Post written by Sherri Kruger. Follow me on Twitter.
With American Thanksgiving less than 2 weeks away and Christmas a mere 5 1/2, a lot of people are in full preparation and panic mode.
Preparation is great, panic … not so much. Here are a few things you can do to take the panic and stress out of holiday planning and start to enjoy the whole season.
1. Reduce. In every way reduce. Reduce what you offer to bring to family dinners. Reduce the number of events you choose to participate in. Reduce the activities you are planning to do outside of the home. The less you commit to and the less you actually do, the more you can enjoy what’s left.
2. Minimize. I’ve written about the virtues of living with less stuff before and I think this really hits home during the holidays. When we’re all out and about spending time with family and friends we really don’t want to be organizing, cleaning or fretting about not having enough space to accommodate everyone. Start today to pare down what you have in the major rooms of your home and work from there. Do a little each day and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish before the start of December.
3. Shop early. A lot of the stress associated with the holidays comes from last minute shopping and trying to find that perfect gift for loved ones. Get a list from the people you want to buy a gift for and get out there and get it done. If you’d rather buy something on your own with no list then take 10-15 minutes and think of just them. What do they like, what are their hobbies, what have they mentioned in passing that they would like? Write these things down, get out there and get it done. Last year I created the Ultimate Stocking Stuffer Guide since this tradition is the one I have the most difficult time with. You can read about the ultimate stocking stuffer guide here or just download the pdf here.
4. Experiences. If you are looking to give a gift to a person who has everything and doesn’t want anything else seriously consider creating an experience as opposed to giving a physical gift. If you are in need of some inspiration for experiences as gifts you can read my article called Create Experiences: Gifts That Can Last A Lifetime.
5. Celebrate early or late. If you have a really large family you may want to consider celebrating earlier in the month of December or even after the New Year. Think about renting a hall and having the whole thing catered. If catering isn’t your thing try potluck where everyone brings a different dish to make up a whole meal. Large gatherings like these are more enjoyable for everyone if your not cramming into someones home and there is no mess for one family to clean up.
6. Start now with a massive calendar. I know I can’t possibly keep every detail, party and get together straight in my head. That’s why I use a large calendar for this time of year to keep track of it all. In addition to Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, my family has 6 birthdays over those 2 months to celebrate as well. It can be really overwhelming. You can download a pdf calendar that I’ve created and start filling in all your important dates and deadlines. Also include on it when you’re going to be done shopping, gift wrapping and baking etc … and aim for leaving 3 – 4 days free before the major holidays so you can relax and enjoy it with your family.
The sooner you get on top of planning and organizing the holidays the less stress you will feel and the happier you will be.
What tips or advice do you have for keeping it together during the holidays?
This is great Sherri! My kids birthdays are pretty close to Christmas so being organized helps. Now to get on that… Have a great day! :-)
Let me see, we have cut way back on actual gift-giving, trying to keep it to experiences or needful items, and for the young adult/adults in our life, tools of their trade or hobby that they haven’t been able to afford for themselves.
Thanksgiving-we do still have our extended family gathering on that day, but I have pushed for us to do the turkey and ham and only 3 or 4 sides, and maybe 2 desserts. We always have WAYYY too much food leftover and then we have to figure out how to get it all divided up and taken home.
As our extended family has grown to the 4th generation, it is increasingly difficult to get us all together on Christmas day. I remember what it felt like as a young family trying to get everywhere that everyone wanted us to be. STRESS!
I have been able to get the older generations (my MIL and SIL) to agree to have Christmas family gathering on the day after. We all live in the same metropolitan area so it has always been “expected” for us all the be there. At least this gives the younger families with kids and OTHER family to visit Christmas Eve and Christmas Day more time to do so.
Bernice
http://livingthebalancedlife.com/2010/quest-for-a-balanced-life/
I´ve told my family I won´t be bringing physical presents of any sort, just company and time available to hang out :) And I´ll also practice some new children songs on the guitar.
Bernice, I love receiving experiences as gifts. My husband and I usually do something nice for each other like get all the ingredients for a meal we haven’t made before and we get down to cooking – that with a nice bottle of wine is fantastic!
Marilia, Great idea about learning children’s songs on the guitar that’s great! Using your talent is another fantastic idea for keeping it together! Thank you. :)
This will be our first Christmas after realizing the benefits of minimalism. We’re still mid purge, trying to rid our house of useless stuff. I’m not quite sure how we are going to approach gift giving this year. Actually, I have most of the giving sorted out, it’s the gift receiving I’m not sure how to handle. For the giving we plan to give experiences as gifts. I’m planning tickets to sporting events and movies. I’m also looking into getting a gift certificate for a segway tour. That sounds like it would be a fun gift.