Christmas is almost here. Are you delighted or debilitated?
Use these 5 tips to make next year's holiday season more joyful than Tiny Tim on Christmas morning.
 |
| courtesy of stockimages @freedigitalphotos.net |
5) Prep for next year. Get in the habit of post Christmas and other clearance shopping. Watch for new-in-package items at garage sales and thrift shops. Keep the gifts in a tote, and you'll have a head start for next Christmas. Works great for birthdays and baby showers too.
4) Limit spending. Fix a gift budget and stick with it. Last year my sister-in-law, Murph, gave me a gorgeous plaque she'd found at a thrift store. It was in perfect shape, and fit my décor wonderfully.
Re-gifting is great. When you receive a potential re-gifting item, tape a note on it. Include the date and who it's from to keep from giving it back to the original giver.
3) Break Tradition. If you always cook a feast for your extended family, ask each member to bring along a side-dish instead. You'll save time and money. Plus it assures your guests of one dish they'll enjoy-their own.
Create new traditions, like taking a special family outing in lieu of gifts. Seriously, how many gifts do your children need?
2) Under-commit. It's OK to say no. "Sorry, I can't host the ... cook the... head up the ..." No need to explain why. A simple, "I'm sorry, I can't." suffices. You might need to repeat it several times, but it will work. That goes for parties too.
 |
| courtesy of digidreamgrafix @ freedigitalphoto.net |
1) Remember why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. Focus on the joy of Jesus birth. Let cooking, cleaning, and shopping take a back seat to the great news found in Luke 2:11:
"The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!"
No comments:
Post a Comment