6 Phases of Getting Ship Done

I’m pretty proud of myself. Last week I shipped all of the holiday gifts to our out-of-state friends and family. This is a first for me because I’m usually scrambling for gifts and then standing in long lines at the post office on multiple trips, sweating. I found a way to beat the post office sweat and actually enjoy the shipping process of our gifts.

Let me first say that I’m no dummy! Of course I know that buying everything online and having everything shipped directly to the recipient is the EASIEST way to get a present delivered. If gift wrapping is available when ordering online, then it’s even EASIER! However, nothing I do is ever easy and Christmas gift shipping is no exception. Years ago, I realized that I found so much joy in collecting little stocking stuffers for my family and friends that now I send those instead of big gifts. This behavior must have something to do with me being obsessed with thoughtful pinches - small gestures of thoughtfulness - not giant ones. So for me, ordering online and having ten $5 gifts shipped to one recipient is not the best way to send stocking stuffers. First, it is inconvenient for the recipient to receive multiple packages for a lip balm and a pair of socks (also not Earth-friendly). Second, it’s tough to justify paying for wrapping when the item costs less than the wrapping fee. Third, it’s hard to ship things online when you buy gifts from a local farmers’ market or an artist. With that said, when I send stocking stuffers, I send an actual stocking stuffed with individually wrapped pinches.

This holiday season, when it came to getting our gifts together so that we could ship them, I went thru a series of six phases which helped me remain sane and saved me money and time.

Phase #1 - I bought stocking stuffers all year long - collecting thoughtful pinches whenever I could. No one says that you have to buy your holiday gifts between Halloween and December 25th. I started as soon as I could.

Phase #2 - After Thanksgiving I glittered up the stockings that I was going to fill with the stocking stuffers. I felt that personalizing the stockings made me focus and it made my gift list concrete. Not to mention it was therapeutic and I felt crafty - a feeling I don’t experience much these days. All it took was Elmer’s Glue and glitter.

Phase #3 - When the glitter names on the stockings were completely dry, I made piles of the pinches that I had been collecting throughout the year and placed the items with the corresponding stockings so I could visually see what I bought for each person. This was such a key step in the process because I usually “monster shop” which means I buy mass quantities without specific recipients in mind, then go back out shopping to buy more stuff before taking inventory. That gift-buying method had a few glitches: First, I always bought too much and rather than going back to the store to return the items I didn’t need, I would just find people to give the gift to instead. Second, this means I would over-spend and give to those who weren’t originally on the gift list. Meanwhile, the last glitch of this method was the lack of originality for each stocking. Since I would buy in bulk or mass quantities, nothing would be unique in each stocking.

This is a photo of Phase #3. It was taken before all the price tags were taken off the gifts and anything was wrapped. There’s a peek of the old-school glitter job I did on these Dollar Tree stockings.

Phase #4 - One afternoon, after I had most of the items truly mapped out to each recipient, I had a massive wrapping session. When I stuffed the stockings with the wrapped gifts it was easy see if I still needed to buy more. I took notes to help me stay focused after I became aware that some stockings still needed more thoughtful pinches. The notes streamlined my shopping agenda which then saved me time and money.

This shot was taken at the point when I was almost done with my “getting ship done” process - Phase #4. I needed to get a few more items from three more stores and then I was moving onto to Phase #5.

Phase #5 - Everything had been wrapped, stuffed and finally placed in shipping boxes. Before I sealed it up, I made sure to include this year’s family Christmas card. This may sound like a no-brainer, but I almost always forget this phase and then I have to mail the card separately. Argh! Not only is it a little bit of a hassle but it’s a little bit of an added cost (even though it’s less than fifty cents - it adds up!).

Phase #6 - This year, the post office trip was not a sweaty experience. It didn’t take much time for my transactions because each package was simple to process since I used the complimentary “flat-rate” boxes (it doesn’t matter how heavy it is, the price stays the same). Plus, by mailing the packages early, I knew I had plenty of time for each recipient to receive their packages. In fact, some have already opened their gifts!! Success!

Again, I know that there are EASIER ways to get ship done. For example, have the post office come to you by having pre-paid postage on packages so that the mail carrier picks them up at your house. This year I tried a different approach for getting the gifts out in time and I enjoyed myself so much that there wasn’t a need for an easier experience. The six phases of our stocking-stuffer-gift-giving was really fun for me. Even the shipping!

Pinches,

Barb