Celebrating the Holidays

By Michelle Vandepol; Author of Mother Mexico

Celebrating the holidays is something we look forward to while trying to minimize the damage done by dealing with deadlines, work parties, increased expenses, and holiday time. Celebrating is about more than surviving. Even if you are not one of the ones the articles on organizing talk about who have their shopping already done, you can still make the holiday season about more than the mall crush.
     

Make sure to photograph the small un-posed moments that are more important than the holiday cards in the end. It will help you focus on the moment instead of the whirling bustle of activity.
     

Enjoy how others celebrate without feeling pressured to incorporate how everyone else does it into how you do it. Pare down the clusters of engagements that tend to happen in December, picking a few of most priority and plan around them, creating a few small ones of your own if parts of your calendar are clear of any festive fun.
     

Look at your time, stuff, and money resources available and think of the smallest way to add to it to make your plans a go. Whether it's sticking to a gift giving list or making crafts at home as a family activity, this will simplify your holiday efforts and maximize the results.
     

Plan your memories in advance. Pull out the old fashioned stops or put a new spin on the old ways. Tailor them to what your family needs. A lot of the standbys (trimming the tree, playing the snow or hiking in the forest, collecting pinecones for seasonal table toppers, attending seasonal services, visiting with family and friends) don't cost much if anything. If you focus on the family and friend celebrations you can keep costs to a minimum or splurge on something larger like a family trip to the ski hill if time and money allow.
     

Deal with wardrobe issues for holiday parties as early on as you can. Put aside an hour to try on outfits pairing them accessories and keeping them hung and clean, ready for the event. If you can, do it without shopping. It saves time, leaving more for the good times, not in preparing for them.
     

Compartmentalize work and deadlines. Now the life/work balance is at critical mass. Do what you can early, adding on to your work day in small increments. You can pull out a project right before Christmas break without the long hours. It's about the bit of fore planning and steady execution.
     

Simply making a realistic plan for expenses before payday will ease a lot of stress. Most will not be a surprise (gifts, entrance fees to events, clothes, entertaining food budget) even though there are more of them this time of year.
     

Make your goal not just sanity but reveling in the special time of year. Celebrating is more than getting through. It is joining the kids in their wide eyed amazement whether in nature's snow or people's increased goodwill for this reminder once a year about what life's really about. This year make the holiday about the holiday.