That most merry time of year is upon us. Unfortunately for many it is generally accompanied by a lot of stress that revolves around gift giving. Here are some time saving tips that I've learned while managing a household, raising three kids and running a business.
Make your lists early
Santa is not the only one who should be making lists at this time of year. Make your lists early and categorize by family, friends, teachers/caregivers and co-workers.
Set a total budget and a budget for gifts in each category
While this seems obvious, too many people often overlook this part.
I'm really proud that Délice Glacé has an entire selection of gourmet gifts, from our Festive Pop for $6.00 to our large gift boxes for $39.95 and all manner of meringue gifts in between.
Find a few local small businesses that you trust
The best thing about choosing a small business is the level of customer service you will enjoy. I will often just send my list to a person who is a dedicated gift concierge or even to the business owner directly. I describe the types of products I would like and my budget and they do the rest! How easy is that.
Here are some of the small, local businesses* that I use for my gift giving.
-For California grown, made and inspired foodie gifts I choose Sigona's Farmers Market
-For gourmet foodie gifts with a selection from around the globe I choose Draegers Market.
Both can create gift baskets for you using products in store.
-For the best San Francisco seafood or high quality meats as gifts I contact Bryan's Market. If you are local, they also carry the most gorgeous flowers that I often pick up for myself or my hosts.
-For toys I like to head to Cheeky Monkey and for books I go to Keplers Books both in Menlo Park.
At Délice Glacé you can contact us and send us your list with your budget and we can help you customize a gift selection for each recipient.
Buy gifts that can be shipped or delivered to your recipient.
Santa might like to ride around town delivering gifts but do you? A lot of small businesses will either ship nationwide or deliver locally. Most of the above businesses offer both. Bryan's Market will ship their aged steaks and other foods overnight.
Délice Glacé also offers local delivery and nationwide shipping. We have also introduced rush shipping this year.
ONLY buy gifts that come ready for gift giving.
I have made this mistake before. Drowning in a sea of wrapping paper, ribbons and bows at midnight is enough make anyone feel decidedly grinch-like; you must avoid this scenario at all costs. Turning to a small business will prevent this because almost all small businesses will personalize and wrap your gifts.
The night that I spent wrapping gifts after the kids were in bed has always been the inspiration behind the design process for the packaging for our meringues. To me it is imperative that our meringues are always gift ready. Our entire Holiday Shoppe collection comes complete with bows. We also include hand-written cards to your recipients.
What are some of your favorite stress busting and time saving tips around the holidays?
* These are not paid endorsements; these are literally some of my go-to favorite local businesses. Yes, some may carry Délice Glacé's fine meringues but that is no co-incidence because they are purveyors of the finest foods in North America.
