Celebrators of Christmas: if
you find yourself without gifts, without decorations, without an idea of what
to serve at the holiday dinner, without a plan, and a bit (maybe a lot)
stressed out, take a minute to read this.
Take a deep breath and
ponder these things.
·
There still is
some time, but not a lot of time, before Christmas.
·
Adjust the scope
of your plans to fit the time that you have.
·
Write everything
down so you don’t add on the stress of trying to remember things.
Gifts
Write down the people you
need gifts for. Think about how much money you have to spend – you will thank
yourself in January for following a budget. You can use the Clear Spaces Gift
Tracker – it’s free to download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/191171891/Gift-Tracker.
Highlight the people you will see in the next few days. You may want to focus
on picking up their gifts first. Online stores might be the quickest solution for
getting gifts to out-of-town friends and family because many of these stores
will ship directly to them. Hit the physical stores first. Do the online
shopping in the evening with a mug of hot chocolate in hand.
By the way if you’re stumped
about what to give someone, you can 1) ask what they’d enjoy or 2) Google it
with a descriptive phrase about the person. I Googled “gifts hipster young man”
and was very happy with the ideas that were provided.
A speedy way to wrap is to
use gift bags and tissue paper. Check your supply before adding them – and tags
– to your shopping list.
Menu
Make it simple: an entrée, a
couple of veggies, some rolls, and a desert. Write down what you will serve and
the list of ingredients needed to fix dinner. Don’t forget to check the pantry
to see if you need to restock. Pick up the rolls and the desert from a
bakery. You can download the Clear
Spaces Holiday Dinner Tips for free: http://www.scribd.com/doc/178772672/Tips-For-An-Organized-Life-Planning-the-Holiday-Dinner-pdf.
Another idea: order dinner to be picked up. More and
more grocery stores provide this service. The joy of the holiday dinner is
everyone eating together, and not in how you stressed out to put dinner on the
table (stress is hardly enjoyable). The time you save preparing dinner can be
spent doing something enjoyable. Remember to pick up your favorite adult
beverages – and check the milk while you’re at it.
Cleaning
There is no time for a deep
clean. What you need is an emergency declutter and tidy. I wrote a post on this
very subject for the Working Women’s Survival Show: http://wwssblog.com/seminars/emergency-declutter-and-tidy/.
Decorating
Use just a couple of
focal-point decorations. Many people spend hours decorating the tree. You don’t
have hours. Consider a tree with just lights and a star on top. Alternatively,
if your children are old enough, delegate the job of decorating the tree to
them. Twinkling lights by themselves are festive. Put lots of candles on the
dining room table and you have a centerpiece. If you need a tree or candles, add them to your shopping
list. A scented candle or some potpourri will add to the holiday flair.
Cookies
Pick them up from your
favorite bakery or grocery store. Aldi’s has some great holiday cookies that
are very reasonably priced.
Cards
You have a couple of
choices:
·
Call your
friends and family over the next week and forget the cards. Skype, iChat and Google
Hangout turn the call into a personal visit.
·
Send New Year’s
cards and work on the cards in the next week, but please take a look at your
calendar to ensure that you have time to follow through with this option.
Personally, I’m not a fan of
e-cards. Hackers spoof e-cards frequently so I just delete them without opening
them. A lot of spam blockers trap them. If you send an e-card, the odds are
good your friends and family will never see it.
Review:
·
Limit the scope
of what you do.
·
Write down what
you need to buy.
·
Write down where
you need to buy it – can you arrange your stops as a route?
·
Write the route
down.
·
Postpone some
tasks until after Christmas.
·
Drop and/or
delegate tasks.
The last item on the list is
to enjoy this time. Get some sleep.
Listen to music. Listen to the children laugh. Sing. Breathe deeply. Rather
than focusing on what wasn’t done, focus on being together and having fun. Where you put your focus is where your
riches lie.
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