Simple Mom » christmas

A Simple Holiday Season (the latest on The Simple Mom Podcast!)

Tsh — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:30:51 +0000

The latest podcast is up! In this episode, I’m talking with my friend Megan Tietz of Sorta Crunchy. We’ve been trying to podcast all throughout the fall, so it was great to finally catch up with each other!

In this episode, Megan and I chat about We talk small houses (and how to deal with tiny closets!), how to handle well-meaning gift givers who pile it on for the kids, and one of our new favorite artists! (Hint: Just take a look at both our headers.) We’d love for you to join us.

So get out your last unwrapped presents and get to work, or just whip up some cocoa and take a break—head here to find the latest episode and all the show notes, or you can head directly to iTunes. (And if you’re so inclined, would you mind leaving a review there if you like the show? It’ll help more people find it.)

Enjoy!

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Plan Your Peaceful Christmas: Task 6 (Embrace Imperfection)

Tsh — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:01:30 +0000

Christmas is in about a week. I don’t mean to cause your stomach to sink, but have you finished your shopping? Do you have all the ingredients for your baking? Have you done the laundry and packed for your travels? And in the midst of it all, are you actually enjoying the season?

No need to panic. I haven’t done it all, either. And I have fleeting thoughts that wish the holiday would hurry up already so we can go back to normal life.

But I’ve decided to just let it go and enjoy Christmas how it is now, for what it is. I didn’t decorate all like I wanted. We didn’t make fudge as I hoped. We still need to grab a few stocking stuffers. There are evenings when we’re out late, so we double up on our Jesse Tree devotional the next night.

It’s okay. Christmas is not about perfection.

Think back to your childhood holidays. Do you remember all the things you didn’t do? Are you still grieving over that one Christmas when you were 8, and you didn’t get to make four types of cookies while drinking hot cocoa near a fire with the perfect holiday music playing in the background?

I didn’t think so. Your kids won’t care, either.

Your task this week: Embrace imperfection

Enjoy the blessings of cooler weather, the nearness of family, the handmade crafts plastered to the fridge, ornaments on the bottom third of the tree arranged in the most bizarre way possible, and the squeals of excitement about the upcoming day.

Christmas isn’t about perfection. It’s celebrating the One who saved us from our impossible need to be perfect.

What are you letting go of this Christmas? What aren’t you doing to celebrate?

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My Favorite Gift Ideas from Amazon

Tsh — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:01:24 +0000

My favorite places to Christmas shop are Etsy and other cottage industries. My second favorite? Amazon. I can’t remember the last time I Christmas shopped at a brick-and-mortar store.

I love shopping online because I’m not a fan of crowds and of being overwhelmed by stuff—if I can’t see it, I don’t know what I’m missing (same goes for my kids, too). And I don’t really miss the decor and ambience because I make up for it ten-fold at home with lights, candles, and Pandora (or Spotify) in the background. Give me pajama pants and a laptop any day.

Unfortunate news—a lot of Etsy shops have stopped taking Christmas orders. Makes sense, since these are usually handmade products. Good news—there’s still plenty of time to shop Amazon in time for December 25.

If you don’t like stores, like me, or if you just don’t feel like fighting the crowds, traffic, and weather, here are some of my favorite gift ideas for Christmas, all on Amazon.

A note about Amazon Prime: If you sign up for Prime, you’ll enjoy free two-day shipping year-round… including Christmas. I also love it because we can instantly stream a lot of movies on Amazon for free, and as of recent, you can also borrow thousands of Kindle books. That’s right, there’s now an Amazon library! It’s $79 annually, and I renew every year. I think it’s worth it. Alright, moving on…

So here are some of my favorite gift ideas—along with a few new items I’m getting the family this year:

Kids

	Car Carrier I’m a big Melissa & Doug fan… We got this car carrier for Reed last year, and he and Finn love it. It’s durable, it’s simple, and like most M&D toys, it’s wood. I’m a sucker for wooden toys.
	Stacking Construction Vehicles Also wooden, these are vehicles and puzzles, all in one—you build them by stacking the parts on a base. Also interchangeable, our kids have fun creating unusual vehicles. They come in a set of four, and there’s also a set of emergency vehicles.
	Latches Board If your little one likes fidgeting with latches and locks (and who doesn’t?), this board is perfect. It helps develop fine motor skills, and guess what? It’s made of wood.
	Zingo Not a week goes by when our kids don’t play with this game. My almost 7-year-old and almost 4-year-old both love Zingo, and I love a game they enjoy together. (Heck, I like playing with them!)
	LEGO Ultimate Building Set My kids are just getting into LEGO (yep, the plural of LEGO is LEGO, in case you were wondering). This set includes 405 open-ended pieces for all sorts of creative play. Don’t write this off as a boy toy—my daughter loves them, too (though she’d probably swoon over this set).
	Art Kits & Supplies Any sort of art supply collection is a great gift idea for kids of all ages, but this one in particular is great for siblings. This kit unfolds to a two-sided easel and includes all sorts of supplies.
	Mini Microscope I first saw this microscope recommended on Facebook (Meredith telling Arianne, actually), and at $3, you can’t beat this stocking stuffer. This pocket microscope is great for any kid who likes to explore—just take it with you and whip out when the need arises (bugs, flowers, dirt… you name it).
	Wood blocks You can’t go wrong with this classic toy that encourages hours of open-ended play. Our kids play with them daily.
	Leapfrog Fridge Phonics I admit—my kids learned their letters and sounds at an early age with help from this toy. It’s one of the few battery-operated toys in our home I’m thankful for.

For Grownups

	How to Cook Everything This is my main go-to cookbook—I use it several times a week. Mark Bittman has written a modern-day classic. A simple home doesn’t need many cookbooks, but I think this is one of them.
	KitchenAid Mixer I love mine. I’m not big into gadgets that serve only one purpose, so this baby now holds a special place in my heart. Lots of you wanted one, and you can find all sizes and colors on Amazon.
	French Press We had a traditional coffee maker at the beginning of our marriage, but were soon converted to a French press. Simple, durable, minimalist, and in my opinion, makes better coffee, a French press is great for any coffee lover.
	Sodastream This was Kyle’s Father’s Day present this year, and we both love it. We mostly just drink bubbly water, but we also have a collection of syrups, so it’s fun to occasionally whip up an Italian soda. We’ve even made root beer!
	Kindle Like everybody else, I jumped off the bridge this year, and I’m so glad I did. I adore my Kindle—perfect for cutting down on clutter and for travel (two things I’m passionate about). Our local library also started lending out digital books, so now I can sync my Kindle! Perfect.
	Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker Kyle got me this 2-quart Cuisinart for Christmas a few years ago, and I’m so glad he did. Enjoy ice cream without additives from store-bought. If you keep the bowl insert in the freezer, you’ll have ice cream ready to eat in 20 minutes.
	John Adams This 7-part miniseries is required viewing for all Americans, in my opinion. Based on David McCullough’s book, it’s not only is it masterfully produced and brilliantly acted, but the story line must be told and remembered. I try and watch it at least once annually. (Note: It’s not for younger crowds.) A great, great series.
	Dyson Ball Yeah, so it might be strange to gift a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. But if you know someone who needs one, this is a great vacuum. Dyson gave this to me earlier this year when I tweeted that ours broke—it’s small but powerful, and I can switch from our wood floors to our rugs with the touch of a button. Our kids actually fight over who gets to vacuum.
	Organized Simplicity C’mon, you know I had to mention my own book. Seriously, though, it’s a great gift for Christmas because a lot of people want to start the new year fresh—part one is my thesis of sorts as to why we don’t need so much stuff or to live in big houses, and part two is a 10-step process of how to declutter, clean, and organize. It’s on Kindle, too.
	iTunes Gift Card I know some people don’t like to give gift cards, but I like to receive them, so I figure some people must feel the same. iTunes is great because you can get so much there now—music, movies, TV shows, and audiobooks. (Psst—I asked on Twitter for good tween and teen gift ideas, and this was the number one response.)
	Canon Powershot Digital Camera We’ve bought this camera three times. The first one was lost in the airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; the second one was stolen on a ferryboat in Istanbul. Kyle’s ready to lose our current one so we can upgrade again.
	Laptop Tray If you’re like us and work from home, but in so small a place you don’t have a designated office, a laptop tray is the next best thing. This one is sturdy yet stylish.

For the whole family

	Apples to Apples This game has become an extended family classic, as well as a favorite when friends come over to hang out. Great fun. They also have a junior version.
	The Game of Things Playing this game, too, has become a recent ritual in our extended family. It’s sort-of like Balderdash, but with ideas instead of words. Hard to explain, but it’s a blast to play.
	“Cheater” Chopsticks Everyone in the family is getting one of these in his or her stocking this year. Our kids love chopsticks, but let’s face it, there’s a learning curve. This will make Asian food even more fun.
	Croquet Quite the old-school game, croquet is fun for all ages, and it gets the family outside. Bocce Ball‘s a good choice, too.
	Harry Potter: Complete 8 Film Collection As is usually the case, the books are much better. But the movies are fun, too (we tell Tate to close her eyes during scary parts), and now that the saga is complete on film, the box set is a great gift for any Hogwarts fan. The paperback box set of books is reasonably priced, too, for seven books.
	Movie Tickets We go to the movie theater maybe twice a year, tickets are so expensive. So it’s especially fun to get them as gifts. I love the gift of time, and it takes up much less space, too.

I’m happy to say that other than stocking stuffers, I’m done with gift shopping. That means this week I’ll be watching holiday movies, crafting with my kids, and enjoying what I love most about the season. If you’re ready to get there, too, I say skip the stores and jump online.

(Disclosure time: This post has some Amazon affiliate links, which means if you click on them and then buy something there, I’ll get a little percentage of that which helps me run SLM. Just wanted you to know that.)

Who’s the hardest person to shop for on your gift-giving list?

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Home for the Holidays: What’s your favorite holiday flick?

Tsh — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:01:54 +0000

To add some fun into our Home for the Holidays week, we thought we’d ask YOU to share your favorite things about the holidays! On each site, we’ve got a question we’d like you to answer. Share your thoughts here in the comments, and then hop to the other sites to find out what we’d like to know!

Movies are one of my absolute favorite things about the holidays. Cornball or prolific, there aren’t many Christmas flicks I won’t watch.

My favorite? It’s a toss-up. I do love me some Elf, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and A Christmas Carol (the George C. Scott version is my fave). But if I could only watch one movie this Christmas, it’d have to be It’s a Wonderful Life. Both funny and profound, you can’t help but watch Jimmy Stewart and reflect on the value of your own life. It’s wonderful, indeed.

So that’s my question for you today: What’s your all-time favorite holiday movie?

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts—maybe I’ll find some new movies to watch this year!

After you share your favorite, head to the other sites to answer their questions:

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Home for the Holidays: Compassion

Tsh — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:57:24 +0000

We could do a daily run of giveaways during Home for the Holidays, but instead we wanted to pepper our week by telling you about some organizations doing remarkable things.

I met Maann on another hot, sweaty day near the equator in the Philippines (her house is shown above). Our group of bloggers had been visiting families and communities impacted by Compassion all week, and the stories were, as you might imagine, heart-poundingly emotional.

Here’s how we’d spend our days: We’d leave the hotel soon after breakfast, and ride on bumpy roads via a chandelier bedecked bus, sometimes for an hour or two. Our mornings were spent at one of many development centers, where Compassion was working in a community. We’d have lunch with those volunteers, spend the afternoons visiting families with sponsored children, return to the hotel for a shower and dinner, and get to clacking on our keyboards long into the night. Rinse and repeat.

We were exhausted.

So by day four, we met Maann and some of her friends, and for me, that’s when it all turned around for me in the Philippines.

They grow up, and their lives are forever changed

Maann was 19. Sponsored through Compassion since she was 6, she was now an articulate, peace-filled university student who was in leadership training. Together with her friends, she was leading weekly meetings at a Child Development Center. Her heart was happy. So happy. Filled with hope.

With her three other girlfriends, they pooled their money and sponsored a child. They. Former Compassion sponsored children, now sponsoring children.

It was awesome.

See, the reason that day changed me was because it gave me hope. The previous days were mightily impacting, but seeing six-year-old after six-year-old sleeping on cardboard was getting hard on my heart.

Maann was tangible, living proof that sponsoring a kid works. Now I’m not saying it’s a guarantee that being sponsored throughout childhood results in a well-adjusted adulthood, but I kept hearing stories that it happened. And here was this 19-year-old, showing me in the flesh what Denise, the child I sponsor, might one day become.

Here’s a video taken from my friend and Philippines roomie Kat. On this day, she visited Emily, another child sponsored by Compassion. Emily lives on the water and eats a regular diet of leaf soup.

How you can help this Christmas

1. Give a gift from Compassion’s Christmas catalog

You can give a simple gift of a blanket, chickens, seeds, a cow, or more for Compassion-assisted children and their families. After you make your selection, you can have a card sent to the person you’re honoring through this gift. This is the Christmas present we give to my in-laws each year. $10 will buy a mosquito net. $100 will provide a skilled attendant at a homebirth.

2. Give a Christmas gift to a Compassion child

For $15, you can give one of the 1.2 million Compassion-assisted children a Christmas gift this year. 100 percent of your donation goes towards the gift.

3. Start sponsoring a child

We’ve had a ball sponsoring Denise—Tate and I each write her monthly letters, and it’s a highlight to get a letter back from her. For 38 bucks a month, Tate gets to grow up with another six-year-old girl on the other side of the world. In a few years, we hope to sponsor boys the same age as our boys, too.

It’s hard to know who’s really receiving the gift when you sponsor a child.

There’s a reason behind living simply—it’s so we can help others simply live. Very few people on my Christmas list actually need anything, yet so many around the world need so much. If we all gave just a little, the burden would lighten.

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” -Mother Teresa

Learn about the other charities we love:

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An easy, no-frills advent calendar

Tsh — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:52:32 +0000

I know you’re up to your eyeballs preparing for Thanksgiving. I am, too. But one of my favorite post-meal activities is to craft, so I make sure I have the craft supplies I need by Wednesday. As in today.

Yeah, there’s football. But I’ve never been good at just sitting there in front of the TV.

We’re headed to our in-laws today, and I’m bringing stuff to make Jesse Tree ornaments. But an advent calendar is another great Thanksgiving Day craft project—I’ve always had intentions on making one, but time slips by, and before I know it, it’s December 1. Kinda defeating to make one after that.

So I made one this week, and it couldn’t be simpler. It was made from things around the house and a quick trip to the local craft store.

Our super simple advent calendar

I should warn you in advance—I’ve been working on the calendar at night, so as to surprise the kids, so the photos aren’t the best. Night photos and all. Anyway.

I already had a large frame I snagged from the Habitat ReStore. It was glassless—perfect.

I then taped rows of ribbon along the back.

Then I bought some plain bookmarks from Joann’s. Sets of 20 were $2.50, so I had to buy two. Still not bad.

I was planning on using number stickers to label the tags 1 through 25, but I bumped into this scrapbook paper. Couldn’t be more perfect.

I cut out the numbers and glued them on upside down, near the bottom. I may coat the top with Mod Podge later, but I just wanted it done for now.

Then I folded them in half.

I had a few more sheets of scrapbook paper, which I cut into strips and gluestick-ed on clothespins. They’re the miniature versions, also from Joann’s.

Now, I knew I wanted an activity-oriented advent calendar, but I didn’t want to write anything permanent. We’ve spent Christmases in a wide variety of places; there’s no telling where we’ll be from year to year.

So, I just wrote activities on Sticky Notes. Yeah, I could make it look more festive… but if I wait to make everything perfect, it would never happen. My kids won’t care, and I’m fine with it.

This way, I can change activities from year to year, or even switch them around this year as the month rolls on. A fresh coat of snow today? Let’s bump up “make a snowman” to today and push back “bake cookies.”

Then, once we’ve done the day’s activity, we’ll flip the card inside out and hang the little picture.

Here are this year’s activities:

Open a gift! (Inside are new Christmas pajamas)
Find and decorate a Christmas tree
Go downtown for the Christmas parade
Go to The Nutcracker! (this is just the girls… the boys will probably do something manly, like have a snowball war)
Drink hot cocoa and watch The Polar Express
String popcorn garland for the tree
Help address cards and watch classic Christmas cartoons
Make paper snowflakes
Attend our homeschool co-op’s Christmas party!
Get together with family friends to play games
Pop popcorn and Watch Elf
Make a new ornament for the tree
Go to the local museum (which has recreated Christmas from the 19th century)
Build a snowman
Bake cookies
Buy a gift for a child with Angel Tree
Walk around Sisters (a nearby small town that’s decked out for the holidays)
Make snow angels
Watch A Christmas Story
Skype with friends to wish them a merry Christmas
Make easy gingerbread houses
Drive around and look at Christmas lights
Watch A Nativity Story
Go to the Christmas Eve service at church
Have a Merry Christmas!

If you plan on making an advent calendar, don’t forget to do it early—as in, before December 1. But don’t stress over making it elaborate or perfect. Your kids will be excited either way.

What’s one of your favorite holiday activities?

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Plan your Peaceful Christmas: Task 3

Tsh — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:01:37 +0000

So far in our steps for a peaceful Christmas series, we’ve talked about preparing your holiday budget, planning your gift giving, and organizing your calendar. One thing per week, a little at a time… they help make the holidays enjoyable instead of chaotic.

What’s the next step? Well, doing this week’s task early enough will save you money, keep your hand from aching, and protect your late nights from grumbling over something that’s meant to be a blessing.

It’s not an essential part of everyone’s holidays, but it’s important to our family. That’s why I like doing it with plenty of time to spare.

Organize, order, and address your holiday cards

Not everyone bothers with Christmas cards anymore, and I understand why. It’s expensive, it’s time consuming, and they’re not as essential as other aspects of the season, such as gifts or food.

But I still love sending cards—because I love receiving them. We hang photo cards on our fridge the entire following year. To me, it’s one of the few things during the holidays that keep us connected, tangibly, to the people we love.

It’s expensive, yes. But you can save money the earlier you plan.

Photo card options

My preference is sending photo cards, because it’s what I like to receive. I love seeing how kids have grown, and it puts faces to the names of people we talk about with our kids. Photo cards remind us to pray for people.

(And as a side note, I prefer seeing entire families in the photos, and not just the kids. C’mon, grownups—get behind the camera, too!)

Pre-made photo cards

• Tiny Prints has a beautiful selection. They’re pricier, but you can’t go wrong with any of their designs. High-quality printing as well.

• Snapfish has a good deal right now—30% off and free shipping on all photo cards until November 22 (that’s in five days).

• Shutterfly currently has free shipping on orders over $30.

• I love supporting designers at Etsy! Order a photo card design from stores like Roxter Designs, Paper Kite, Grace & Co, and Harper Gray, and they’ll usually customize them for you (I used to do this as a side business, and I loved creating photo cards exactly how someone wanted them). Search “photo cards,” and you’ll have more than your pick.

Added: Grace & Co created a coupon code for Simple Mom readers—10% off all purchases until November 30. Just use the coupon code SIMPLEMOM1130 at checkout. Thanks, Grace & Co!

Photo card by Roxter Designs

And of course, brick-and-mortar stores like Target, CVS, Costco, and the like always have photo card options. I prefer to use these guys just for printing, though, especially when I buy an Etsy design and print them myself.

DIY photo cards

If you have a knack for Photoshop (or its equivalent), make photo cards yourself and have them printed. This is what I do almost every year, and it saves me bundles. As you design, keep in mind that 4×6 photos are considerably cheaper to print than 5×7.

A 4×6 photo will need a size A6 envelope, and a 5×7 photo will need an A7 envelope. I usually order them from Amazon because we send out quite a few cards, but you can easily find high-quality envelopes sold individually at local paper stores.

A cheaper alternative is to turn your photo cards into postcards—you won’t have to buy envelopes, and you can use postcard stamps, which are less expensive (at least in the U.S.).

My favorite places to order postcards are Overnight Prints, Vistaprint (they’re in Canada, too!), and Budget Prints (which currently has free shipping over $30). All have reasonable prices.

Gather your addresses

It’s no fun writing friends and family the night before you want to mail cards, asking them for their snail mail address. Start gathering them now, when you’re not rushed or panicked.

Order stamps

If you’re in the States, order stamps online, and they’ll be delivered the next day. I haven’t bought stamps at an actual post office in years.

Address envelopes early

This activity is a great excuse to pop in a holiday movie and sip on hot cocoa. Just do a few each night for a week, and you’re done. Kids with readable penmanship might enjoy this task, too.

Return address stamp by Primele

I print our return address directly on the envelopes—I’d rather run them through the printer for 30 minutes than spend hours writing the same thing repeatedly. One day, I may splurge on a beautiful return address stamp—I’m drooling over the ones at Primele.

Digital options

If you simply can’t afford snail mail greetings, email is still a friendly, etiquette-approved option (if you’re asking me, anyway, but I’m no Emily Post). Please don’t go overboard with the flashing lights and instamusic, though. A simple informative-yet-not-long email with an attached photo is great.

I’d rather receive these than nothing—I can always print out the photo and stick it on my fridge if I want.

Sending hand-signed cards is a dying art, but it’s personally important to me. I want my kids to know the value of writing letters, so for us, sending holiday cards is an annual family affair.

When I plan in plenty of time, creating and sending cards is a festive tradition, and not a hand-aching chore. I love it.

How about you—do you send out cards? Newsletters? E-greetings? Don’t bother? I’d love to hear your reasons.

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Plan Your Peaceful Christmas: Task 2

Tsh — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:01:24 +0000

A neighborhood cookie exchange. Christmas light looking. Your church’s annual Christmas production, nativity scene, or ministry event. Sitting on Santa’s lap. The Nutcracker. Watching your five favorite holiday movies. Making all those crafts you’ve pinned. Making jam as gifts for your kids’ teachers. Maybe even Christmas caroling. Giftshoppingcardaddressingcraftmakingsnowsledding.

There’s a lot of fun stuff to do throughout the Christmas season, and if you’re like me, you have grand ambitions post-Thanksgiving that fizzle to survival by the 23rd. December dawn, and it feels like you’ve got all kinds of time to do all the things on your list. One fun thing per day. What’s hard about that?

Well, grocery shopping, for starters. And school, and work, and laundry, and errands. You know… the liturgy of life.

It’s frustrating to want to do festive things and to ultimately not do them.

Last week’s task was to plan your gift giving. This week’s Plan your holiday calendar, well in advance. Life gets busy, and it’ll be hard to get your fun things on the schedule if you don’t plan ahead.

1. Talk now.

Plan your calendar well in advance; start talking now. You don’t have to stress about it… Just discuss your Christmas priorities with your spouse after the kids are in bed, a bit at a time. Throw out any and all ideas—the sky’s the limit. Going to the actual North Pole? Sure, why not? At least for now.

Unless they’re teeny-tiny, ask the kids what they’d like to do during the holidays. Make sure you don’t accidentally promise anything. Choose words well.

2. Prioritize your ideas.

Alright, now make a list of those things, and mark the most important. Perhaps each family member can choose their number one item (now might be a good time to cross off the North Pole). You could also make an A, B, and C list—the must do, the maybe if we have time, and the not likely but it sure would be fun.

Photo by Pipnstuff

3. Dig up your calendar.

Look at the next few weeks, and give yourself a kind reality check. Including all your “regular life” stuff, how many holiday events can you actually do? Probably not as many as you’d like.

Jot down the set-in-stone events. School programs, Christmas Eve at the in-laws, office parties, anything not instigated by you yet necessary for you to attend, put it on the family calendar.

Don’t fill in the days with everything else yet.

4. Check the budget.

Go back to your holiday budget. What’s allotted for fun? Scrooge McDuck aside, most of us don’t have money to do everything. You might need to choose just one cash-heavy event, and save the others for future Christmases.

5. Now fill in your calendar.

Once you’ve settled on the money, plan the events. Buy those Rockettes tickets and scratch it on the calendar. Talk with your friends and finalize the cookie swap date.

As a couple, agree on how many nights out of the house rest on the right side of sanity. It’s different for everyone, so cater to the spouse most in need of home time. Kyle doesn’t like to be out of the house more than three nights a week, so we do our best to protect that.

6. Make the calendar fun.

Crazy as it sounds, but you may want to schedule smaller things, like movie or game nights at home. Time will fly by, and you’ll realize on Christmas Eve that you unintentionally skipped those little things that mean so much.

Enjoy the season! Make a point to spend an afternoon crafting a gingerbread house, or make popcorn garland while you watch Elf. Don’t’ stress over it, of course, but don’t just wish for more time to do those things. Make time for them. (If you can’t tell, I’m totally talking to myself here.)

Photo by Shim & Sons

Make these small holiday traditions more “official” by creating an advent wreath—count down to Christmas with one activity per day. It doesn’t have to be fancy. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest, from fabric to magnetic to paper. I love Mandi Ehman’s idea for an advent chain—tear off one chain per day, minimal calendar crafting required.

And while you’re nailing down your calendar, don’t forget to plan for the traditions that matter most to you. Every Thanksgiving I realize I still haven’t made the Jesse Tree ornaments I really want, so I settle for printed pictures the kids color minutes before they’re hung on the tree. It’s fine—but this year, I’d like to finally create some more permanent ornaments.

Holiday activities are meant to be fun—so let’s keep them fun. Don’t stress about doing everything—but make a point to do the things you really want to do, instead of just wishing they’d happen. Planning in advance will make the season more relaxing.

What’s one thing you’re going to add to your holiday calendar this year?

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Plan Your Peaceful Christmas: Task 2 is a post from Simple Mom

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Plan Your Peaceful Christmas: Task 1

Tsh — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:01:07 +0000

Drumroll… There’s seven weeks to Christmas. Seriously. Doesn’t that sound bizarre? Apparently I blinked some time between the last holiday season and now.

I think the best way to have a peace-filled, reason-focused Christmas is to do your holiday tasks a little at a time, not too early and not too late. Tasks on our holiday to-do list morph from merry to miserable when we’re busy to the brim.

Like doing all things one bite at a time, so too can we best savor the season when we do a few things to help us prepare well, a little at a time.

In the past, I’ve done a 12 weeks to a peaceful Christmas series. This year, I’m cutting it to six. And since we at SLM are holding our annual Home for the Holidays giveaway week right after Thanksgiving, I want to start Week Six today. Even though Christmas is still technically seven weeks away. Just go with me on this one. And remember, these tasks can still be applied to whatever holiday your family celebrates.

Ready for your first task?

Plan your gift giving

Seriously—it’s honestly not too early to plan your gift giving, especially if you prefer the homemade route. You’ll need time to knit that scarf or take those photos. Hopefully you’ve already planned your holiday budget, so you know exactly how much money you have for gifts.

You know how to buy gifts, so in this post, I’ll focus instead on a few of the deeper gift-giving issues most of us face.

1. Too many people on the list, not enough money.

A few years ago we gave up any notion that we’d give gifts to everyone in our extended family, even if they bless us with gifts. As much as I enjoy giving, it’s just not in our budget.

The key is communication, all more the reason to plan your gift giving now. Be honest about your gift-giving preferences in a way that resonates well with your extended family situation.

Keep the focus on you, not them. Let them know your family’s preferences (you don’t need to share details), and that you prefer X, Y, or Z. Then hear their ideas. If people still want to do a gift exchange, you could suggest drawing names, going homemade, or setting a price cap. And sticking to it.

2. A fear of too much stuff.

Yeah, me too… I don’t want a horde of gifts under our tree, especially poorly-made toys our children won’t play with in six months. But we’re only responsible for our own actions, so don’t fret over the possibility of Grandpa and Grandma going overboard with the gifts. That’s their choice, not yours.

However, you can share your preferences in a kind and grateful manner, such as only one toy per grandkid, nothing that requires batteries, or perhaps clothing and a book. You can’t make anybody do anything, so please don’t try. Simply express your preferences in gratitude, and move on.

3. A desire for too much stuff.

Maybe you like extravagant holidays, including the gifts. There’s not an across-the-board definition of “overboard” here—we all have different incomes and homes, so it’s not my place to say what you definitely should or shouldn’t do.

But I do recommend checking your heart. Make sure you’ve got giving planned in your holiday budget (either from your watch or your wallet). Ask yourself whether you truly do want something, or if Christmas is just an excuse to get something shiny.

And if you’re not sure of all your deeply seeded reasons, simply try a smaller Christmas this year, and see how it feels. Aim on a family-agreed limit. In our family, we do three gifts each for the kids (it changes annually for Kyle and me). Perhaps you could go homemade, or spend money on an experience instead.

If you don’t enjoy your small Christmas, you can always return to big and bountiful next year.

Remember your family’s purpose statement—refresh your memory of what gets you up in the morning. Those values don’t change during the glittery holiday season. Stay calm.

Personally, I think it’s great to celebrate a small Christmas.

What’s the hardest part about gift giving for your family? What are your solutions?

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Plan Your Peaceful Christmas: Task 1 is a post from Simple Mom

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Don’t let the pumpkin spice lattes fool you

Tsh — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:01:45 +0000

Ready to be freaked out? As of yesterday, there are 12 weeks until Christmas. Maybe that sounds far off to you, or maybe that’s sooner than you’d like. Either way, I know that for me, Christmas usually sneaks up on me when I’m not looking. Is it really December 25 every year?

In the past, I’ve done a 12 week countdown to the big day, giving you little tasks to accomplish each week, so that the season is actually enjoyable and not stressful.

Well, this year I’m only doing a six week countdown (which is starting November 4, because one of those weeks will be a holiday giveaway). But I thought today would be a good reminder to do—what I think is—the most important prep task for the holiday season. Your holidays will be miserable without it. And it’s true, no matter what big holiday you do celebrate this year.

I’ll give you one guess as to what it is.

Prepare your holiday budget

Sounds boring and unsexy, I know, but it’s dreadfully important—and if you don’t prepare a budget, you’ll either be unable to afford anything, or worse, put everything on a credit card. Then you might be paying off one measly holiday for who knows how long.

Technically, it’s a great idea to set aside money for Christmas all year long. Just a little each month adds up to plenty for the entire season. But even if you haven’t yet done this, you’ve got time to save—which is why I’m writing this today.

I have a simple little budget sheet you can download here (it’s also on the main downloads page), but there’s no rocket science to it. It’s a matter of calculating your potential Christmas expenses, finding the grand total, then dividing by the amount of months (or paychecks) until December 25.

As of today, there are around three months, 12 weeks, or 84 days until Christmas. Divide your budget as necessary.

The trick is to remember the little things, because those are what always kills the budget. Not saying you have to include all the following things (we certainly don’t in our family), but here is what’s listed on the budget worksheet:

DECOR

tree
lights
gift wrap & supplies
craft supplies
music
movies
other

FOOD

cookie ingredients
misc. dessert ingredients
Christmas day dishes
other

CARDS

stamps
cards and/or envelopes
paper for newsletter
photography
other

GIFTS

spouse
kids
parents
siblings
nieces
nephews
grandparents
other relatives
neighbors
coworkers
friends
other

EVENTS

tickets
clothing
dining out
contributions
other

GIVING

charities
volunteering
other

Basically, the point is to plan, and to not turn a blind eye to the upcoming holiday season. I know you don’t really want to think about it—I honestly don’t, either. But put it in your monthly budget today, make it automatic, even, and then move on to enjoying the fall. Because didn’t that just start? Who evens wants to panic about Christmas yet? We’ve got pumpkin spice lattes to make.

What’s your usual holiday budget killer?

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Plan to Eat - meal planning made simple.
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Don’t let the pumpkin spice lattes fool you is a post from Simple Mom

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