It’s finally here! Holiday Season! This could possibly be the most stressful time of the year. There is so much going on, so much to do. Holiday decorations, fattening foods galore, family situations, travel, expenses, gift buying. It can get a little overwhelming. I wanted to share a few things that you can do to de-stress and get organized so you don’t go completely crazy or spend too much. The last thing we all need is a huge credit card bill come January.
1. Plan. It sounds simple but most of us forget to just sit down with a pen and paper and write everything down. Make lists. A list of gifts you need to buy, a list of decorations you want to put up, a list of foods you need to cook or prepare.
2. Take one day at a time. Not everything needs to be done in one day. Think about the things that have to be done today, tomorrow, next week. Do you need to ship gifts to another city or state? Make that your priority. Decorations don’t all have to be done in one day.
3. When you make your list of gifts, don’t forget teachers, service people, mailman (if you normally gift these people). Then, write down a dollar figure next to the name. Add up all the estimated expenses and figure out if that number is really something you are comfortable with. If not, maybe rework the amounts until you know you won’t be breaking the bank. Stick to that figure while shopping.
4. Don’t underestimate the power of handmade gifts and cards. They show that you took the time and put the thought into the gift even if it isn’t quite as perfect as you would like it to be.
5. When it comes to decorations, I always think simple is best. We have the usual houses on our street that have an overkill of Christmas lights. It’s an awful lot of work… and can be very expensive. One of the houses has a simple string of white lights outlining their home. It is beautiful… tasteful, simple, and inexpensive.
6. Don’t go overboard on the food. No matter whose house or what party you are going to, there will be tons of sweets. Think about a simple dish that is tasty but not too fattening or sweet. Maybe a simple pasta with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. The red and green color is also festive.
7. If you are seeing family that you might otherwise not want to see… keep your cool. Remember that it is an obligation and either your husband, children or parents might really be looking forward to seeing them. The holidays are a time for everyone to find joy. Let them.
Need gifts? They don’t need to be extravagant or expensive. Sometimes simple is best and I really love buying things that people can really use. P&G is trying to help make your gift-giving easier this year. They have an amazing line-up of Beauty Gift Sets that are inexpensive and read-to-go. These are things everyone uses and would love to receive. The Gift Sets feature all the must-have products from Olay, Pantene, Secret, Venus and CoverGirl. What is better than getting a gift full of pampering products? P&G is selling their Gift Sets at grocery, drug and mass retailers nationwide. And I’m so thrilled they are allowing me to give away a great Gift Basket to one of my readers.
GIVEAWAY!
Win your own P&G Gift Basket full of these amazing products that you use every day.
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Use them yourself or give them away as gifts for the holidays. Gift Basket value is estimated at $90.00.
{ 55 comments… read them below or add one }
Great tips and advice!
I think the one that I most relate to is making lists - that’s a must for me during the holiday season or my head falls off.
There’s far too much to do and think about to not have a tangible list to reference when I get stressed.
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I make lists for gifts, cards, and baking. I’d never get anything done for the holidays if I didn’t make lists and have a baking schedule.
Creating special holiday traditions should include input from the entire family. I survey each person in my home including children (no matter what age) and ask them to name one thing they like best about the holidays. Then, I try to include that activity/food/decoration in the celebration so that each person feels they’ve been included in making the holiday special. Getting input from the celebrants is so important because everyone then has a vested interest in making it memorable.
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I think including everyone is a must. Makes it fun for everyone if they have input.
I think it takes time to really start a tradition, but I do agree that you should include everyone’s thoughts and ideas on what they want. You can always have a leading up to christmas tradition…that way you can do a few of the same things every year.
I make notes, bt do not put prices as i shop year round..I also keep notes of likes, dislikes..greats for bdays too > I heard someone say have their kids make a list of only 3 things..if any extra comes than its a bonus ..we also make alot of gifts. We have been going to the battered womens shelter and help making food and the kids play with the other kids. It is good for them to see we may have it not so god, but there are others worse off, and also lets them see everyone is the same. We have been doing it for a couple years and it has become a tradition..community service is something to instill in the kids.
I definitely keep it simple…we have a family tradition that our family and friends get together for a potluck…..making Christmas gifts,,cookies etc its fun
Each year, I try to find out what my son would like to do around the holidays and do that. One year, he wanted to make cookies and another he was all into decorating the house. We try to keep everything simple so that we don’t get stressed out.
My best tip for creating holiday traditions is to do what you and your family truly enjoy, and don’t stress yourself out trying to replicate some idea of what you “Should” be doing. Do what’s special to YOU, not someone else! Thank you for the giveaway!
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My best tip is organization. Our major tradition is decorating our house with the same decorations every year and we make sure to pack everything away neatly and label everything so we know what to pull out when the time comes to put everything up again.
I make lists for each kid, store etc
to make things less stressfull for the kids, we meet up with family on xmas eve that way the kids can stay home allday on xmas and enjoy their new gifts
My tradition is baking cookies every year to give to my neighbors.
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our family isnt too close, its just me, mom,& my fiance. christmas hasnt been the same since my dad passed away in 96. we do have a little charlie brown tree that has lights on it that sets on a table. we cant have a normal tree because our dog would pee all over it.
My best tip is to not stress out over everything. Things have a way of working out. Just enjoy the time with family and friends!
The best holiday tradition is doing a devotion together and hang up decorations with each person responsible for one area of the home.
I make a list for EVERYTHING… and 9 times out of 10 I end up forgetting the list at home haha! ..This year I am trying very hard to stick to a budget and get everyone what they want at the same time!
I plan everything out very early from food and gifts. I look for the best deals with sales and coupons and great deals so everyone has what they want and I paid very little money for it.
I try to make the holidays as special as possible for everyone
my best tip is to make as many homemade items as possible. from wreaths, to lighting, to cookies, to sweaters. homemade is better every time & always has the memory to it.
We open our house up to all family and friends. So no one is home alone for the Christmas holidays. My husband is in the Air Force so we have a lot of friends/coworkers that can’t be with their family, so they’re always welcome.
Great tips
When my family adopted my little sister from Russia, we wanted to start new family traditions that we could begin as a family. One of my favorites: every year when we decorate the Christmas tree, we make hot dogs and milk shakes for dinner!
Growing up the holidays always wore me out, our breaks were spent cleaning. cooking, decorating, baking, wrapping, shopping and on and on. The day would come and you were so happy that the season/holiday was over. Now, I don’t have any rules, traditions, menus, ect. everyone gets Amex, Visa or Master Card gift cards with their names on them - shipped to their door. At our home, come and just enjoy yourself and one another. No special dress, give if you can and just simply be!
i just love christmas and getting together with my daughter and my grandkids and we spend a day making candy and cookies..
Make lists and keep it simple but most of all have fun and enjoy those close to you during the holidays.
I let my lady take care of all the planning. Works for me!
take care of your plans as soon as you can, not at the last minute where youre stressing yourself out, and not enjoying the holidays as much as you fully can. organization also helps everything go smooth
I always include my whole family starting on Thanksgiving. It is a family tradition to start with the tree then cookies, decorations and lots of love!!!
The best tip that I use is to start baking holiday cookies early and freeze them so there is less to do when you get really busy.
What great information and advice! I t really helps, thank you!
We make homemade ornaments together every year as a family, it is fun to dig the previous year ornaments out every year, Great family time together.
I give it up to the GL, give him praise and thanks for his blessings and wish him a
happy birthday!!!
We always make tons of different cookies, and we listen to christmas music and sing~ nothin better then family on the holidays
I am a procastinator,so I usually do a marathon the last 2 weeks before Christmas. However, I usually manage to get a lot of great deals that way!
My family tradition is that I buy my kids a nice ornament every year for Christmas so when they move out they have enough ornaments for their tree that have memories with them.
Each year I purchase a special ornament for each of my two daughters. My oldest is now 21 and living on her own so she will have 20+ ornaments that are special to her to decorate her own tree this year.
Our family holiday tradition is we do a different holiday craft every year, that includes little personal touches like photos , hand/finger prints etc.. so the following year when decorating for the holidays we appreciate how much we’ve all grown and changed through the years.
Each year we put the tree up as a family. That seems to be the greatest joys for my little ones.
We always buy the kids new pajamas for Christmas and give them out on Christmas Eve. The kids are happy to get an early gift and the new pj’s look great in the Christmas pictures.
The last 5 days before Christmas we let the children pick one gift out of their Christmas stockings without peeking.
Lists, lists, lists. My life depends on them during this holiday season. If I don’t do list for every little thing that needs to be done, I will be completely overwhelmed. So there, I have one for each to do item, and just hope I don’t misplace the list!
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Our tradition is that we make sure to take our kids to see the lights at Hartwood Acres every year.. They love it..
We always get the family together and share new pics of the children/family. This is our way of having photos year to year. Photos are always a nice gift. Then we have dinner and open gifts. It’s fun to watch the generations we are currently up to having 5 generations at the gatherings for Christmas
We each have ornmanets that have our names on them. Each person hangs their ornmanet where they want their present to go
set up tree together:0
A tradition we have is opening 1 present on christmas eve. Its always Pjs!!
We always sit and look at the Christmas tree in the dark with just the lights on on Christmas Eve and listen to Christmas music. We used to go to my husbands Grandmas house before she passed away and all the family on his side would eat and play bingo for prizes and open presents. On Christmas day we had the opening of our gifts under the tree for the kids and then to my side of the family Christmas night for food and presents.
I decorate every year and I make sure to have Christmas parties. We all get together and bring a dish for all of us to share. This tradition really brought us together.
Every year I have my kids make everyone a present. It’s sometimes pictures or ornaments. They always feel so proud to hand their special presents to everyone and its cheap!
I would like to win this. It would be nice to share with my mom in law.
we always take a lot of pictures and then I scrapbook them with notes on what we did so we have an instant memory every time we look at them.
This tip falls under planning: shop the after Christmas sales for your cards, gift tins, and wrapping paper. You can get these items for a steal and you know you’ll need them next year.
My hubby and I bake, unwrap our gifts and be thankful to have each other.
Thanks for a wonderful offer!
Merry Christmas!
Cindy
Good stuff i do some already but there are some new ones i will be doing Thanx