Skip the Holiday Stress
I don`t know about you, but I get totally stressed out each year around Christmas, realizing that I have SO many projects to do and no time left to do them. All (or most) of that running around can be fixed with simply good planning and lately it seems that more people are starting to focus on this. There are a number of blogs and websites created to help families stay organized and get things done early this year. There are a bunch of resources at the end of this post.
Here are a few things I`ve picked up from all my reading.
Make a gift list. Knowing what you are buying or making for each person means you can plan the time for this as well. The gift schedule goes hand-in-hand with the list, especially if you are going to be making gifts.
Inventory Christmas decorations. Christmas decorations are being sold now and they will be out full force after Halloween, when it`s nice and easy to pick up what you want, before stock runs low.
Keep it low key. There`s no need to go over the top and if you are a work at home mom, you probably don`t have the time needed to plan huge parties and make all the food yourself.
Get help. Call in reinforcements when it comes to that family dinner and take people up on their offers to bring something. Plan out a basic dinner and take on the main dishes, turkey, stuffing, etc. and have others bring things like salad, rolls and mashed potatoes.
Here are some websites you might want to check out that deal with how to make Christmas an organized, non-stressful event.
Cruise Through the Holidays (FlyLady)
Looking for quick and easy recipes? Here are a few holiday favorites that are either super simple or can be made ahead of time and frozen.
Share your tips and tricks for making the holidays less stressful in the comments!
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I know I sure get stressed out with so much to do and so little time. I normally start planning in Sept., then by December I am all ready!
I am totally stressed out today cant wait till the kids go back to school.