Things to Buy, Things to Do to Get Ready for Christmas

Treats from my 2012 Christmas Gathering

If it’s 100 days until Christmas (and as of today, Sept. 15, it is), then it is 75 days until the first of December. Are you breaking into a sweat at the thought, or have you been preparing for Christmas all summer so that the holidays can be more relaxing and fun this year?

You still have time to get some holiday business out of the way. It’s not too late. First, let’s consider three items that can be purchased in the months and weeks preceding December.

• Gift cards/stocking stuffers
• Postage
• Pantry items

If you know that you will be sending/giving gift cards to anyone, buy a few each  month and tuck them away in your gift closet/cabinet/drawer. (You DO have a special place to stash gifts, don’t you?) Non-Christmas-themed stocking stuffers can be gathered as well. This helps spread your expenditures out over time and prevents that last-minute dash to the store on Christmas Eve.

If you send Christmas cards and don’t care about using special holiday stamps, go ahead and make the postage purchase now to avoid December’s long lines in the post office.

If you plan to do a lot of cooking/baking in December, stock up on supplies now. Last week I bought a 25-lb. bag of sugar. I will divide it into gallon freezer bags and keep them in the pantry. No way will I run out in the middle of my annual baking spree! Nonperishable items that stores tend to sell out of in November and December should be purchased earlier to avoid the mad dash from store to store in search of the missing and much-needed product.

As far as holiday tasks go, some possibilities for this month and the next are as follows:

• Test new holiday recipes now to avoid possible disappointing results later.
• Plan your cleaning strategy so that your house is ready for guests without the usual last-minute cleaning frenzy that makes you too tired to enjoy your company. Doing a set amount each day or each week is better than trying to do it all in one day and reducing yourself to a quivering heap of stress!
• Print out Christmas card and gift box mailing labels, making sure your addresses are current.
• Organize Christmas newsletter; cull the year to highlight the best, funniest, and worst of the year. The best newsletters are one page in length. If there is news that never changes, i.e. your kids are always honor students and make you proud, consider replacing that news with something those on your mailing list don’t already know. 
• Take out your calendar and look at possible dates for parties. Pencil in other holiday events that are traditions, such as the parade in town, the holiday light show, and charity events. With enough advance planning, you can do it all!

BONUS: Here is a fun activity for your children or grandchildren that can be done before the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Create wrapping paper out of plain butcher paper. Give the children Christmas-colored pencils, markers, or paints and let them cut loose! One year I gave my kids star-shaped sponges and red, green, and gold paints. I loved how pretty our one-of-a-kind gift wrap looked. Even scribbles look festive when wrapped around a small package decorated with a bow on top, and think how proud the children will be to see “their” paper on the gifts you give others on Christmas Day!

Don’t Procrastinate! Here’s Why...

Where was I in July? Why wasn’t I here, reminding you to shop the After-Independence-Day sales for bargains on star decorations and napkins and things that could be used for Christmas decorations? What happened to my Celebrate Christmas in July cheers, encouraging you to plan your holiday gifts, menus, and parties in advance?

My nails were painted
for a party, not a stay at
Club Hospital

I was in the hospital, escaping death. That was my surgeon’s take on it, anyway. If my daughter had not rushed me there in the “dead of night” (pun intended), I might have died. I thought I had a nasty intestinal virus, but the surgeon believes I had a hole in my colon. Fun stuff. Writhing in pain and unable to take it any more, I arrived at the ER hoping for a shot or something on the cheap and quick side, but they knocked me out and sliced me open to see what was what. Nine days later, I was released to come home and shuffle from the guest room (closest to the bathroom) to the living room and back. I truly wondered if I would ever feel normal again. I still wonder as I feel a twinge now and then and imagine the cause. For someone who has never experienced surgery or a hospital stay before, this is all new and frightening. Being told it could be 3-6 months before I’m back to normal—and a year for my insides to be completely healed—is not very comforting. Why is my body procrastinating??? Heal already!!!

I didn’t know that July 2013 would not be mine to enjoy. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. So, if you wait until after Thanksgiving to prepare for Christmas and you get hit with the unexpected, what will happen to your favorite holiday? Will you miss out on some yearly fun? Stress yourself out by trying to do too much with too little time? Face disappointed children and beat yourself up mentally?

I lost July, but that’s okay. I already have some gifts stashed away, and the one I intended to purchase in July can be bought in August (it’s just $5 — shhhh). I have new-to-us decorations stored in my holiday closet. I have my Christmas cards that will be ready to mail at the beginning of December. And of course, my good friend Beth and I already spent several months testing new appetizers to serve at our 2nd annual Christmas mystery party, so skipping appetizers in July doesn’t affect our plans.

Because I’ve made Christmas all year long a way of life, losing an Entire Month hasn’t ruined my plans. Even if, heaven forbid, I spent December in the hospital, all would not be lost. My family would still have gifts. I might have to ask a close friend to go to my house and wrap the gifts in my gift cabinet for me, but due to my advance gift purchases, I wouldn’t miss out on the joy of giving. I could direct my daughter to our craft closet, where the cards are stashed, and have her put the labels on them and mail them for me.

Please don’t leave things till the last minute. Don’t procrastinate. Before you know it, November will be here, and time will seem to speed up. If you do what you can now, at a more leisurely pace, you won’t find yourself anxious and stressed later. You will have saved yourself some time that you can spend enjoying your family and friends and the traditions of the holidays. Isn’t that the goal? To create beautiful memories that we can enjoy with our loved ones? Make sure you have the time. If you haven’t started yet, now is the time to make plans, set goals, and look forward to a warm and wonderful holiday season.

What Time Is It?

It’s time to announce that it is:

Of course, that is six months to Christmas DAY. You have less than six months to get ready for the season. Your goal should be to have your parties/activities planned, your decorations up, and your gifts made/bought/wrapped (if possible) before/by December 1. So ideally, if you want a fun-filled holiday month, you have four-five months left to prepare for it.

Merry June 25!

WWYD?

WWYD = what would you do?

Items were removed from the plastic bins and placed
in garbage bags, but they are definitely not garbage!

What would you do if someone offered you bins, boxes, and bags of miscellaneous Christmas items? If you’re anything like me (and you have a holiday storage room to stash it in), you say yes, please and thank you and dance a happy Christmas jig. And that is one of two things that happened to me this past weekend that made it feel like Christmas in June!

A friend of mine was having a three-day liquidation sale after closing her café, and I was helping by posting photos of the sale items online. On the third day, I noticed that no one had touched her many Christmas decorations, and I mentioned it. Then she said, "If you want ’em, take ’em. I’ll just give them to you.” You know how much I adore Christmas. I couldn’t turn down a deal like that!

Now, did I need it? No, as my daughter so obnoxiously proclaimed. But would I use any of it? Oh yes! And would some of it replace some tired old Christmas things I’ve used for years? Of course! And do I love digging through boxes of other people’s Christmas stuff? Are you kidding??? I’m like a kid in a toy store!

My daughter and I brought my haul home, and she left me to examine what I had. I almost cried—honestly!—when I unwrapped some holiday figures of cardinals perched on snowballs and some snowmen. Those are two favorites of mine, because I can display them throughout winter (when they aren’t too Christmas-y).

I now have new-to-me ornaments, figurines, and Christmas table runners. There was a dainty red tree skirt for a small tree. (I have six Christmas trees of various sizes, so that WILL be used come December!) There were never-used Christmas tins that my daughter will use for Christmas candy. There were some wall wreaths, table and candle wreaths, and greenery garland and picks. There were also colorful Christmas arrangement picks and some ribbon of varying widths and lengths. Part of the magic of this stash is the creative possibilities! As I told my daughter, if she wanted to create a new table arrangement or wreath, she could! For free! Wheeee!

That wasn’t the only thing that made last weekend feel like Christmas. The other was a launch party I attended for a new business called (here’s the link) American Echoes. I knew the mother of the company’s founder and went to show my support. I put my name in the bowl for a drawing, not believing I would win anything because of the great turnout. After we enjoyed a lovely buffet and impressive video, they drew names for hats, t-shirts, and the grand prize: American-made flag wall art made from reclaimed post-industrial wood and eco friendly paints. And I won a flag! I was so thrilled to hear my name called that I nearly cried! It felt like Christmas in June! They had a variety of flag art there, and I chose the Betsy Ross design.

There was one girl who had her heart set on a t-shirt. When her name wasn’t drawn, she was disappointed. So, when she met the company’s owner, she told him that she had wanted to win a t-shirt. And, he gave her one! I really like him. :-)  I think he’s going to be successful.

So, what would you do if someone offered you miscellaneous Christmas decor?
What intriguing Christmas projects have you seen for artificial greenery and picks? Have you ever attended a launch party or won a prize that made it feel like Christmas? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Christmas is less than 200 days away! 

I just thought you’d want to know. 

That is all.

April Birthday Finger Food Friday

As mentioned in the previous blog, my good friend Beth and I share a birthday, so we choose a date near the beginning of April get together to celebrate. We also love appetizers and have a standing arrangement to meet up for FFF (finger food Fridays) once a month (the purpose of which is to make and/or sample a variety of appetizers and then choose our favorites for Christmas parties when the time comes).

Well, we were slackers in the FFF department yesterday. Instead of homemade appetizer goodness, we relied on store-bought! Beth brought over a kit containing cheese, ham, and crackers and a box of mini-cinnamon rolls, pictured below. They were very good. I believe I ate more than was wise, but I tell myself that it may be a long time (December) before I’m offered these again, so I should make the most of my chances!  

Meanwhile, I relied on frozen chicken egg rolls, which I deep-fried, with sweet & sour sauce (below) as well as ...(scroll down)

Leftover Easter deviled eggs, which I did make at home, but not specifically for FFF. Beth said she doesn’t usually care for deviled eggs, but she liked these and ate two! If I were to make these for Christmas, I'd just make red and green ones. Maybe include some white.

I’m going to experiment with some breakfast-food appetizers next. I've realized that many of my favorite appetizers have sausage in them! Otherwise, I’m not a big eater of sausage. But crumble it up and add it to balls of Bisquick and shredded cheese, and I will make myself sick popping them into my mouth!

What appetizer makes your eyes light up when you spy it on a buffet table?

FFF ... every month!

I haven’t dished on my Christmas party yet. I promised myself that 2012 was the year I would host a party, and I did! And it was a success! (One friend prefers not to be featured online; thus, the smiley face, in case you wondered.)

My friend Beth partnered with me to pull it off. She knows more people than I do, and my house is more accessible (in town rather than out in the boonies where she and her husband live), so we each have something to offer party-planning than just a desire for fun. :-)  We both enjoy getting together with friends, and we both enjoy appetizers. I served dinner at my party, but for our next party, we agree that an appetizer buffet is the way to go.

And that leads me to FFF. What does that stand for? Isn’t it obvious? It’s Finger Food Fridays! In order to test new recipes for our Christmas buffet, we are meeting one Friday a month! Talk about fun advance planning! Yum!

January - meatball buns (I should have taken a picture!)

February - mini pepperoni cheesestick rollups and BBQ biscuit pouches

Mini pepperoni cheese roll ups

BBQ Biscuit Pouches

March - lasagna rollups, Savannah Sunrise Dessert Cheeseball, and potato skin quesadillas (once again, I forgot to take a photo!)

Our next FFF is this Friday! It will double as a birthday celebration. Beth and I not only share a first initial; we also share a birthday. I don’t know what we’ll taste-test, but I bet it will be delicious. And I will be sure to get photos.

A Quick Return to Photo Advice (with a photo)

In December, I gave you a set of tips for taking Christmas photos. One tip was to make sure you don’t hide behind the camera. I read a blog today that expressed the same opinion more eloquently and in more depth than I did. The post is titled, So You’re Feeling Too Fat to Be Photographed, and it was written by Teresa Porter of My Friend Teresa Photography.

Mom grinning, 12/2009

My mom often looks pained in photos; being photographed is not one of her favorite activities, but she puts up with it because she loves me. One of the best photos I ever took happened by accident. We were in a hotel/office building, and I had posed her near some huge windows to get natural light. As I worked my way into a better position for the shot, I bumped my head on a steel beam. This, my mother found funny. I quickly snapped the picture. Finally! She is relaxed, not pained, with a mischievous, mirthful look in her eyes and a natural grin on her face. 

That's what everyone wants—to see you as they naturally see you. Not tense, pained, or hiding. Anyway, check out that blog whether you need the message for yourself or for a member of your family. 

You already know that I don't mind having my picture taken or using my own photos in my blog. How do you feel about being photographed?

My Word for 2013

On this first day of the new year, I have made no resolutions. That can be fun to do, but I’ve foregone that activity for the last ten years or so. This year, I decided to claim a word for the year. I got the idea from Melanie at http://www.onlyabreath.com, who not only chooses a word for herself each year but this year offered to make free one-word blog buttons for others. [NOTE: as of 2015 she is not doing this, and I haven’t found a one-word generator yet. This may have to be a DIY project for the technologically astute.]

My word for 2013 is JOY. It seems appropriate for a Christmas blog, does it not? Beyond that, so many circumstances and events can occur to steal my joy throughout the year. So, I have determined to do my best to remember that the joy of the Lord is my strength. I may need reminding now and then, but I’ll do my best not to allow anyone or any thing to steal my joy this year.

What word would you like to claim for the New Year?

Christmas Family Photo Tips

Empty box, but so pretty!

Take family photos early in the day when everyone is fresh and alert.

Shots at a festival of trees -  pose with the beautiful (and empty) packages on display. :-)

Sweatshirts are comfy, but they look bulky and sloppy in photos. The fewer who wear them for photos, the better.


Don’t make everyone pose in matching outfits—though coordinating colors is nice—and keep prints to a minimum. A photo where you see polka dots, stripes, flowers, and plaid is a photo that causes eye strain. ;-)

Coordinating or matching pajamas make a fun shot. One of my favorite family photos has my husband in a red bathrobe (over pajamas) sitting in front of the tree, while our daughter and I wore red plaid flannel gowns and our son wore plaid pajamas and settled in around him.

Do not hide behind the camera. I don't care how much you fret about your weight, hair, or aging face. You are more than your outsides. Your family loves you for who you are inside, and depriving them of family photos because of your dissatisfaction with your reflection in the mirror is selfish. That’s right, I said it! Our families, for the most part, see us through eyes of love; they don't see all the flaws that make us cringe. Look. Someday, you’ll be gone. Those photos will be a comfort to your loved ones only if you are IN them.

You can't threaten someone into looking relaxed and happy. If someone is taking a photo of kids, try jingling a bell to get their attention. If you use a timer, decide where you would like the group to look, and place a wrapped gift there. Tell the kids that once you get some good pictures, you will open the gift. Ask them if they think Frosty the Snowman's magic hat is in the box. Fill the box with something that everyone can share, like candy, snack mix, or little party trinkets.

Think about taking silly pictures first. People are often more relaxed and natural after that, so you may get a better normal shot. Of course, if you have a child who would be wound up and unable to stop being silly, save the silly pics for last, letting the child know that after you get a "good" group shot, you will take a silly shot.

Distract children who don't want their picture taken by giving them a small toy. They may not look at the camera, but they also won't pout or cry and ruin the shot.

That’s all for now! Christmas breakfast is calling my name. May you all have a warm and wonderful family Christmas.