Christmas Anxiety

I was writing an email to one of my faaaaavorite blogger friends Sarah Kate the other day, and she was talking about how stressed she was for the holiday season, between  shopping, decorating, outfits, parties, etc. I started giving her some advice that I followed, and thought I would share my tips for the season.

First of all, I have anxiety as it is, so if these tips work for me, they will hopefully help you!

Step 1: Get medicated. Ha!

 Heee heee heee! Couldn't help it!

For reals though:

1) I keep an ongoing holiday shopping list on my Blackberry. How many times throughout the year do you think, "This will be perfect for so-and-so at Christmas!" and then forget? I did it ALL the time. So on my task manager in my blackberry, I started a list. Well, two lists actually. One list was for people that I get gifts for, the second was things that I wanted. That way I know what people want, where to get it, which makes holiday shopping a lot easier and quicker. And when people/parents ask me what I want for Christmas, I can just pull up my list and tell them.

2) Although some of you might HATE this idea...decorate before Thanksgiving. At least start...and it doesn't need to include the Christmas tree(s). Since you'll have your decorating done, you can concentrate on spending your extra time going to parties, baking, etc.

3) Do some of your Christmas baking 2 months in advance...and freeze it. Whenever I have bananas get too brown, I stick them in the freezer. When I have some extra time, I take them out and make several loaves of banana bread and freeze it. When it comes time to do holiday baking and making goodies for neighbors/friends/coworkers, I just pull the stuff out of the freezer, put it in pretty packaging, and voila! I'm doing the same thing with zucchini bread and chocolate zucchini muffins too.

4) When thinking about your Christmas cards, they usually include pictures. Have your picture taken during the summer or early fall. That way all you have to do is do up an order on tinyprints.com or shutterfly.com and they'll be here before you know it! There's more time saved by not worrying about having to get dressed up nice one evening and taking a picture.

5) Deep clean your house in mid-November. That way if you're having company stay or hosting a party in December, all you have to do is quickly run a dust cloth and vacuum over the main surfaces, and don't have to worry about scrubbing from top to bottom during the month of December.

6) If you want to host a party, it doesn't have to be huge. It can if you want it to be, but that costs more $$ and takes more time. Small, intimate gatherings will leave you with a more warm and fuzzy feeling, because you'll get to focus more on conversation and you guests, than refilling the punch bowl and appetizer trays. Host a small dinner party where everyone dresses up and light a couple candles.

7) Lastly,

If something is making you too stressed out, DON'T DO IT! Let someone else plan the party and you go enjoy yourself!