All I Want for Christmas is to be Stress Free

Twas the eve of December 1st and all throughout my mind, all the events, shopping and plans we had this month were putting me in a bind!

Ever feel that the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season leave you with more stress than enjoyment? You are not alone!!

Once I got through my first Thanksgiving Dinner, I spent this past week listing some of my biggest Christmas season stresses. Then I brainstormed and researched some ideas I think will help conquer them. In case you haven't noticed, this isn't a blog where I appear to have it all under control...my life is controlled chaos and my goal is to manage it the best I can!!

So, here is goes....my top 3 Holiday Season Stresses.....

Holiday Stress #1: The Packed calendar

• Doug and I just filled out our calendar with all our events - boy's hockey practices, get a tree, company parties, friend parties, etc. I always find that a common calendar with everyone's events and committments in one place keeps us all sane.
• Once we had all our committments on a calendar, we can fit in all the "to-do" items and create a timeline on when things need to be done (as always, I will get it done in the final minutes...but it will get done!)
• Say "no"! My company has a kids Christmas Party (which I plan and coordinate), a Holiday Brunch and an adult dinner party. I opted out of the adult party this year because I just can't fit it in and I am good with that - keeping sane this season is also knowing your limits.
• When we were dating, Doug and I used to make a list of everthing we wanted to do together on our summers home from college. I thought doing something similar for the Holiday season would let us get in those activities that make it such a romantic, magical and memorable time of year. I found this Christmas Fun List  on Pinterest and I love it! I'm going to have our family make a list of things we want to do and then we will fit in as many as we can before Christmas.

Holiday Stress #2: Shopping!!!!

• Family - one thing my husband's family does is have everyone send out lists of things they want (or better yet, create a wish list on Amazon.com or another site!). I know some think that this takes out the joy of finding the "perfect gift" but isn't that exactly what gives us so much stress??? My side of the family is for-going presents this year in exchange for renting a house in the mountains where we can all spend Christmas together. The memories of Christmas in this house together are honestly a gift that can't be wrapped.

• Co-Workers - last year I made home made peanut brittle for my general co-workers and got more personal gifts for the few closer friends I have at work. This year I am thinking of making this Peppermint Popcorn recipe on Tasty Kitchen from make-it-do.com

• Neighbors- I think that the Peppermint Popcorn could work for some neighbor gifts too, but I also found this cute idea for Reindeer  bottles - I bet you could do this with a bottle of wine too!) from Fingerprints on the Fridge

• Teachers- I found a couple cute ideas for teachers that I thought I would share.
The best teacher gift I gave was a personalized clip board for Natalie's Pre-School teacher (she still uses it today!). Here is one that I found on Mod Podge Rocks

• Another great gift that I found was from Create Art Studio - a local business. You could get a gift certificate for a painting session or you can purchase one of Karyn's paintings (I posted one of the paintings from her gallery below) If you aren't from my town, I'm sure there are plenty of small businesses you can find small gifts in too!

• I've taken some informal surveys of friends who are teachers and they overwhelmingly say that gift cards are their favorite gifts. Seem impersonal? Last year I found gift card boxes that you could record a message with and I had the kids sing a 30 second Carol and little message to the teacher. Or, wrap it up creatively! Here is a link to some adorable wrapping ideas that I found on Pinterest from Carolyns Homework!

Holiday Stress #3: Please Bring an Appetizer to Share

• There is something about Holiday parties that make me really want to bring a special appetizer, but it doesn't mean I have more time or money to put towards it!! Here are two ideas that I have used in the past that have turned out fabulously!!!
• Brie recipes - I love brie for special occassions and there are so many easy recipes for it. Here is one from Not Derby Pie that is a take on my usual Brie en Croute, but I like that they are bite sized!

• I also like to try and keep my appetizers somewhat healthy, here is a fabulous list from one of my favorite sites Skinny Taste (I made her Chicken Sausage and Herb Stuffing for Thanksgiving).

I vow that this Christmas season I will stay organized, stay in budget and take some time to truly enjoy "the most wonderful time of the year".  May these ideas for my top stresses be a good place to start!!!