. . . and did I mention, busy?? That's the one world that
comes to mind when I think about how I would describe the
past few weeks.
Now that we're officially into the holiday season, it seems like there's an event--sometimes several--every single day.
This past Friday was my social club's annual bowling night. This morning was a holiday party for the kids. Tomorrow, we go to church services in the morning. Directly following that, we attend the 14th Annual Holiday Parade of Homes in our town (proceeds benefit a local charity) and tomorrow evening I'm taking Amanda to her friend, Carissa's 3rd birthday party.
Next week, besides our normal activities, there's cookie exchange, my social club's board induction ceremony and a baby shower.
Of course, in between all of this, there's work to do, there's grocery shopping and there's the driving needed to get our daughter back and forth to school, music and dance--just to name a few.
I'm so glad I'm done with my holiday shopping. I just know, from past experience, that this time of year tends to get very hectic.
There are a few tricks we use to avoid putting any unnecessary stress on ourselves during the holiday season:
1) When I make a meal, I always make enough for at least one more dinner, and one lunch. This way, there's not a major cooking adventure needed at every meal time. Plus, when we do need a quick meal, a tuna melt with a side of sugar snap peas or even omelets for dinner is certainly an option.
2) While it may sound like we are overextended by my description above, we actually have plenty of time padded in between activities, and we've turned down nearly half of the opportunities presented to us for other holiday parties and activities. Sometimes, you just have to say no to certain invitations and requests when your schedule begins getting over packed.
3) We always begin our holiday shopping early. I purchased my final stocking stuffer today (I bought it online, as we are having a major snowstorm where I live). Our cards are in the mail. Our decorations are done--inside and out. Our gifts that needed to be shipped are all at the post office. All our holiday tasks are done. It will be a pleasure just being able to enjoy the days leading up to Christmas.
4) We schedule time in for exercise. No way that can be pushed aside, especially in this season of gingerbread cookies, fudge and holiday parties. Plus, it's a great energy booster.
5) We try to schedule our activities around our normal bedtimes and we leave some events early to keep as close to those times as possible. Getting Amanda to bed early helps her to get a full night's rest and gives Joe and I time to unwind a bit before turning in ourselves.
Now that we're officially into the holiday season, it seems like there's an event--sometimes several--every single day.
This past Friday was my social club's annual bowling night. This morning was a holiday party for the kids. Tomorrow, we go to church services in the morning. Directly following that, we attend the 14th Annual Holiday Parade of Homes in our town (proceeds benefit a local charity) and tomorrow evening I'm taking Amanda to her friend, Carissa's 3rd birthday party.
Next week, besides our normal activities, there's cookie exchange, my social club's board induction ceremony and a baby shower.
Of course, in between all of this, there's work to do, there's grocery shopping and there's the driving needed to get our daughter back and forth to school, music and dance--just to name a few.
I'm so glad I'm done with my holiday shopping. I just know, from past experience, that this time of year tends to get very hectic.
There are a few tricks we use to avoid putting any unnecessary stress on ourselves during the holiday season:
1) When I make a meal, I always make enough for at least one more dinner, and one lunch. This way, there's not a major cooking adventure needed at every meal time. Plus, when we do need a quick meal, a tuna melt with a side of sugar snap peas or even omelets for dinner is certainly an option.
2) While it may sound like we are overextended by my description above, we actually have plenty of time padded in between activities, and we've turned down nearly half of the opportunities presented to us for other holiday parties and activities. Sometimes, you just have to say no to certain invitations and requests when your schedule begins getting over packed.
3) We always begin our holiday shopping early. I purchased my final stocking stuffer today (I bought it online, as we are having a major snowstorm where I live). Our cards are in the mail. Our decorations are done--inside and out. Our gifts that needed to be shipped are all at the post office. All our holiday tasks are done. It will be a pleasure just being able to enjoy the days leading up to Christmas.
4) We schedule time in for exercise. No way that can be pushed aside, especially in this season of gingerbread cookies, fudge and holiday parties. Plus, it's a great energy booster.
5) We try to schedule our activities around our normal bedtimes and we leave some events early to keep as close to those times as possible. Getting Amanda to bed early helps her to get a full night's rest and gives Joe and I time to unwind a bit before turning in ourselves.
What great ideas for the holidays. I especially like the one about exercise. We now have snow and ice so it makes it hard to go out at 5:00a.m, but like you said, it is so important as it is the season for those goodies. Making excuses for not doing it just makes those jeans get tighter and tighter. Thank you for your suggestions.
Posted by: Marilyn Bohn | December 15, 2007 at 02:18 PM