WEBVTT - Do a gift debrief

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to do a gift debrief. Figure out

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<v Speaker 1>what worked and what didn't work in your gift giving

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<v Speaker 1>this past holiday season. Make notes to guide you in

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<v Speaker 1>the future. So we are now about a month past Christmas.

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<v Speaker 1>For those who celebrate Christmas or any other December gift

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<v Speaker 1>giving holiday, you may be glad to be done with

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<v Speaker 1>major gift giving occasions for the next eleven months, but

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<v Speaker 1>a little reflection right now can save future you a

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<v Speaker 1>fair amount of stress. If you've got kids, you can

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<v Speaker 1>reflect on what they received and what worked and what didn't.

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<v Speaker 1>What are they still playing with now one month later?

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<v Speaker 1>What turned out to be a dud? Did anything create

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of excitement when it was opened? Did other

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<v Speaker 1>siblings look wistfully at something or did you misjudge interests?

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<v Speaker 1>What about the volume of presents? Was it just right

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<v Speaker 1>or was it overwhelming? For other folks in your life.

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<v Speaker 1>It might help to write down what you gave and

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<v Speaker 1>what you received while these items are still relatively fresh

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<v Speaker 1>in your memory. It is easy to find yourself wondering

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<v Speaker 1>come November whether you gave your nephew a Duffel bag

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<v Speaker 1>last year. Ten months hence, you will know that you

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<v Speaker 1>thought about giving him one, but you might not remember

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<v Speaker 1>what you decided a month after the holidays, though you

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<v Speaker 1>probably still remember ber and you can also see if

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<v Speaker 1>that duffel bag is getting any use by this point,

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<v Speaker 1>and thus evaluate whether it was a good idea or not.

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<v Speaker 1>It can also be easy to forget which friends and

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<v Speaker 1>family members you exchanged gifts with, or even cards with.

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<v Speaker 1>No one likes the awkward dance when one person gives

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<v Speaker 1>a gift and the other doesn't, so write it all down.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've still got the holiday cards somewhere, and let's

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<v Speaker 1>face it, it is entirely possible that you still do.

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<v Speaker 1>Write down the names and addresses in a spreadsheet. Next November,

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<v Speaker 1>this will be all good to go. You might also

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<v Speaker 1>start creating a list of gift ideas. The upside of

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<v Speaker 1>doing this so soon after December is that you can

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<v Speaker 1>remember what was a hit for some people and transfer

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<v Speaker 1>these ideas to other similar folks. You're new if you

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<v Speaker 1>love the Duffel bag, so you buy one next year

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<v Speaker 1>for your godson. If one set of older relatives really

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<v Speaker 1>liked a digital picture frame, probably another set will like

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<v Speaker 1>it next year. If you particularly enjoyed a bottle of

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<v Speaker 1>wine from a colleague, well now you've got the name

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<v Speaker 1>of a winemaker to order in bulk from for other

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<v Speaker 1>people's gifts next year. And if something didn't work out, well,

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<v Speaker 1>now you know. I will note that I gave my

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<v Speaker 1>husband something I really thought he would love, and as

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<v Speaker 1>of a few weeks post Christmas, it was still sitting

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<v Speaker 1>there in the room where we opened presents. I thought

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<v Speaker 1>it made a lot of sense as a gift, but

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<v Speaker 1>I guess he just wasn't as into it as I

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<v Speaker 1>imagined he would be. I now know to look in

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<v Speaker 1>a different direction for gifts in future years. Santa isn't

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<v Speaker 1>the only one who benefits from making the list and

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<v Speaker 1>checking it twice. Keeping a list of gifts given or

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<v Speaker 1>gifts received helps you make smarter choices in the future,

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<v Speaker 1>wasting less money and making people happier in the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our talk. Hey everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter. Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b the number

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<v Speaker 1>four than breakfast p o D. You can also shoot

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<v Speaker 1>me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts. At iHeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I

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