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The Gifter’s Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge!

Are you ready to plan out holiday gifts for everyone on your list & set yourself up for a joy-filled season? Well then your FREE Gifter’s Holiday Toolkit awaits!

If you sign up to participate in the 5 Day Challenge, you’ll receive daily emails with FREE printable worksheets and video pep talks on creating your very own toolkit of resources to help you get your gift-giving game face on.

Because life is too short to endure another stress-filled holiday. We’re bringing JOY back this time! Read on for the full run-down….

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and video pep talks designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Won't you join?

Sometimes, messages are so important and so personal, they deserve to be shared face-to-face.

So, I made you a video, dear reader. It’s the next best thing to a conversation over coffee. In fact, feel free to bring a cup of cheer along while you watch it, and we can use the power of our imaginations to transport us to your favorite local haunt.  M’kay?

{If for some reason you have trouble viewing the video above, click HERE. And if you click the gear icon, you can change the default setting to H.D. for higher quality.}

{Having trouble signing up with the form above? Click HERE.}

Even More Video Goodness

And if you just can’t get enough…here’s my video from our launch year of the Challenge in 2016. It’s a bit longer of a video clocking in at 6 minutes, but in this one, you’ll hear my past struggles when it comes to holiday gift giving, why I decided I’m going to dramatically adjust my sails each holidays season going forward, and how can join me.

Oh, and there just may be a super cute appearance by Baby Juniper. So, stick with it through to the end for an extra dose of sweetness!

{If for some reason you have trouble viewing the video above, click HERE. And if you click the gear icon, you can change the default setting to H.D. for higher quality.}

Video Transcript

{For those who may be at work or may have a sleeping baby in their arms and can’t turn up their volume right now, the transcript awaits you below. }

“There has to be another way.”

These are the words I have found myself saying every Christmas Eve for the past—I don’t know how long.

I’d be sitting in the church pew, clutching onto my little white candle with the paper drip catcher that never really works, hearing that age-old classic of “Silent Night” on the lips of everyone around me.  And while taking in this beautiful scene, I’d feel a weariness in my soul.

And I’d think, “I really shouldn’t be feeling this way.  This is my favorite time of year.  It’s Christmas, for Pete’s sake!”  And yet, there I was.  Unable to really enjoy the moment because I was still running through my holiday gift checklist in my mind.

I long for the simple joys of the Christmases that I experienced as a young girl.

Flashing back…

I can remember so vividly the hours I would spend at the base of our family Christmas tree, just me, the tree, and those elusive gifts.  I’d admire the gifts.  Enjoy the crinkle sound of the wrapping paper.  Wonder what was wrapped up inside.  For fun, I would pull all of the gifts out from under the tree, and then strategically place them back again.  First arranging them according to size.  Then according to recipient.  Then by color.  (This is how a type A child entertains herself.)

And even more than I loved receiving gifts, I absolutely delighted in creating them and giving them.  I would march upstairs to my “thinking closet,” shut the door, turn up the Christmas music, and create gifts to my heart’s content.  Hours would fly by in the blink of an eye.  I was in heaven.

All these years later, I still have that love of giving.  But somewhere along the way, that joy has been drained during the holidays in particular.

I think it’s a combination of things.  Sheer exhaustion from how busy my schedule has gotten.  Burnout from one too many decisions.  Pressure I place on myself to top what I did the last year.

And friends, you know what conclusion I’ve come to?  I think life is too short to settle.  To settle for another year where I come to that same conclusion on Christmas Eve that “There has to be another way.”  So, I am determined to make another way this season.  And if what I’m saying resonates with you, I want to invite you to join me.

The Gifter’s Holiday Toolkit

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving.

I created something called The Gifter’s Holiday Toolkit.  And yes, most toolkits live in a rusty metal box.  But this one lives in a binder or report cover of your choosing.  It’s made up of 5 main sections with worksheets to go along with them.  Here’s a sneak peek of what’s inside:

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving.

Gift Giving Mission Statement

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Here's a sneak peek at day 1: The Gift-Giving Mission Statement

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Here's a sneak peek at day 1: The Gift-Giving Mission Statement

My Gift Idea Library

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Here's a sneak peek at day 2: My Gift Idea Library.

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Here's a sneak peek at day 2: My Gift Idea Library.

Holiday Gift Tracker

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Here's a sneak peek at day 3: Holiday Gift Tracker.

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Here's a sneak peek at day 3: Holiday Gift Tracker.

Planning Calendars

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Here's a sneak peek at day 4: Planning Calendars.

Gift Wrap Inventory

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Here's a sneak peek at day 5: Gift Wrap Inventory.

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Here's a sneak peek at day 5: Gift Wrap Inventory.

These are so much more than just worksheets.  They’re tools we can reach for when we lose sight of why we choose to give gifts, when we’re running out of creative inspiration and need a spark.  It’s a way to plan in advance so we’re not left with that last minute scramble.  It’s fuel for getting excited about gift giving rather than being overwhelmed by it.

5 Day Challenge

And because I’m the kind of person who thrives with deadlines and works best within a structure, I’m making the completion of the Gifter’s Holiday Toolkit a 5 Day Challenge.  Because 20 minutes a day for 5 days is something I can manage.  And I thought, “Hey, maybe some of my friends can manage this, too.”

Oh, and did I mention…this is completely FREE.  It costs this much: $0.00.  Just a little bit of energy on your part that is going to pay off big time down the line.

How it works:

If you sign up, I’ll be sending emails to your inbox at 8 a.m. eastern for the next 5 days.  You can sign up today, tomorrow, a year from now…the Challenge does not live within the bounds of time.  Right out of the gate, you’ll get a welcome email with a few items to get your binder ready like…

…the cover…

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving.

…and the divider pages…

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving.

…and some motivational post-its…

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving.

…and then the next morning, it starts!

Each day, you’ll get an email from me with printable downloads and video pep talks from yours truly on how to tackle that day’s challenge.  You’ll set your timer for 20 minutes, and knock out each section of the binder one by one.  And in 5 day’s time, your Gifter’s Holiday Toolkit will be complete.

And friends, with the help of this toolkit, we have an opportunity to pave a different way than we’ve done before.

I know I’m ready.

The question is are you?

The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving. Won't you join?

I hope the answer is yes.  Because these challenges are way more fun when we know we’re not alone in it.

If you’d like to sign up, there’s a sign up box up above.  Or click HERE.

I know I’m really looking forward to reorienting my whole approach to gift-giving this season so that when I’m sitting there in that church pew with my drippy candle in hand singing “Silent Night,” my mind will be a bit more still, and my eyelids a little less heavy, and my heart a whole lot more full of joy from this new approach to gift giving.  Just like it was all those years ago.

Let’s make another way.

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The Gifter's Holiday Toolkit: 5 Day Challenge! FREE printable worksheets and email inspiration designed to set you up for a season of stress free, joy-filled giving.

P.S. For a heartwarming video, here’s that moment I described, holding the candle, singing “Silent Night,” from a few years back.  I had forgotten I captured this moment, but Mark recently followed the rabbit trail of my Instagram feed back to the early days when Instagram really was about sharing in an instant.  And when he played this video, it unearthed a deep memory that is knit into the fabric of my soul.  Those violins.  That church.  That father of mine playing the piano.  Maybe you’ll find your own nostalgia wrapped up in this moment, too.

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11 Comments

  1. I can’t wait to get started on the five day challenge. I want to join you on this better way.

    How did you make that echo sound in the video? So cool and also poignant that you showed the Christmas eve service from a few years ago.

    1. I’m so happy you’re joining in! And that you were able to use some of my extra printouts. 😉 Oh, the echo was a fun audio effect in iMovie that I discovered by accident. It seemed to work well there! And yes, so fun to take that walk down memory lane to the HPC Christmas Eve service a few years ago. Such a precious time!

  2. What a great idea! I always love what you bring to us, Lauren 🙂 Love this! I want to join in but we’ll have company this week – 2 of my grandbabies will be here all week! Would it work for me to accept your challenge and save the dounloads for the next week? Oh, and that Junie of yours – A.DOR.A.BLE! just like her mama 😉

    1. Of course, my friend! Soak up those grandbabies of yours! You can tackle this whenever it works best for you and your family. If you feel like you’ll be more inspired if the emails are a surprise each day, you can wait to sign up until you’re ready…or you can save them and knock it out in an afternoon or evening if you like! I know you probably already have a great system for getting organized and keeping that heart of yours in check (I’m thinking of this post of yours from last year), but perhaps you can add these to your collection! Aw, shucks, thanks for the kind words about Juniper. You’re makin’ me blush!

  3. These are some GORGEOUS photos in this post Lauren! Really pretty to look at, and they showcase your worksheets brilliantly.

    I have to admit, I kind of giggled to myself a bit when I saw this, because I sat down today and created my list of recipients & then cross-checked with what I already have, and honestly? I’m already halfway done! I guess being Type-A comes in handy when it comes to Christmas prep? haha I’m sure these worksheets are a heaven-sent for a lot of people, but I hope you don’t mind me not joining in, sitting here on my mountain of self-satisfied Christmas smugness 😀

    1. Aw, thanks Johanna! I had fun putting together the styled shoot for these photos! And I’m not at all surprised that you’re so on top of your gift list. You are so good about those things! Somehow my Type A personality also includes perfectionist-procrastinator tendencies and I’ve never found my way to this mountain you speak of, ha ha. But I totally applaud and celebrate you sitting this one out! You’re an example for us all.

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