How to Give Simply This Year

Here it is.

Crunch time.

Christmas Week.

Do you feel overwhelmed by high blood pressure, a cold sweat, and a constricted wallet the more you think about "wrapping up" your holiday gift list?

If that’s the case, it’s time to reclaim your holiday spirit before it’s too late.

Because holiday gift giving is designed to bring joy to the people we care about. And experiencing that joy lights us up, makes us feel good, and brings us closer together with family and friends.

The truth is is that giving is a part of our everyday lives – through this season AND the rest of the year. And it’s time we shifted our thinking - to give simply. Let’s start to simplify gift giving by shifting the way we think about GIFTS.

Gifts – Consumable gifts. I am not talking about the fudge and cookies that leave a permanent mark on our thighs and backsides. I am talking about the simple gifts that our friends and family can actually use. What about personalized notepads or stationary? How about an advent candle for all of the children in your life to enjoy burning (supervised, of course) on Christmas Eve? What about making bird feeders from pine cones? How about a membership to a gym? What about an Audible.com subscription for the readers in your life? (The books can be directly downloaded to the recipient’s e-reader.) How about tickets to the theater, the opera or movie passes? Each of these gifts can be used and enjoyed by the recipient AND they do not leave any “stuff” behind.

Individual – Think about the person. What makes your friend or family member an individual? What is truly and respectively unique about him or her? How can you honor them and give them a gift that reflects who they are, how they live, and what they want for themselves, their lives, their futures, their families?

Family and friends – Family and friends can help you with the gift purchasing, wrapping and delivering. If you have children, they can help you make pine cone bird feeders. Babysitters can wrap presents and address the last of the holiday cards. Is there a young adult in the neighborhood who is home from college and who could help you deliver gifts in the next couple of days? Could you watch your friends’ children while she shops for both of you? Who can help ease your gift buying burden?

Time – Instead of giving a trinket, token or other item this year, give your friends and family the gift of time. Create customized time certificates for each person on your list. Could you give a friend a lunch date certificate? Could you give an overworked friend the gift of a few hours to help her around the house? The most precious gift we can give others is our time. Show someone you care by spending time with him or her.

Spread the joy! Decide not to purchase gifts this year and give donations in honor of your friends and family. Or, in lieu of a monetary donation, what about volunteering your time to a family or friend’s favorite charity? Or ask your friends and family to join you and spend the day feeding the homeless, building a house, or spreading cheer among homebound seniors. A donation of your time or money is a consumable gift, focused on the individual, and spread joy is one of the mot valuable ways.

I want you and your family to give simply and live fully this holiday season. Spread joy to your friends and family by honoring who they are for themselves and for you. Honor their interests, their time, their attention, their charitable causes. Give them the most precious gift – you – present, focused, and stress-free. I am fully committed to that idea personally. Which is why I’m taking a break from LinkedIn blog posts until after the New Year.

If I have learned anything about this journey to work simply and live fully, it’s that time spent authentically and warmly with family and friends is the best gift of all.

Merry, merry!

Feeling ready to be more motivated, creative, and productive in 2015? Pre-order Carson Tate's new book, Work Simply, out January 2. To pre-order, visit: https://www.carsontate.com/book/

Carson Tate is the founder and principal of Working Simply, a management consultancy. Our mission is to bring productivity with passion back to the workplace. We do this by providing tailored solutions that help people to work smarter, not harder. Her new book, Work Simply, will be out January 2, 2015.