Gift wrapping goals

Maybe it's just me, but the first couple of months of the year are a bit of a "gifting lull" after the craziness of the holidays. There are a few birthdays here and there, but it's nothing like the Graduation|Mother's Day|Father's Day|Wedding Season that seems to descend upon us beginning in early May. 

In previous posts, I've talked about my gifting goals - creating a gift budget and stocking up on stationery and greeting cards - so that I'm always at the ready. Today, in that same vein, I want to share with you my gift wrapping goals for 2017.

Has it ever happened that you had the gift ready, the card ready annnnndddd...you realize you are lacking a gift box/bag/appropriate wrapping paper for said gift? No? Lucky you! For some reason the gift delivery vessel often slips my mind and leaves me unprepared. Not this year! I have found various gift bag sets at both Michaels and World Market, so I've stocked up on small, medium and large gift bags to keep at the ready. I also added tissue paper and ribbon to my supply bin.

But wait! There's more! I decided to go with a signature color for wrapping most gifts - obviously it's not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it should cover roughly 80-90% of my gifting occasions which leaves me more time to focus on finding the perfect gift.

Of course my signature wrapping was going to closely match my logo colors! Image southern giftologist

Happy gifting!

Stationery goals

Hello, 2017! A new year means many of us set resolutions and goals for the upcoming year. For those of you who have followed my blog, it should be no surprise that I am a big fan of handwritten notes and cards, so today I want to share with you one of my goals for the new year - stocking up on stationery.

Life happens, right? Births, deaths, celebrations, not-so-celebratory events - yes, some of those occasions could be acknowledged with a text or a Facebook post, but some should not. Aside from picking up the phone for an actual conversation, a handwritten expression is sometimes the most appropriate. Besides, who doesn't love opening the mailbox and seeing that someone took the time to sit down and write a note of thanks, sympathy, celebration or even a simple "hello"? 

Notecard by West Park Creative. Image southern giftologist

The challenge I have found myself faced with in the past was not having the proper card to send - and who has time to run to the store for a card every time "life" happens? So this year, my goal is to curate my own mini-Hallmark, if you will. I will strive to have some card or stationery on hand that can cover those more common needs of expression - thank you, sympathy, congrats - or simply, hello.

Top two cards by Breathless Paper Company and bottom two cards by Tiramisu Paperie. Image southern giftologist

Keeping a well-stocked stationery collection doesn't require a lot of space - I just used a plastic container and organized my cards by occasion. Having a book of stamps - gasp! retro! - on hand also helps keep me prepared for any card-giving or note-sending event - fun pens optional!

All-occasion note set by R&B Printery. Image southern giftologist

So the next time you run across some fun, locally-made cards or stationery, stock up - you never know when "life" will happen and have you reaching for the appropriate card. Happy gifting!

Get it...the Red Stamp app

As I've mentioned in past blog posts, I'm a bit old-fashioned in that I still enjoy sending handwritten notes and cards in the mail - especially for birthdays. However, like most of you, I don't always have the luxury of time to do that for every occasion. It seems the trend these days is to text well wishes (nothing wrong with that) or we rely on Facebook to remind us of a birthday and then we post or send an emoji-filled greeting (guilty!). However, today I want to share one of my favorite apps with you - Red Stamp. 

Image of Red Stamp app from my phone

I've been a big fan of Red Stamp for many years and love the card options they provide for pretty much any occasion you can think of. Once you set up an account, you can store birthdays and other events you want to remember. The best part is that sending a digital card is free - you just design the card, save it to your photos and text it to your recipient - emojis optional. I've also used their app to design and purchase party invitations - just choose your design, enter the addresses (which you can store) and let them handle the mailing.

Lastly, I love the monthly calendar designs they have available for download to your device or to print on paper. Here's this month's which I have as my phone wallpaper:

Get the Red Stamp calendar download here

So let's give those emojis the rest they deserve and up our digital greeting game, shall we? Happy {digital} gifting!

The gift of heirlooms

I'm diverting a bit off the traditional gift ideas path today...I recently came across an article written by Emily McCarthy for Southern Coterie regarding gifting heirlooms and it has stuck with me for a few weeks now, so I wanted to share it with you.

Image Kelli Boyd Photography for Emily McCarthy

I think most of us, especially Southern ladies, find we develop an attachment to heirlooms of our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, fathers or any close friend or relative. Whether it's an article of jewelry, art, clothing, a book or dishes, we typically find ourselves drawn to something that speaks to us or has some sort of sentimental attachment. For me, that's my mother's class ring that she gave to me a few years ago. Another interesting, yet meaningful, gift in our family was my grandmother's pink ashtray that my dear cousin ended up with after our grandmother's passing a few years ago. Regardless of what you find meaningful, what's important is that it goes to someone - at the right time - who will cherish and appreciate the item.

The Pink Ashtray once used by my grandmother, Evelyn Worm. Image Tiara King.

The blog post on Southern Coterie links to Hannah Bergen's website which provides a kit for you to track your heirlooms - their history and the intended recipient. I hope it inspires you or a loved one to document and preserve valued items within your family.

Happy gifting!

Let's get organized and create a gift budget!

Hey, everyone! How's 2016 been treating you thus far? Like bears, those of us in the accounting world kinda go into {work} hibernation during the early part of the year, so I hope you'll excuse my brief absence. To me, Spring signals the beginning of a slew of gift-giving occasions that lead into Summer - graduations, weddings, Mother's Day, Father's Day...so on and so forth. Many of us are so busy with our daily lives that one day we look at our to-do list or look at the calendar and realize we need a gift for X occasion, like, yesterday! So, in the spirit of the new year and new resolutions, let's talk about a gift budget.

Like a regular financial budget, you have to set aside a bit of time for this process, but think of how it can pay off in reduced stress and feeling prepared for your gift buying! So let's get started...

First, you need a calendar/list of all your important gift-buying occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays) and how much you typically want to spend for said occasion. Then, think about how much of a runway you want to give yourself - a deadline if you will - for buying that gift. You can also add notes or ideas for each recipient so you're more focused on your shopping. Here's an example:

I need a birthday gift on May 20th and I want to spend $50 on my recipient. Since I know early May is super busy for me, I want to have that gift purchased by May 1st. So, since I'm a paper-list person, I make a note to start gift shopping around April 20th (however, with all the great apps for smartphones out there, some of you may use that method for your gift reminders). That way, I'm thinking ahead about what I want to buy, I'm not stress shopping and best of all, I'm done well ahead of schedule! 

Yeah, I'm an old-fashioned paper kinda gal...image southerngiftologist

The great thing about budgeting in this manner is you can be proactive and intentional in your gift-giving without running for that gift card tree in a panic. So, let's be organized in our gift-giving this year...who's with me?

Holiday Birthdays

Let me start by saying I love celebrating birthdays - not my own, of course, because I don't age - but I love celebrating other people's birthdays. I mean, a whole day dedicated to YOU and the fact that you were born! That's all fine and good if your birthday is in the middle of summer, but what happens when that special day happens to fall on December 23rd...or 24th...or even the 25th?! Or what about those birthdays that occur the first week of January - right AFTER the slew of gift-giving has occurred?! Don't even suggest that the person pick another day to celebrate their birth - that's their special day! So let's talk about ways to celebrate a birthday while also celebrating a major holiday - regardless of the time of year!

Image someecards

Full disclosure...I have family and friends who happen to have birthdays a day or two before Christmas - smack dab in the middle of holiday celebrations. Before I knew better, I wrapped their birthday gift in holiday paper. I did a Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas card (so embarrassing!) until one of them finally clued me in as to how cheated they felt having a birthday so close to Christmas. They felt as if it were an excuse to give them a unigift - one gift to fit both occasions. Not cool. 

Image redstamp.com

So, what can we do for our friends and family who share their special day with (or near) a holiday?

1. Be mindful that their birthday is a separate event from whatever holiday you're celebrating.
2. Don't wrap their birthday gift in the same wrap as the holiday you're celebrating. Don't even let the birthday wrap share the same colors as the holiday!
3. Carve out time for the BIRTHDAY celebration/dinner/party. Don't try to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by combining a birthday dinner with a holiday dinner unless that person insists. Even then, try to make them feel special by carving out time to celebrate just them.
4. Birthday cake! Balloons! Sing "Happy Birthday"!
5. Make them feel special. People bring joy to our lives - celebrate them! Without them, all the other holidays aren't the same.

Have other ideas for making a holiday birthday special? Please share them in the comments below! 

Happy holidays, happy birthdays and happy gifting!

This is a blog about gifts

Welcome to the southern giftologist blog, where we’ll traverse the gift-giving (and receiving) waters! Exciting, right? It is to me! I can’t explain it, but I enjoy shopping for gifts for other people more than I enjoy shopping for myself. Over the years, I’ve had friends and co-workers routinely ask me for gift-giving advice or ideas and, generally, people seem to really enjoy the gifts I come up with. I have no special training in this area – by trade, my job is in corporate America and I do LOVE my day job! But, crunching numbers all day leaves me craving a creative outlet, which I have found in shopping for and giving gifts or coming up with cool gift ideas…and so this blog was born.

So, what can you expect from this blog? I’ll share gift ideas for any occasion, we’ll talk about stressful gift-giving scenarios, we’ll explore local stores in my wonderful hometown of Nashville, TN, and we’ll feature local products and goods – which will hopefully inspire your own creative gift-giving ideas and challenge you to think outside the {department store} box and steer you away from that gift card tree when you’re just too tired to think about giving the perfect gift.

Let’s begin, shall we?

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