To-Do List for July

q Shop the Independence Day clearance sales for items suitable for Christmas use: red plates (paper or plastic), napkins, tablecloths, star-shaped ornaments, star garland, candles, patriotic items that can decorate a Christmas tree, and stocking stuffers such as flag or star pencils, etc.

q Experiment with a new recipe that you may want to serve during the holiday season or to give as a gift. I found a recipe for microwaveable divinity candy a few years ago. I plan to test it to see if it is as good as my mother used to make.

q Plan your Christmas newsletter. We’ve passed the halfway mark of the year. Make note of memorable happenings so that you’re ready when it’s time to type up your newsletter to add to Christmas cards.

q Plan your Christmas photo, if you plan to include a family photo in your Christmas cards or as a gift for family members—or even as part of a calendar.

Photo Gift Tip: My daughter makes personalized calendars for her grandma, father, and me each year. She carries her camera in her purse and snaps pictures throughout the year so that she has some good shots to represent each month on the calendar; most are family shots, but some are nature scenes with quotes or verses added. The calendars become keepsake items. Plus, you can add birthdays to help scatterbrained people remember them! You can use computer software to design a calendar, but you can also upload photos to a site that has calendar templates to help you create a calendar. Any store that prints photos probably offers templates online. We’ve used Walgreens and Walmart, as well as a local printer.

This list offers you one activity per week, if you intend to do all four. All are doable, as none require a lot of time. If you choose to do less, that’s fine too. Just do something! Don’t let our favorite holiday catch you unprepared!

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.

Summer Boredom a Problem?

Bored Kids with Nothing to Do

School has only been out a short time, but I know kids have already started complaining that they are bored – some were moaning on their first day at home! Because I’m connected to a number of teenagers (that I know in real life) on Facebook, I’ve seen their pitiful wails. “I’m BOREDDDDDD!!!!! Somebody text me!!!!!!!!”

This month’s tip involves giving Christmas projects to those poor kids who have nothing to do. (You say you have no kids at home? Is it too hot for you to enjoy the outdoors? Then these projects are for you!)

Summer is a great time to decorate your own Christmas wrapping paper with white butcher paper and paint. You can work with stencils or sponge shapes or even go freestyle. One year my kids took star-shaped sponges and dabbed red, green, and gold paint on sheets of white butcher paper. I used the paper to wrap gifts and finished the packages off with red and green bows. That was a festive and fun change from the normal store-bought wrap, and the kids enjoyed both the activity AND getting to brag about it at Christmastime!

Christmas Cards Made by Kids

Another summertime art project is to create original artwork on card stock. If you have a child who is a budding artist, whether it’s with paints, colored pencils, or ink, you might set him or her loose with an assignment for a certain number of holiday-appropriate cards. Of course, if you love crafting cards, you will love this project yourself!

Working with photos to create cards, gift tags, photo ornaments, or photo calendars for 2012 is another creative option for those hot days when the A/C inside beckons, if you didn’t tackle that a few months ago or if you have children who love working with digital photos on the computer.

Kids who enjoy crafts may enjoy making Christmas tree ornaments. By making them during the summer, you can plan for lots of them - enough to share with others early in December so that they can enjoy hand-crafted decorations too! In fact, you could take the time to think about having a theme tree this year! I have two trees that are a mishmash of ornaments collected over the years from vacations, school projects, received as gifts, and so forth. But I love the themed trees I see in Christmas festivals and in magazines. I now have a snowflake and snowman theme tree. Many of the snowmen on the tree were made from kits bought from the Oriental Trading Company. I love that place – their crafts are so affordable! Right now they have some cute Christmas ornament crafts selling at half price. You should check it out!

This is a great time to make progress toward your holiday goals. Chances are good that it’s hot and humid outside, so stay where you can enjoy some air-conditioning, choose a project, and get creative!