What are you doing to keep sane this holiday season?

I couldn't resist writing about this topic today.

After all, we're almost to Thanksgiving, and then the real fun begins!

During the holidays, do you spend time reading a good book, or are you more likely to be racing around the stores for the best buys?

Do you shop online to avoid the rush?

Are you a Scrooge?

Do you love to decorate and spend time in the evening sipping hot cocoa by the fire?



As I thought about the things I do every Christmas season, I was actually surprised at some of the more worthy traditions our family has incorporated, many of which ease the stress of the holidays.

1. Reading children's Christmas books together. I have the opportunity to be with 2 of my 4 grandchildren every Christmas because they live with me. So that means I have ample time to read at night before bed or during the day.

2. I also invite my grandchildren to decorate the tree with me. I play Christmas music and enjoy the excitement that only children can bring.

3. We ususally take a drive and see the Christmas lights, stopping afterward to get scones and hot chocolate at a nearby country store. Unfortunately, this year there will be a little bit of stress choosing another location since our favorite place has closed down.



4. Some of the more practical things I do to turn down the volume, is to wrap my gifts and place them under the Christmas tree right after I've purchased them, rather than spending hours wrapping them on Christmas Eve. 

5. I also choose one Christmas book I'd like to read during the month of December and make sure I get throughit before December 25. This year the book is O Little Town by Don Reid of the Statler Brothers.



What do you do to keep sane?

What are some of your holiday traditions?

I would love to hear!

Kathryn

STRESSED?

I love the word stressed.

Stressed?



Photo by: Dawn Huczek, courtesy of Flickr

Well, yeah. Spell it backwards and it says desserts.

About this time in the season I begin to get a little stressed and I wonder if all the Christmas preparation and shopping is worth it. Not only do I have my regular work to do, I have the frosting on the cake called shopping, wrapping and balancing the budget.

Still, the little stress I have is better than the alternative.

My husband and I learned years ago that it didn't do us much good to use the charge cards to get folks what they wanted for Christmas, because come January 1, we were regretting it because we were trying to pay the credit cards back with interest! So early on we decided if we didn't have the cash we wouldn't buy it. What that means it that our Christmases are tidy ventures, low on stress and high on ingenuity.

We might not get the latest fad, the newest car or the biggest diamond, but we have plenty of love to share without the guilt.

This year we have a $100 budget for each other--total. And it seems like a lot. Most years the sum has been $50 or less. We LOVE our grandchildren and could buy them everything including the kitchen sink without batting an eyelid, but this year the total is $25 each.

Is it hard to shop on so little?

At times, but the rewards far surpass the thinking we have to do to stay within our Christmas budget.

Feeling stressed? Get some well needed dessert by taking a good look at your budget. Take a look at the time you're spending shopping for the perfect gift. See where you can cut to take the load off.

The Christmas season will be that much sweeter, I promise.