buying things that will clutter cupboards, gather dust, and ultimately get chucked out – why not consider giving an experience? This type of gift can be useful, create fun memories and generate quality time. It all depends on what you’re gift recipient is into, but why not consider some of these options:
Support local small businesses this season to give back to your community. When you do this, you know that your money is going directly into the local economy. Another great benefit of shopping locally is that it lowers your carbon footprint.
The art of mindful shopping is about slowing down and carefully considering the shopping process. This might mean letting go of some habits and changing your approach to buying.
When you’re shopping, simply take a moment to stop and check in with yourself. Does your purchase really fulfill what you’re looking for? You could ask yourself some questions like:
Putting thought and care into shopping and gift giving is time consuming, and so this is something you’ll need to get started on sooner rather than later so you don’t fall into the trap of last-minute-shopping-frenzy.
Buy gifts that give back:
Here’s a few examples:
We’ve saved the best ‘till last. Donating a cash gift to a charity can be a wonderful way to support a cause and connect with someone. Some charities even have gift cards to make a donation in someone's name, like Oxfam Unwrapped e-gift cards (featuring some great puns.) Remember to check if your donation will be tax-deductible using the Charity Register: https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity
Through our experience setting up the Be BlueRock Foundation, we’ve worked through the steps involved in developing a giving strategy, and we’re now using this as the blueprint to help our individual, family and business clients set up their own philanthropic strategies. Get in touch with us if you’d like to learn more.