Making the Occasion About Quality, Not Quantity!

Whether it’s birthdays, Christmas, or anniversaries, sometimes, the focus can be more on the gifts rather than the occasion itself. Sometimes we can find ourselves in over our heads and feeling more stressed about getting the perfect gift. But it’s always about focusing on the quality of the occasion rather than the supposed quantity. What does it take to do this? 

Set a Budget 

Financially speaking, if you know how much you will spend, it’s going to make the shopping process easier. Sometimes we can feel pressured to buy something that we think is perfect, but is a little bit out of our price range. While we can get high-end items, it’s important to remember that we can find luxury second-hand. You can buy a preowned Rolex online, and if it’s in your budget, you can go for it! But it’s got to come from you and within your budgetary needs. If you go for a gift that you know your significant other will love but it puts you in debt up to six months later, you have to ask yourself if it’s really worth it. 

Come from a Place of Gratitude

Gratitude, whether it’s in the Christmas season, in your life, or in a relationship, before you start handing out gifts, it’s important to reflect. Sometimes, we can look at the things that make us happy, and if gifts actually factor in that. When we start to be more grateful for the situation, whether it’s the anniversary of you and your partner or Christmas time, when you start to reflect on the occasion or the relationship, it helps you to reassess the occasion. When we become grateful, we will have a better time regardless of the gifts we receive. 

Focus on Simplicity

This is especially true for those people who want to celebrate birthdays with all of their friends but they cannot schedule them all in. When you over-schedule yourself, it’s going to stress you out, and therefore you will miss the peace that should come with the occasion. A great example is Christmas because we want to have family and friends over for parties, but the season goes by so quickly, and we haven’t had a moment to unwind. Keep it simple, and only focusing on one or two social occasions is going to release your expectations of the occasion. Sometimes we can be disappointed if things don’t go according to plan, so we need to be open to change, but plan less. 

Don’t Chase Perfection

Part of the problem with anniversaries and parties is that we feel it’s got to be 110% perfect. But when you have amazing times with friends and family, a lot of the time, they can be the ones that had no clear objective. Stop chasing the perfect meal or gift and enjoy the moments. This is naturally something we’ve all come to appreciate in light of recent circumstances, but it’s always nice to remember that focusing on the quality of events and family time will be better, pandemic or not. 

No Last-Minute Buying

Everybody is busy, and when we find ourselves without a gift for someone we care about because we’ve been overworked and underpaid, we inevitably rush out and subconsciously grab the nearest thing to us thinking “that will do.” The worry about being empty-handed can bring out the worst in our shopping habits. Instead, this is the prime opportunity to focus on the quality of a gift. Think about the things that you could enjoy together with your loved one, or things that are special to them. Experiences are always better than physical gifts. Think about gig tickets, a meal out, or even a back rub! This is the perfect opportunity to get creative! 

Remember the Happiness of the Occasion

For those people who are continually stressed over Christmas, they never have the opportunity to enjoy what it’s all about. They find themselves chained to the kitchen, or they are wrapping presents late into the night. Focus on what the season is all about, and think about how to bring that to the forefront of your mind (and everyone else’s). Whether this is buying gifts months in advance, or pre-preparing your vegetables by freezing them you’ve got to work out a way to make life easier for you. 

An occasion is not just the opportunity to be with people that you love, but it’s about making sure that you actually enjoy the occasion, so you can recharge and remember what it’s all about. Quality, not quantity!