Journal Your Christmas Giveaway

My plan is to have everything organised before December - only I havent started yet!!! So much for that plan.

The holidays always seem chaotic to me, and it's often a mixed bag of excitement, craziness, and then relief when they are over. This sounds like a wonderful way to stop, enjoy and appreciate the special moments!

I have enjoyed the holidays so much more since I have paced myself. I mix in all the things I love, the Christmas music, food, movies and stories with the chores of the season instead of waiting until I get it all done to enjoy myself like I used to do. Also I delegate and let my husband and 4 daughters help with the not so fun tasks. We write the newsletter together and we have an assembly line to address, stamp and seal the envelopes. I love the holidays.

I'm not going to get so caught up in getting everything "perfect". I want to take as much time as possible to watch my little guy & his big sister revel in the joys of Christmas. The magic of Santa & Christmas seem to pass by too quickly...I wish I could keep them little forever.

This year I'm totally zen, because I already have my xmascards ready. So I van focus on my other projects. I love the idea of these dailys/journals. Would love to be inspired for my own, wich I started a couple of days ago. Thanks for the oppurtunity to win. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! :)

What an awesome giveaway! I'm definitely striving for simplicity and sanity this holiday season. The biggest opportunity (and, for me, challenge) is planning ahead (and sticking to it ... For the most part. Making the album now, planning meals (and getting groceries in advance), gift shopping ahead of December rush (though not alot of time left for that in advance of Thanksgiving), taking photos and doing holiday cards early. All those things will help. The key, I think, will be to maintain a relaxed attitude. Hope we all have sane and joyous holidays!

how to create a more sane holiday season????? plan ahead!!!! I will not wait until the last minute to put together my December Daily, buy gifts, or put the tree up late!!!! I will plan ahead!!! I will plan ahead!!! now if I can only stick to that!!! : )

This year we don't have to do the entertaining were going to parents and in-laws so will sit back and relax!!!!!

The holidays are usually a little crazy for us, which I love. My favorite time of the year Weather wise is summer...BUT my favorite time of the year Holiday wise is Now...Halloween through New Years and I like to pack in as much as possible.
That said, this year I'm in Kuwait and trying to organize everything and get it all done is nearly impossible. The only thing I've been able to do to help is Lists!! Lots of lists! Lol

I gonna celebrate the season the my whole family. For me this is the season to be with them. Also that means driving from one house to the other. This year will be special, 2 very cute nephews, for both their first Christmas, this will be soooo great.

I started my simplification in October by sending my family formal invitations to spend the holidays with us. We always travel to them. This year I want to spend the holidays at home. I would love it.

I absolutely love Shimelle's classes, so I would love to win a spot in this once since I haven't taken it yet! My husband and I are keeping the holiday sane this year by staying home and spending a quiet holiday with our cats.

Still have my little man's birthday to celebrate just before Christmas. Trying to get super organised so can enjoy his birthday and Christmas too.

I'm going to keep things simple and organized this year. I don't want to be stressed.

We're hosting several smaller groups of friends and family over the week's between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve - This way we'll get to spend more meaningful time with everyone we want to, without the added pressure of traffic and hectic scheduling on the actual holiday.

My goal this Christmas is to really celebrate family, memories and traditions. The last couple of years I felt like our Christmasses have become too commercial. So this year I am going to try my hand at giving only homemade and heartfelt gifts. Idea scares me a little since I'm not the creative type at all but I'm hoping in the long run it will be well worth it! Wish me luck and thanks for the chance to get a great start!!

I dream of a crazy Christmas! I want to bake cookies (great-grand mother recipe, traditional "biscuits de Noel"), I want to sing Christmas songs while preparing, I want to have my mother-in-law over for Christmas eve diner and decorate the table... Well, maybe it will not be possible, since we are in a house under renovation (and no kitchen yet)and a one year old to take care of. So I think "circumstances" will keep things "simple" for me! Maybe as a Christmas gift I will have central heating!!!! LOL. Seriously, to stay sane these days (with the baby, my full-time job and the work in the house) I simply take time each evening to ask myself what stressed me out this day and take action for it not to happen the following day. Example: I felt stressed out by being late every morning. Well I decided to start preparing all I could in the evening: search clothes in the boxes, prepare lunch box, take a shower... One day at a time, it is getting better.

Hi Ali
Hopefully being ahead of the game, lists and handmade decorations... starting now. Enjoying the time planning and getting ready rather than letting it become a big stress.

I plan to truley enjoy and cherish every day of the Christmas season. We had the funeral of a very dear person today and I plan to help his wife journal this Christmas!

Hello, with a "new" house under renovation, a one year old baby, a full-time job and a DH gone three weeks a month, I found a trick that works for me: each evening, I take 10 minutes to think about one thing that stressed me out that day and i take action for it not to happen the following day. Even if several things went wrong, I just pick one each day. For example, I was fed up with searching for clothes in boxes every morning (no furniture yet...). I went through all the boxes, and selected a very limited items to wear for the coming weeks, and gathered them in one box. OK I am wearing the same clothes all the time, but I feel much better in the mornings!

We have agreed that this years gifts (for there must be gifts, the anticipation and the thrill of giving is important even if the materia isn't) will be experiences rather than more stuff to keep in the closets. Theatre and movie tickets, gift-cards etc. This will still give me the pleasure of thinking of a gift -and making an artistic wrap for it- and the recievers will have the relief of knowing it is not something they will need to store in their already too full closets.

I'm hoping to focus more on the important aspects of Christmas, family and friends and try not to get sucked into the commercial side. Hopefully doing a daily journal will help to keep me on track :)

This year I want to take time off work so everything doesn't seem so rushed (only have 1 day off for Christmas Day) and really enjoy and get back that "Christmas" feeling I have been lacking in the past few years with so much to do in one day

In the past I always wanted to skip December and move right to January. This year however, I am going to try a new approach. I have already made lists in advance of the Christmas books that I would like to read, of the Christmas music that I would like to listen to and to think about the photos that I want to take. Hopefully this will give me something to fall back on when I need it.

Fro me, it has to be an informal relaxed affair. This year the emphasis is on handmade rather than excess.