After the Gold Rush

by Jill Miller Zimon

Do your kids’ cries of "I’m so bored!" make you wonder whether they lived through the same winter holidays you did? Consider these tips for easing out of the worst and preserving the best of the 2003 holiday season.

Give Thanks

Thank you notes don’t need to be sent to people who saw you open their gift, but you should acknowledge the generosity of anyone who didn’t have that opportunity.

Try to divide the task among your family members. Light a fire, play music, grab your kids, spouse and stationery and start thanking. You can also send a family newsletter or photos of the unwrapping with a thank you penned on the back.

Since handwritten notes show that you took real – not virtual – time to thank gift givers, use e-mail notes sparingly and send them only to people with whom you regularly correspond in this way.

The Point of No Return

"There’s been so much theft…stores really have begun to crack down," says Sheryl Harris, consumer affairs reporter for The Plain Dealer. Harris says that Ohio law doesn’t require merchants to accept returns. It only requires that their return policy be reasonable and posted conspicuously. For stores that do take returns, Harris reports that more and more of them offer only in-store credit, not money back. This alternative convinces many people to abort any attempt to return a product.

Harris also says that merchants try to deter returns by charging restocking fees and setting strict time limitations by which returns must be requested, although they often relax these limitations during the holidays. Online merchants’ tactics include additional freight fees when you return a product.

As a defense against the merchants’ methods:

Try hard to match gifts with recipients to reduce the likelihood of returns.

Ask parents what a child needs or what they want the child to receive.

Check consumer reports or online reviews like epinions.com.

Include a gift receipt or indicate that you can provide one if necessary.

If the return involves a broken toy or product, Harris advises that you contact the store to see if they’ll replace it because all products carry an implied warranty that they will function for a reasonable amount of time. If the store can’t help you, call the manufacturer’s customer service department.

Give Everything a Place

After you’ve ripped the wrapping, where do you store the bounty? Stephanie Denton, a Cincinnati-based professional organizing expert and past president of the National Association of Professional Organizers, proposes the following solutions for warehousing new possessions:

1. Give storage items as gifts. Camouflage their utilitarian nature by filling them with fun stuff such as candy, pennies, art supplies, doll clothes, toy cars or beads and string. Then personalize the unit with the child’s name and images that represent their favorite motif such as sports or ballet.

2. Avoid storage units that are too big or too small. For example, if you store small toy cars in a large bin, small items belonging to other toys become mixed with the cars. You might as well label that container "Black Hole."

3. Make storage convenient. Use containers that your kids can open. Don’t stack too many of them on top of each other. Place containers on a shelving unit to eliminate unstable piles.

4. Store excess gifts in one location, otherwise you may be unable to keep track of what you’ve got. If you re-wrap items, be sure to label them.

5. If you want skilled assistance, Denton suggests you contact the National Association of Professional Organizers’ free referral service at www.napo.net.

In Search Of…Supplies and Refills

If you like to restock supplies for toys, try these techniques to locate and purchase what you need:

When catalogues list refills separately from the main item, order them.

Scour thrift shops, garage sales and consignment stores.

Visit craft shops. Standard fare includes buckets of beads, empty sand art plastic bottles, bags of melting plastic pegs and the like.

Contact manufacturers through their websites or customer service numbers.

Call the retailer from whom you bought the item.

Denton recommends that you create an inventory of regularly used items, type it up, print it out and hang it where even your kids can find it. Then, whoever notices that supplies have dwindled can circle the items and you can take the list with you when you shop.

Live and Learn

From year to year, families accumulate wisdom about how to enjoy the holidays. Try to incorporate more of this advice each year:

Look for gifts throughout the year to reduce shopping during peak times.
Shop online for variety and better prices.
Keep track of what people like so that your present shows you know the recipient.
Give money or gift certificates since they offer flexibility and eliminate returns.
Save money in a "Christmas fund" to alleviate financial anxiety or shortfalls.
Make something for recipients to individualize your presents.
Avoid return lines by re-gifting duplicate or excess items to your kids on snow or sick days or to other people for upcoming occasions. Donate everything else.
De-emphasize attaining what’s on a wish list and re-emphasize the giving of time, the donation of goods and spending time together as a family.

Jill Miller Zimon is a freelancer writer who lives in Pepper Pike, Ohio with her husband and three young children.