Every year, I look forward to the holiday season; a time where love and laughter seems to fill the air, and negative thoughts and emotions just go out of the window. During the last few months of every year, people come together to express their love for each other through kind gestures and gift giving- but there is something even deeper, the energy that is being exchanged through out this time is enough to warm up hearts and bring happiness and smiles. Christmas time is a time for giving and receiving, it is important to be able and willing to receive in order to create a healthy flow of energy during the holiday season. Sometimes, people get so wrapped up in wrapping gifts for others, they forget to take the time to enjoy the moment and benefit from the holy spirits. Unlike adults, children experience optimal joy and excitement during the holidays because they are filled with amazing positive energy and flow with the give/receive process. The life lesson in this is to learn to be light and playful to create the best possible gift giving season.

Year after year, I set intentions to modify my gift shopping and really find the most efficient way to get the most for what I spend- I have tried shopping for Christmas gifts earlier in the year, ordering online, shopping with coupons, and the list goes on. These strategies were all time consuming and costly. This year, I am doing things differently. I decided to start at the core- and get back to the chalkboard. First, I modified my list of loved ones that I'll be shopping for and separated them by age group and gender- I quickly learned that organization makes every job lighter and easier to execute. I made a few separate lists and let the names and ideas simmer for a few days- as days went by, I felt a certain sense of clarity and gift ideas for my older recipients began flowing. I did my shopping with careful thought and took my time- found that lessened the stress and really allowed my to give each loved one the special attention they deserve. I was able to knock out my list of 14 friends/family between the ages of 25-35 in less than a week, it was such a delight!

Next on my agenda, I set out find the perfect Christmas gifts for kids. I put this off until last because I figured it would be the easiest, but boy was I wrong. I assumed the endless gift options for kids would make gift shopping easy and effortless- but it actuality, all it did was make room for confusion and uncertainty. I decided to go with my new technique, take time and shop thoughtfully and carefully for kids' Christmas gifts. The more I did so, the more I realized that Christmas gifts for kids are similar and ordinary despite the various vendors and websites I visited. I made it my personal goal to add originality and uniqueness to my gifts for kids this year. Believe it or not, this narrowed down my search and flushed out the traditional candy canes and Santa Clause hats filled with goodies. Instead, I set aside time to surf the web for sites that offer unique and inexpensive Christmas gift ideas for kids. Not too long after I began browsing, I came across a website that exemplified exactly what I was looking for. I was able to create or select pre-made gift baskets for kids according to their age, gender, occasion, and interests. The website was a filtering tool in itself, it was great- and re-assured my prior philosophy, organization is KEY! I was able to select from various items and create my very own Christmas gift basket, allowing me to control the theme, content and most importantly, the price! Also, I hadn't given much thought to the Jewish people on my list, as I assumed everyone appreciated gifts during this season and a Christmas tree simply symbolizes this time of year- this site included Holiday gift sets for Hanukah as well. I was literally my one stop shop for all my Hanukah and Christmas gifts for kids. While shopping this way, I was able to enjoy the comfort of my own home as opposed to stumbling upon and sorting through the mess they call the mall during this time of year- and quiet honestly, I enjoyed tapping into my creativity and allowing myself to give my loved ones special and personal gifts. In essence, since I selected content and created them myself- each gift was original and filled with my love, and my time, making every order handmade. While shopping from home, its needless to say I saved a lot of time and energy- but what made the process complete was the marvelous shipping options they had available. I was literally able to select, create, purchase, and ship my Christmas gifts for kids throughout the nation in just moments! All in all, this was a terrific gift giving season and I look forward to implementing my new strategies in years to come!