How to tame your inner grinch

Presents tense
Yes, Mrs. Santa knows how tempted you are to simply announce that you won't be doing gifts this year. She also knows that, for many of us, the ensuing guilt would be more stressful than the money, time and pressure involved in buying or making presents. Fess up: you know it's not just a matter of having a little something for everybody -- it's having the perfect something. You also know how hard it is to make dreams come true on a budget, and to shop for 87 people on your half-hour lunch breaks. No wonder you're pushing the panic button by the middle of December.

"I create a shopping list on my computer and list the presents as I buy them so I don't overspend or, worse, forget someone. My shopping list has been shortened by getting various groups of family and friends to draw names early in the year."
- Judy Schofield, Beaumont, Alta.

Grinch busters
• Many of our Canadian Living Online visitors recommended shopping for gifts all year round to take the pressure off during the holiday season. But if you haven't, make a shopping list right now. Consider carefully whether there are individuals with whom you would like to stop exchanging gifts. Invite them for a cookie bake or movie date instead. Or group some recipients together: instead of buying for each nephew and niece, give family gifts of concert tickets, magazine subscriptions or games.

• Shop early in December on a low-key weekday to avoid the crowds of other panicking, cranky Grinches.

• Fight the "gimmies," a pervasive ailment many kids catch from a combination of peer pressure and media hype. Give them a reality check by explaining your financial situation. A lesson in managing money well is a great gift to give your children. Ask them to give you their final wish lists by December 1 and to highlight the two items they really want. And instead of letting them watch TV -- and high-pressure commercials -- keep them busy making ornaments, gifts and cookies and choosing toys to give away to local shelters.

• Follow the example of Sheila McDonnell of Hornby Island, B.C., and forget about gifts altogether. Instead, make a donation to your favourite charity. "If people judge me for the amount I spend on a gift they don't really need anyway, I don't want them as friends," she says.

Grinchy business: The office party
What's the last thing that any Grinch up to her mistletoe in yuletide preparations needs? OK, it's a long list, but near the top of it is holiday jollity with the folks you see every day.

Grinch busters
• If you have any say in the planning of your office party, "Why not have a lunch-hour party rather than an evening event?" suggests Virginia. Even if the budget doesn't permit a restaurant outing, put on Christmas music in the office and serve cookies and hot chocolate.

• If your office traditions include a gift exchange, think of (or propose) replacing it with a more meaningful charitable initiative, such as collecting items for a local shelter or transition house. For example, organize a collection of pyjamas or nightgowns (Haven House in Nanaimo, B.C., says nightclothes are the most needed items because families often leave unsafe situations with just the clothes they're wearing); mittens and hats; baby items; toiletries, such as shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste; books; or nonperishable food items.

• Important reminder: If your office party is after hours and alcohol is served, never attempt to assuage your inner Grinch by overindulging. Apart from making you even crankier the next day, who knows what promotions or raises you could scuttle while under the influence?

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