Thursday, December 18, 2008

Holiday Tips

Because I know you look to me for all things domestic.

done laughing yet?

OK... my FAVORITE tip is this: take pictures of all your holiday decorations, and then when you pack them up at the end of the season pack them by room, and tuck a print out of your pictures in the box. Then, next year, if you have a little bit of time you can grab a "living room" box and decorate quickly, and you don't have to stop and think "where did I put this angel?" This makes it so much easier than my old way of putting it ALL out on the dining room table and trying to decide where it went, and then putting it all back on the dining room table and packing it up randomly.

Stock up on sales - both pre and post holiday. I found Webkinz at buy one get one free, and let me tell you, every child who's birthday party we attend next year will be receiving a Webkinz (and around these parts, Webkinz are Bday gold!). No more running around for a present. ALSO... not only do I buy all my cards and Christmas wrapping paper at 70% off or more in post holiday sales - but I buy plain paper that works year round - I have red, purple, green, silver and gold that I bought dirt cheap because they were on holiday clearance, but can be used for any event. Hooray, me.

Little kids do not mind used presents. If it's not in a box it just makes it easier to play with immediately. Stock up at garage sales and the like year round. My attic always has a box or two of presents for later that I picked up for a buck. Frugal AND earth friendly.

Do your parents really want one more thing to dust? Probably not. Do something nice in their name (help out a family who needs food and presents, give to a charity, volunteer your time for a cause they appreciate) and write them a nice letter telling them what you did for them and why. Our parents LOVE this. We tuck the letter in with a small ornament, and each year as they decorate the tree they reread all the letters.

Christmas cards: I love getting Christmas cards from friends, but just a plain card signed with your name gets little response. I actually enjoy the cheesy "this is what we did this year" letters, the pictures, and any hand written note is fantastic. No matter how much you slaved over picking the perfect card, it's just a folded piece of glittery cardstock until you make it personal.
ALSO: if you scrapbook those cards make great embellishments for your pages.

And finally, cheesecake Hershey Kisses are only available during the holidays. Buy them now. Trust me. mmmm.....

11 comments:

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

This year we got a Christmas card signed only via a return address label.

Can you say TACKY? Oy!

I totally feel ya.

Tania said...

I don't do holiday cards, and I've never been able to figure out all the stress that people go through to get them out on time. You just affirmed to me that it's a bit of a waste seeing as most people just sign and send.

Kat said...

Cheesecake Herseys???? I have to go look for them immediately!

Antropóloga said...

That's a great idea on organizing the decorations. I have some stuff grouped together but mostly it's haphazard. I love getting stuff on the post-Christmas sales, forgetting about it, and being surprised the next year.

Laski said...

We are making lip gloss this year!!! Seriously, super easy (from Martha's magazine--I'm not a Martha fanatic, but a friend of mine is).

It seems super easy. I'll let you know after we give it a whirl on Saturday. Maybe I'll blog about it.

Laski said...

Oh yeah, and another friend decorated a WHOLE tree with the fronts of Christmas cards. She put the senders' names on the backs, cut them out and made them all pretty (on some she used actual glitter), took a hole-punch and some yarn and VIOLA--very cool and personal (in a way) decorations. Oh, and totally FREE.

painted maypole said...

well, susan, i will not be visiting your car insurance choices website, sorry

Amy Y said...

Oh I hate spammers!
Great tips, Mama!

I did the after holiday sale once and stocked up on holiday bags and paper and wrapping boxes... I've been using them and reusing them and haven't had to buy more since! I restock tissue paper occasionally... awesome! :)

E said...

Oh God I love those Christmas letters too. But then we are bloggers of course we love em"
The cheesier the better as far as I am concerned

Alex Elliot said...

Good ideas! My aunt started sending out of state family a dinner from a Chicago restaurant (it is a service they offer not something that she bought and put on ice herself!). It's really formed a nice tradition that she has become part of herself even though she's not there because the relatives invite their friends and talk about her and the food etc.

Run ANC said...

I'm jonesin' for the Candy Cane Hershey kisses myself. I thought they would be horrid, but I was oh so wrong. Much to my dismay.