Christmas wreaths are a symbol of the holiday season.
Everyone knows that the holidays can be a stressful time of year.
With family coming to visit, gifts to purchase and food to cook, it is easy to see why, but it does not have to be. It is possible to make it through the holidays without a bundle of stress, and by following the following simple tips, it is possible to not only save time, but save money as well.
The most important thing to do to make it through the holidays without stress is to get organized. Being organized will save time and money because unlike many holiday shoppers, those who organize in advance already know what they need to purchase, and what food they plan to prepare for parties. They purchase everything they need well in advance of the last minute shoppers, and the hit or miss prices that often accompany last minute shopping trips.
Getting organized is not as difficult as many people think. A few simple tasks go a long way. These tips do not just apply to the holidays either, by putting them to use all year long it is possible to continually reduce stress and save money.
Have A Plan
The first step to getting through the holidays with as little stress as possible is to have a plan. Make lists of everything from possible menu items to possible activities to do with the children while they are home from school for the winter break. These lists, much like brainstorming, will help keep the mind focused on the tasks that need to be accomplished.
Try creating a list of all the dishes you want to serve, no matter who hosts the party. Chances are that many of those dishes are family favorites that everyone enjoys throughout the year. The advantage there is that often the required ingredients are right in the pantry, so no special trip to the supermarket is required.
Another great list to have included in the families holiday plan is a gift list. Often one of the most common places where families overspend during the holidays is on gifts. By creating a list of those you plan to give gifts to, and sticking to it, eliminates the hassle of last minute gift shopping, which not only saves the frustration of long lines, it also saves money because shoppers are not subjected to price changes, which often occur as the holidays draw near.
Shopping
Shopping is a major part of the holidays for most people. Between the extra grocery shopping for the cookies and pastries that always appear at every holiday party, to the gifts for family and friends, shopping eats up a huge amount of time, energy, and money, which causes a lot of stress for nearly everyone during the holidays.
Baking fresh Christmas cookies to share with family and friends during the holidays.
Food
As the centerpiece of nearly every holiday gathering, food is the part that children of all ages look forward to the most. After all, how many other times of the year would gorging on cookies and pies of every variety be ok? But all that extra holiday food often means double or triple grocery bills for families, and with the financial problems that nearly everyone in the country is facing, it can add up to a major source of stress.
For those who need to do a lot of cooking or baking during the holidays, it is essential to have a crock-pot and a big freezer. Nearly every traditional, and even some non-traditional holiday food items, like favorite side dishes, cookies, and pies can be partially or completely prepared in advance and frozen. This means that all of the work involved with cooking a huge holiday menu can be spread out over a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months.
Crock-pots are a stressed out person’s best friend. They are also extremely budget friendly because they allow families to buy cheaper cuts of meat, and then cook them to perfection. For example, instead of spending $15 dollars on a choice pot roast, a family on a budget can buy an $8 dollar round roast, and it will come out perfectly tender. So not only is the cost cut nearly in half, but a crock-pot is very hands off; just throw everything in, turn it on and walk away. It is for this reason that many people now own several in different sizes.
With many cookie recipes, the dough or cookies themselves can be frozen ahead of time. This is even an area where the children of the family can get involved. A lot of children like helping their parents in the kitchen, and the chance to steal a chocolate chip or two out of the dough is usually pretty enticing too. The dough for some pastries, such as cream puffs, won’t freeze very well. In instances like these, prepare them and then freeze them.
For those who need to prepare meals for large families, begin now, make double or triple batches, and freeze extras. This will save a tremendous amount of time on Thanksgiving or Christmas day. According to Living a Better Life, those who execute this plan can sail into the New Year with meals stockpiled in the freezer.
Gifts
Shopping for gifts often becomes a major bone of contention within a family, creating a lot of stress during what should be a happy time of year. But again, this is where planning is essential.
If shoppers begin with a list of the people that they absolutely must purchase gifts for they can avoid the last minute panic buying trip, according to She Knows Parenting.
By creating a budget and a list of essential gifts, shoppers will know how much they can spend on each gift, and they can start bargain shopping before the holiday frenzy is in full swing. Many savvy shoppers begin shopping for Christmas gifts during the New Year’s clearance sales. What better time to get Christmas merchandise at an ultra low price?
Make gifts instead of buying them, this is an especially good idea for those families with large gift lists and little money. Most bookstores have books detailing how to make all sorts of easy gifts in their hobby section, and there are hundreds of websites that with creative, and inexpensive ideas as well. Busy friends and family appreciate useful gifts, like soup mixes layered in glass jars because it is easy to make several of these in an hour. Consider starting a new family tradition, where family members recycle the jars each year by filling them with new items and passing them on.
Another idea is a “Secret Santa” gift exchange. This way everyone in the family only has to purchase one gift for someone else. It is a good idea for everyone to purchase gifts for the children, since they often do not understand why they only got one gift. However, the adults may appreciate the reduced stress and cost of buying gifts for the whole family.
Get everyone involved with decorating for the Christmas holidays.
Decorating
Decorating for the holidays is another event that is often quite stressful, and each year people spend more and more to have the newest decorations, but what happens to the old decorations?
They end up in a box in a forgotten corner of the attic. Instead try making decorations.
Some of the best holiday decorations are the natural ones. Grab the kids and head outside. While enjoying the fresh autumn air, look around for things like pine cones, branches of pine trees that can be bent and tied into wreaths, and fall leaves of every color of the rainbow. Things like corn stalks and straw can be made into scarecrows to decorate for Thanksgiving. The idea is to look around and be inspired by nature.
Candles are an inexpensive decorating option as well. Candles are inexpensive and come in a variety of holiday scents. They make the perfect platform for all the natural items picked up while enjoying the fall foliage, such as hot gluing items like leaves and small pinecones to them for a festive feel.
Fresh pine branches are quite soft and easily bent into wreaths or swags to decorate around the house. Just form them and use some heavy twine to tie them into shape while they dry out a bit. The twine does not need to be removed either. If it adds to the décor, leave it and the wreath will be more stable. To use interesting twigs in the same manner, simply soak them in a bucket of water first, and they will become soft and pliable.
Activities With The Children
One thing that often perplexes parents is what to do with their children while they are on the holiday break. The list of ideas varies greatly based on the ages and interests of the children. But there are always tons of ways to keep the kids from saying “I’m bored.”
First, any of the ideas above can include the children. Let them help make the Christmas gifts, or the cookies or decorations. Often these are the things that kids will hang onto, and even pass onto their own children. Most children like doing these types of activities, so why not let them help?
The little artists in the family can create the family’s Christmas cards with blank cards found at most craft or office supply stores, what better way to spend a chilly afternoon than to send the kids off with some crayons, paints, or markers to create festive pictures?
The kids can also help with some of the cleaning that is inevitable when families are expecting guests for the holidays. Make a game out of it. For example, the child who brings the dustiest dust cloth back to mom or dad gets a cookie. It is just a matter of thinking outside the box.
A simple Google search will reveal many other options online. Not all of the ideas will work for every family, but almost everyone can find something that will help them. The holidays do not need to be a stressful time of year. By following these suggestions, families will find that they have more time to enjoy the holidays together, and isn’t that what the holidays are all about?
Written by Wendy Innes
Article reprinted with permission of USAonRace.com
Sources:
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/articles/journey/preparingholidays.htm
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/articles/journey/preparingholidayspt2.htm
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/articles/decorating/falldecor.htm
http://planningwithkids.com/2010/06/10/preparing-for-school-holidays/
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