WEBVTT - Second Cup: Choose a gift of the year

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to decide on a gift of the year.

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<v Speaker 1>You can make gift giving easier on yourself by being

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<v Speaker 1>more streamlined, but you can preserve a lot of thoughtfulness too.

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<v Speaker 1>My guess is that if you are the sort of

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<v Speaker 1>person who listens to this podcast, you want to give

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<v Speaker 1>gifts that people will love. You also don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>spend huge chunks of your life hunting through the entire

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<v Speaker 1>universe of gift options. If that is the case, you

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<v Speaker 1>will probably benefit from having a default plan. Just as

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<v Speaker 1>I have a basic structure for each Before Breakfast episode

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<v Speaker 1>so I don't sit down and say, hmmm, how should

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<v Speaker 1>I begin things today? It can be helpful to add

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<v Speaker 1>structure to your gift giving. For instance, you can always

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<v Speaker 1>give one particular thing for people's special occasions. I know

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<v Speaker 1>of a couple who give every young couple that's getting

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<v Speaker 1>married whatever betting they have registered for, no deliberating over gifts,

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<v Speaker 1>and no need to remember what they gave anyone else, sir,

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<v Speaker 1>whether it was equivalently priced. You put sheets on your

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<v Speaker 1>registry that is what this couple is going to give you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can do something similar as we go into the

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<v Speaker 1>holiday season. Decide on a gift of the year, choose

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<v Speaker 1>something you like that you think others will like too,

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<v Speaker 1>and then give it to most of the people on

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<v Speaker 1>your list in some form or another. So, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>if you like those LLBean boat bags and who doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>give them to everyone on your list? You can very

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<v Speaker 1>the specifics by person. The family that loves picnics gets

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<v Speaker 1>a big, open topped bag, while your niece who commutes

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<v Speaker 1>by train gets a smaller one that zips up so

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<v Speaker 1>she doesn't have to worry about everything spilling out. You

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<v Speaker 1>can choose a color each person likes and get it

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<v Speaker 1>monogrammed if you prefer. You could also put stuff in

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<v Speaker 1>the bags to amplify the gift. The gifts are not

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<v Speaker 1>in any way identical, but you don't spend time wondering

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<v Speaker 1>what should I get my in laws? You consider which

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<v Speaker 1>particular boot bag your in laws would like the best,

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<v Speaker 1>and go with that. There are other gifts that will

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<v Speaker 1>appeal to just about everyone on your list. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>you might get everyone your favorite water bottle or yet

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<v Speaker 1>e coffee cup in different colors. Or patterns. You could

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<v Speaker 1>give everyone a Christmas ornament and choose specific ornaments that

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<v Speaker 1>relate to each person's taste. You could give everyone stationary

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<v Speaker 1>with their initials, or a gift of regional food from

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<v Speaker 1>your area. I bet there is a local restaurant or

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<v Speaker 1>store that would be happy to have you give a

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<v Speaker 1>gift basket from them to everyone on your list. What

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<v Speaker 1>I like about this idea is that it is personal

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<v Speaker 1>and easy. There are a lot of presents in this world.

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<v Speaker 1>By narrowing things down to one small category, you keep

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<v Speaker 1>yourself from spinning your wheels. But within that category there

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<v Speaker 1>are probably lots of options that can speak to each

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<v Speaker 1>particular person. You save time and put thought into your gifts.

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<v Speaker 1>That is not a bad combination at all. If you

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<v Speaker 1>try choosing a gift of the year, let me know

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<v Speaker 1>how it goes. You can reach me at Laura at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura,

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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