I love receiving thoughtful presents and cards for birthdays, holidays, or just because. I’ve tried to continue this tradition for my nephews, friends, and family, but don’t feel I’ve done a very good job in the past few years. Sure I’ll get a card out in time, but sometimes the actual gifts (if I can muster the creativity) arrive weeks or even months late because I only start to think about what the recipient might like a week or less before their birthday.

This procrastination is especially detrimental in February and March when I have ten birthdays to remember. That’s right TEN. Seven of which are in February. Holey moley.

So this year, in an attempt to be a better auntie/friend/sister/daughter/niece I finally pinned down the actual birthdays of friends and family. No more guessing, no more sending cards a month early because I thought grandma’s birthday was in January and not February. This was step one. Step two was entering the dates into my online calendar and setting it up so I receive a reminder email 4 weeks before and then another 2 weeks before each event. This allows me enough time to buy, make, and send the packages. Step three, which is still in progress, is obtaining actual updated street addresses.

I’m pretty sure this is a better system than just trying to keep track of birthdays in my head. 

Do you have a system for keeping track of birthdays? What about gifts? Do you buy them way in advance or think about what the person will like closer to the actual date of their birthday?