Holiday Helpful Hints…

I do love this time of year. I love nothing better than spending a quite evening listening to holiday carols and admiring the newly decorated tree. So many things to prepare it seems like the list is endless…

During the holidays, I try to squeeze in a few activities I wouldn’t normal do in my day to day life. For example, each year, we spend an entire day in the kitchen baking holiday cookies that we share with neighbors, coworkers and friends. It’s just one tradition that we enjoy together as a family, however it does take a lot to prepare. There is making our list of cookies we want to bake, checking all the ingredients, creating our shopping list, doing all the shopping and then of course, all the effort in baking them. Although it’s a lot, we enjoy every minute together as a family!

It’s hard to find the balance in work and family when trying to get everything done for a big holiday. As much as I try to ensure that everything does get done, there is always something that falls through the cracks. It never fails, at some point, I find myself saying… “Oh, yeah, I forgot to do that this year…”

Staying organized seems to be harder this time of year for some, so here are a few holiday hints to keep in mind when preparing for your holiday season.

· Keep it simple. Having a special holiday doesn’t mean you have to go over the top crazy for every activity. Simplicity can actual be more enjoyable because then you can focus on the reason for the season.

· Create a theme. From gift giving to party planning, when you have a theme, planning becomes easier and inevitably becomes less stressful.

· Create a tradition. Family traditions can not only be something to count on and look forward to, but can help simplify decision making when trying to plan out activities.

· Make a list. Santa does it, why shouldn’t we. Making a list allows you to focus on other things… once it’s written down you can move on to the next task.

· Photographs for memory. Take a photograph of the way that you set up a display, it can help out for the next years set up.

It’s so nice when we can enjoy our holiday season without having to stress out about what we need to get done. Who knows, you might even find a little extra time to try something new.