Journal Your Christmas Giveaway

I'm planning on doing as much as possible ahead of time, that way I can be involved in making memories with my family, not just overseeing them. On the 2Peas board there is a great plan ahead thread going on. Becca :)

I am going to try and not worry about not having "the perfect gift". I will not be wrapping gifts this year on Christmas eve.

My goals: plan less, spend less, DO less, but experience more, give *of* myself more, and feel more. No more trying to make the perfect holiday for everyone on the planet.

I hope being more organized and doing some pre-planning now will help me stay more in the moment during the holidays.
I've got two shopping days planned for November and I'm hoping I can say my gift buying is done before December starts!
Karen W.

I am taking a vow to just stay simple. I have also decided to do all homemade gifts and stay out of the stores. Not good for the economy, but good for my sanity.

I have been contemplating this for weeks now. I really don't know what I'm going to do! I need to make the holidays less stressful but I love having my house all decked out for Christmas. I need more peace and way less drama. Anyway to accomplish this would be so welcomed.

Funny you should ask, because my goal this year is to not be a crazy woman when it comes to things I feel like I HAVE to do around the holiday season. I'm going minimal this year, and I'm thinking that will free up some time for me to complete a December Daily project!

A few things that I've started doing the past couple of years to have a "sane" Christmas season:
-start early and do a little as time goes on and not trying to do it all the the week before Christmas (writing up the gift list, shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts, etc.)
-try to incorporate more experiences and not necessarily buy things to celebrate the season. And to make even the "simple" experiences special (getting dressed up to visit Santa, popcorn & hot cocoa on movie night, etc.)
-limit said experiences and not feel guilty saying, "no". Continue doing what worked and kids/adults liked doing last year, don't feel obligated to do things we don't like, incorporate new experiences, etc.
We really had a stress-free Christmas season last year b/c I really worked hard to make it that way. We enjoyed the holidays and didn't feel burnt out when they were over.

I've been working hard to have our house all organized so we can just enjoy the holidays with less stress.

To make our holidays a bit more "sane" this year, we plan to try and join our families together for one celebration. My parents will be joining us at my in-laws. It makes for a lot less house-hopping and more time to enjoy each other's company.

This year, I'm finally, finally going to do some baking in advance!

1. Get the foundation of my December Daily done early-- and this year I am combining Hannukah + Christmas instead of 2 separate books
2. Do a page a day
3. Relax and Enjoy the Season

At the moment we are in limbo with my husband's company moving to another city & most all of his type of job going along with it. So, my plan for this holiday season is to remember to focus on the moment. Not to worry about who gets what and where we have to be and when, but to just focus on the moment I am in and to savor each of those moments.

Ali first of all, Happy Birthday!!! Hope you are having a great one. As for us, our holidays will be crazier I think, because we are excepting our 2nd daughter any day now, but then again, it will be wonderful to actually have off all of the holidays; so I am prepared to plan as much family time in there as possible with lots of fun activities for my 3 year old. My December Daily is coming together very nicely and hope to get some photos uploaded to flickr very soon, thanks again as always!

buying my gifts early, in fact I'm almost done! Also gonna make my cookies early and freeze those, and the teacher's gifts are on my mind, I'm even gonna let the kiddos help!

I try to create a more sane Christmas season by planning ahead. I already have my Christmas planning binder set up for this year and I'm working on gift-buying. I'd like to get as much done before December 1st, so that I can focus on the fun stuff in December.

To keep my sanity during the holyday season I try to get a head start. One example would be my Christmas Cards. I make them every year by the end of November so they can be mailed on the first of December. It’s one less thing on my to “do list”.

We're not travelling this year to see family, Christmas will be at home with our children. While that might seem like more work, I think it will make life easier. I can't wait to spend Christmas day in my jammies with the kids!

Start early is my only way to be sane for the holidays. Already made my Christmas cards and started my shopping. I just want to focus on time with the family.

Thanks for all the cool inspiration. I love Christmas and this project makes it that much better!!

One thing I'm doing this year is taking time and enjoying every day. We are going to be making a lot of family gifts instead of store bought, they will be enjoyed more.

I'm making a list and checking it twice.We are going with a simple Holiday season and making it about family enjoying the time we spend together.We also sharing the to-do and food lists for our get togethers so that its not so stressful for one family member aka me.

Well, we started planning for Thanksgiving before Halloween and I'm already well underway with Christmas shopping. I'm now contemplating the Christmas card photo. Starting earlier is my big game plan for having time to actually enjoy the tree and the season without racing around.

I am combining my shopping trips and spending more time with family.

Lists, more pictures, more memories - that is how I am going to get through the season - Embrace imperfection has been my moto since taking you Y&T class. It does not have to be perfect, no one will remember the opps except me. Really want to start more traditions since we have no kids, just hubby and I.