Next week is Thanksgiving, which as everyone knows, means Christmas is lurking around the next corner.
Only weeks away.
If the very thought has your brow furrowed and takes the jingle right out of your bells...read on.
Now, Martha Stewart probably has all of her unique-to-the-recipient and thoughtful gifts purchased, wrapped lovingly in colour coordinated and environmentally friendly hand stamped gift-wrap, and is busy crushing and dying egg shells for NYE confetti. The rest of us...not so much so.
Breathe. It is okay.
Some simple tips for the best (stress free) holiday, yet.
Drink Heavily!
Okay...just kidding.
1. Get Organize.
Santa knew what he was doing when he made a list and checked it twice. Before you head out to a single store. Buy a gift. Mail a card, or deck the halls. Make a budget. Know what you can afford to spend. Plan accordingly. Don't spend half your monthly food budget on 2 holiday meals. Very few people need the multiple starches and cakes and pies and cookie plates...the absolute excess...that festoons the table two days a year. Only for them to head into the New Year with The Resolution to lose weight. Or charge things that you will be paying for long after the gift is forgotten both by you and its intended recipient.
Be realistic.
And when dealing with family during the Thanksgiving Dinner, try to remember, you don't HAVE to participate in every conflict you are invited to. Nod, Smile and Be Agreeable. Refuse to Engage. Pass the stuffing.
2. Shop Local whenever possible.
Sprawlmart may or may not appreciate the obscene profits they make during the holidays...and yes...I pick up a few items there, too...but buying from a local family owned business makes a real difference in someone's life.
3. Deep Six Black Friday.
Yes. That's right. I said it. These days it seems almost un-American to suggest we NOT celebrate the day after "giving thanks for our abundance" by mindlessly BUYING MORE USELESS CRAP. But spare yourself the insanity. The fisticuffs over parking. The absolute greed-fest that is Black Friday. No amount of savings is worth subjecting yourself to this. You want to save on Christmas purchases. Take the Friday after Thanksgiving and be mindful about that you will be giving. Think about what the recipient really wants/could use instead of a cart load of junk that inevitably winds up re-gifted or in a landfill or thrift shop. Use Black Friday as a day to CENTER. Fix a pot of turkey and noodles, or soup from the leftover feast. Work on your Christmas cards to mail the first week of December. Reflect on how blessed your life really is.
4. The Week after Thanksgiving
Get your online shopping finished. Clean the house, deck the halls, put up the tree.
Resist the urge to correct people whether they say Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Joyous Solstice, or whatever. Try to respond in kind with a smile and be happy they took a few minutes of their time to wish you a Happy ANYTHING..okay????
5. The First Week of December
Make sure everything shipping out of town is en route.Mail all the Christmas Cards. Keep a book of stamps, a pen and a few on hand in case you receive one from a long lost friend, love or relative.
Breathe.
Refer to your Christmas List...try to not judge whether they have been naughty or nice...and SMILE as you shop the decorated stores and listen to the piped in music. Go out of your way to smile and connect with the cashiers and people out there in customer service roles...because so many people aren't. Say please and thank you. Find something personal to compliment. And if you have excess and you see someone in line counting their change to make their purchase...be a Christmas Angel. Having been on both sides of this in my Life, I can tell you with absolute certainty how wonderful it is...for both of you.
If a certain someone on your list has everything...just EVERYTHING...don't buy them more stuff. Consider a donation to a worthwhile cause.
There are many.
6. Try to have most of your Gifts bought by the End of the Second Week.
There will always be the last minute stuff...or stocking stuffers...but for the most part finish up by the Second Sunday of the month. That way you have a glorious week to unwind...bake...wrap...relax...watch The Grinch or a Charlie Brown Christmas. Sip a hot cocoa stirred with a candy cane. Or add a dash of Peppermint Schnapps.
7. Take Care of Yourself Through December.
Keep hydrated. Take time to eat. Sleep. Get a massage. Do something beside Christmas. Have brunch and a laugh with a friend. Reconnect. Read a book or catch a movie. Take a nap.
8. Christmas Day!
Silently smile to yourself and know that in 24 hours it will be 364 days until NEXT Christmas...
