Christmas List Made Easy

My newspaper was about 15" thick yesterday, which was my first clue.

My second clue was the advent of the Crazy Target Lady ads that have been blanketing the airwaves the last few days. Which, for the record, drive me CRAZY myself. I really, really hate the Crazy Target Lady.


You really need to chill, lady.

Yes, Thanksgiving is coming in a few days, which means one thing - that Black Friday is right around the corner. Or in my case, Cyber Friday, as I refuse to do any shopping except sitting in my pajamas, curled up with my laptop, with a cup of hot cocoa at my side. With potato chips and chocolate for sustenance.

For today's post, I decided to share my organizational idea for my Christmas list.

Hey. When you have seven kids, plus spouses, plus eight grandchildren, plus nephews, nieces, in-laws, etc - the list can get a litte....hairy. Add to that a mild case of OCD, and I need All. the. help. I. can. get.

For the last 15+ years, I have used an Excel spreadsheet for my Christmas list. Here's a quick peek:


(Click on image to Enlarge)

Here's my list, in easy steps:

1. Across the top, I list everyone that I will be getting a gift for...couples are listed together.

2. The next row is the budgeted amount that I plan to spend for each person/couple.

3. The next rows are for the gifts. For each gift, I have the following:

--Gift Idea
--Where to purchase from/or order from if doing online
--The date I purchased/ordered
--The date I received
--The amount spent

4. I have the Excel spreadsheet keep track on how I'm doing on the budget. I know to the penny how much I still have left to spend. This is always highlighted in RED - so I know if I'm in the RED or not. Hee.

Speaking of RED, let me explain the other color coding:

--A Blue box means that I have the gift IN HAND
--A Green box means that I have ordered BUT NOT RECEIVED the gift
--A Purple box means that it is just an idea at this point - but nothing has been purchased yet

And finally, an Orange box means that I am DONE shopping for that person/couple. Woot!

I keep all of my spreadsheets from past years, so I can peek to see what I got for someone in years' past. This is helpful if I have been buying them books or video games - I won't repeat what I already got them. You can see the different tabs on the bottom of the spreadsheet where I can click on 2010 or 2009 pretty quickly.

So - there's my Christmas tip for the day...

Good luck - and happy shopping!

Peace.