I know many people who are not ready for the Christmas items appearing in our stores, they arrive earlier and earlier every year right? Well I LOVE it. Christmas happens to be my favorite Holiday and I would play Christmas music and burn cinnamon scented candles year round if my family would let me. I adore the sounds and smells of the Holiday season, the traditions we have and are building as a family, the cooking and the candy canes and especially the Gingerbread Martinis.
What can give me stress…..the gift giving. It has become tiresome for me over the years. I cannot speak for everyone, only myself, when I say every darn year I make that list and check it off ALL.BY.MYSELF. I purchase, hide, wrap alone. When the gifts are ripped open and the kids scream with excitement I pat myself on the back. When the thank you's come from the nieces and nephews, in laws and friends I again pat myself on the back. Once again I managed to pull it off. This is what the martinis are for - to get you through it and to celebrate YOU when you have finished. :) I also know that money is tight and it can get very overwhelming. Money can easily slip through my fingers, so I have to be careful. Well I am going to let you in on some of my favorite secrets of survival:
1. I shop year round. When I find something I think would be perfect for that special someone, I get it and put it aside. This happens even as soon as the day AFTER Christmas for me. I cannot afford to spend like crazy only in December, I stick to a monthly budget. So spreading it out throughout the year helps A LOT.
2. Teachers, neighbors and friends will receive home made gifts. Think consumables here. My favorite and secret recipe of sweet and salty mixes, or the sugared pecans are the perfect little happy. How about a sugar scrub that can be made from items you already have around the house. Wrapping is key here. You can make anything look incredible with some burlap or bakery string. It is not wasteful, it will be eaten and will not be sold on the resale Facebook site. Make your gifts with friends. Invite your besties over and create your gifts together. I love any excuse to break out the music and play.
3. With five kids you might imagine the gifts are endless. Wrong. My kids know that each year Santa will bring them 4 things. What you want, what you need, what you wear and what you read. That is it. The scholastic book orders that come monthly are the best spot to grab your books AND the classroom wins too. The need is usually the hardest one for me to come up with BUT it works. Maybe someone needs a helmet for lacrosse or they have outgrown everything and need new shoes. (little did I know that one of my children puts his/herself to sleep by CHEWING his/her sheets - guess what he/she is getting this year……. therapy, JK - sheets are a need this year). This idea has taken the excessiveness away. My favorite spots are HomeGoods, Bath and Body, and Academy Sports - or any spot with a clearance section. Shop the clearance shelves FIRST. Another good spot is your online and local resale sights, many times you can find something with tags still on or hardly used - like those much "wanted" calico critters.
4. My kids absolute favorite gift is the always fun Santa coupons. Each year Santa leaves a book of coupons on their stocking. The children can choose when to use any one of the coupons throughout the year. Keep it simple and FREE! I use red / green paper to print them out just because I love to color code everything and I am completely and totally right brained. Print it at home, make about 10 of them. Get crazy creative here friends. Ideas include - you may have 2 desserts, you choose what we eat for dinner, you get to sleep in someone else's bed, you can stay up as late as you want (not on a school night) and everyone's favorite you can SKIP SCHOOL for one day. You following me here? Simple, free and totally the most memorable so far.
5. Do not go crazy buying gifts just to buy gifts. Make them meaningful. Your true friends and family love you, they do not really need that shiny and new piece of plastic, nor do I.
Do me a favor, do not push yourself so hard that you forget the joy in the Holiday season. You deserve to treat yourself too. We all do. Know that you are a rockstar mom, you are doing your best and you are so very loved. Let the season begin.
What can give me stress…..the gift giving. It has become tiresome for me over the years. I cannot speak for everyone, only myself, when I say every darn year I make that list and check it off ALL.BY.MYSELF. I purchase, hide, wrap alone. When the gifts are ripped open and the kids scream with excitement I pat myself on the back. When the thank you's come from the nieces and nephews, in laws and friends I again pat myself on the back. Once again I managed to pull it off. This is what the martinis are for - to get you through it and to celebrate YOU when you have finished. :) I also know that money is tight and it can get very overwhelming. Money can easily slip through my fingers, so I have to be careful. Well I am going to let you in on some of my favorite secrets of survival:
1. I shop year round. When I find something I think would be perfect for that special someone, I get it and put it aside. This happens even as soon as the day AFTER Christmas for me. I cannot afford to spend like crazy only in December, I stick to a monthly budget. So spreading it out throughout the year helps A LOT.
2. Teachers, neighbors and friends will receive home made gifts. Think consumables here. My favorite and secret recipe of sweet and salty mixes, or the sugared pecans are the perfect little happy. How about a sugar scrub that can be made from items you already have around the house. Wrapping is key here. You can make anything look incredible with some burlap or bakery string. It is not wasteful, it will be eaten and will not be sold on the resale Facebook site. Make your gifts with friends. Invite your besties over and create your gifts together. I love any excuse to break out the music and play.
3. With five kids you might imagine the gifts are endless. Wrong. My kids know that each year Santa will bring them 4 things. What you want, what you need, what you wear and what you read. That is it. The scholastic book orders that come monthly are the best spot to grab your books AND the classroom wins too. The need is usually the hardest one for me to come up with BUT it works. Maybe someone needs a helmet for lacrosse or they have outgrown everything and need new shoes. (little did I know that one of my children puts his/herself to sleep by CHEWING his/her sheets - guess what he/she is getting this year……. therapy, JK - sheets are a need this year). This idea has taken the excessiveness away. My favorite spots are HomeGoods, Bath and Body, and Academy Sports - or any spot with a clearance section. Shop the clearance shelves FIRST. Another good spot is your online and local resale sights, many times you can find something with tags still on or hardly used - like those much "wanted" calico critters.
4. My kids absolute favorite gift is the always fun Santa coupons. Each year Santa leaves a book of coupons on their stocking. The children can choose when to use any one of the coupons throughout the year. Keep it simple and FREE! I use red / green paper to print them out just because I love to color code everything and I am completely and totally right brained. Print it at home, make about 10 of them. Get crazy creative here friends. Ideas include - you may have 2 desserts, you choose what we eat for dinner, you get to sleep in someone else's bed, you can stay up as late as you want (not on a school night) and everyone's favorite you can SKIP SCHOOL for one day. You following me here? Simple, free and totally the most memorable so far.
5. Do not go crazy buying gifts just to buy gifts. Make them meaningful. Your true friends and family love you, they do not really need that shiny and new piece of plastic, nor do I.
Do me a favor, do not push yourself so hard that you forget the joy in the Holiday season. You deserve to treat yourself too. We all do. Know that you are a rockstar mom, you are doing your best and you are so very loved. Let the season begin.
