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Putting the Joy Back in the Holidays
Are your holiday seasons more
stressful than joyful? Follow these tips and ideas, and make
this year’s holidays easier and more fun!
Make It Meaningful
Sit down with your partner or
family, and talk about which holiday traditions and activities
you’ve really enjoyed in the last couple of years. What was
really fun? What brought you together? What reinforced the idea
of the holidays as a season of giving to others? What
strengthened your faith? On the other side of the coin, what was
stressful about last year? What made you tired and resentful
instead of joyful?
Decide as a family what
traditions and fun activities you want to do, and which hassles
you want to avoid. Then look at your calendar and schedule
blocks of time for fun stuff, meaningful traditions, and
memory-making events.
Plan Ahead
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Prepare early this year.
As you make your lists and plans, tuck them into a binder
with tabbed folders for each holiday category: travel plans
(itinerary, packing list), meal plans (menus, recipes, and
shopping lists for groceries and baking supplies), things to
buy (cards, stamps, gift wrap, decor, entertaining
supplies), lists of people to send cards to, and gift lists.
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Decide if you’ll be
traveling, and if so, make your travel plans now. You can
usually save money by booking your flight and hotel early.
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Shop for supplies early,
and don’t guess about what supplies you need. Get out your
holiday items in early November, and go through them one
piece at a time. Make a list of things you need or really
want to buy, and schedule a shopping trip.
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Start writing your cards
early. Make up a card-writing kit by putting cards, address
book, pens, return address labels, and stamps in a tote bag,
and carry it with you. That way, you can write a few cards
whenever you’re waiting for the doctor, for a meeting to
start, or to pick up the kids. Update your address book
early, too. One of the reasons we put off writing cards is
that we don’t have all the addresses handy. Next year you
can make your address book update easier by starting a
folder labeled “Addresses” that you can tuck address info
into as you get it.
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Make up your gift list
early. If you always go overboard with gifts, estimate how
much you spent on each person last year, and total it up.
Now, make a conscious decision as to what’s a reasonable
amount to spend on each person, and write it on your gift
list. If this is the only way you budget your money this
season, it will still be a huge help. Commit to sticking to
the budget and refer to it when shopping, and you won’t have
to worry about those post-holiday credit card bills!
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Get your party outfits
put together early. Get your holiday clothes out of storage
and try them all on. Do they fit? Do you still love them? Do
you have the shoes and other accessories you need? If you
don’t have a few outfits to wear, go shopping in early
November before everything’s picked through. Try to purchase
items you can mix and match so you’ll have what you need for
both casual get-togethers and fancy soirees.
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Prepare your guest room
early. Clean out the closet and drawers, so your guests have
somewhere to put their hanging and folded clothes. At least
a few days before they arrive, change the sheets and get out
towels and drinking cups for them to use.
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Plan dinner early. Who
will be attending? What parts(s) of the meal are you
responsible for? Make up your menus and shopping lists while
you can think about it without feeling that “Oh my gosh,
it’s right around the corner!” pressure.
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Wrap gifts as you buy
them, or schedule two or three blocks of time to wrap so
you’re not up until 2am the night before the holiday doing
it.
Make It Easier
Think about ways you can make
this season easier, and consider spending a little extra money
to conserve your own time and energy.
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Hire a cleaning service
for a couple of months to get you through the season.
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Buy gifts from catalogs
and online stores instead of shopping at stores.
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Pay extra for gift
wrapping.
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If traveling, have gifts
shipped ahead to save the hassle of taking them with you.
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Have dinner catered or
make it potluck. It’s perfectly acceptable… really!
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Order stamps online (and
early) and have them mailed to you.
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Consider a smaller tree
this year. Fewer decorations, less mess, less maintenance –
doesn’t that sound good?
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Be selective about which
parties and celebrations to attend. Which will you enjoy the
most? Which are simply draining?
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Consider staying home
this year, and plan to see the relatives in early January
instead, when you’re not so stressed and traffic is back to
normal. Get everyone on the phone (and set it to speaker if
you have that function) the day of the celebration, and
spend some time sharing your love and excitement that way.
Thinking ahead and
scheduling time for things will make a huge difference in
how much you enjoy the holidays. I wish you a joyful and blessed
season!
Copyright 2007 by Cara Kinning, ORGANIZED FOR LIFE
Please contact me
for reprint permission.
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