Give a Little

You just can't escape the gifts during the holiday season. But if you are wondering how you are going to manage the added expense, here are a couple of tips to help you plan your gifting effectively.

• Plan a Budget

Plan a realistic budget. Don't just say 'I'll put aside Rs.10,000 for gifts'. You need to know the exact number of gifts and the approximate cost of each of them. So here's what you do.

List out all the people you need to give gifts to. Assign a budget to each person on your list. For instance, your budget for mom might be Rs.3000 while for your hubby's friend's kid it might be just Rs.500.

With actual budgets for each person you will know what you can expect to buy and can then shop at the right places. You will be saving both time and money.

Make Shopping Malls Work for You.

• Shop in Bulk

Since you are buying gifts for so many people, this is the best time to make use of 'Buy 2 Get 1 Free' offers, 50% discounts etc. But make sure not to give the same items to two people form the same household.

Make sure you get your gifts wrapped at the store itself so you don't have to buy your own wrapping paper and spend more money.

But if that's not possible, pick up a whole lot of wholesale wrapping paper for about Rs.3 a sheet. The same sheets would cost about you Rs.10 each at a local store. And while you are at it, pick up gift cards in bulk as well.

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