Happier Holidays Begin in September

I know no one wants to think about the holidays yet, it’s still technically summer but if you’ve been in some stores lately, you know that the holidays are looming large.  Just the thought of the holidays from your childhood can bring that squishy feeling of nostalgia. Soon that dreamy smile turns to beads of sweat, glazed eyes and twitchy panic of all that lies ahead of you.  You want to create that same magic for others in your life whether its your kids, spouse or even parents if they’re in town.  Creating magic takes work and these are some ways to make sure you don’t suffer from holiday burn out before the season even starts!

Set (and stick with) your budget.
Remember that it’s not how much you spend that’s important. Showing your love doesn’t mean going broke. Consider doing homemade gifts like body scrubs or loaves of your famous quick bread. No one wants to cook breakfast the day after a holiday so a thoughtful gift package will be appreciated!

Keep your ears perked
How many times have you been shopping with someone and they said “oh, that’s cute!” and when holiday time rolls around, you’re at a loss of what to get them.  If you keep your ears perked from this point on, when that phrase rears up, try to discreetly take a pic of the item or pretend you’re sending a text a few minutes later with the name of the item and where it was so you can go back and snag it.  This is especially nice with stocking stuffers and small things you can grab.  I know from experience when you see it, buy it because nothing is ever guaranteed to be there when you do “official” holiday shopping.  Same goes for social media.  Often people will share shirts, purses, toys, etc on their page with “OMG, this is so cute.”  Well they’re not usually going to go to the trouble of sharing it if they didn’t want it and the more observant friend/family member (that would be YOU) will get a big smile when they open your thoughtful gift!

Never use your family as guinea pigs for a new recipe on a holiday!
Trying a new recipe for a holiday ON a holiday is asking for trouble.  You want to practice now and make any adjustments and get your confidence up.  That way, when the big day comes; you’re comfortable making the dish.  (Or realize now that it doesn’t taste like you thought and move on to the next test dish.)  The holidays come once a year, and people look forward to them all year long.  You don’t want your new-to-you recipe remembered for all the wrong reasons.  These are how legendary fails live on for generations.

Research gifts and start holiday DIYs now
If you are on a limited budget but still want to gift something to co-workers or delivery people, food gifts are often appreciated especially if it’s a dish you’re known for.  If you don’t have a particular signature dish, now is the time to start researching stuff like quick breads or muffins and picking up paper baking dishes as you see them on sale.  Or grabbing some quart sized mason jars and looking up mason jar food gift recipes that you can give.  Get acquainted with sites like Picmonkey or similar sites so you can create cute little labels for them.  (Or do searches and bookmark sites with free Christmas tag printables all ready for you if you’re not the crafty type!)  If I may make a suggestion, these shortbread tea cookies are always a hit not just because they’re SO dang cute but the shortbread is mouthwatering.

If you’ve got a Pinterest board from Christmas’ past with virtual dust on it, go back through the projects you pinned and purge the ones that no longer interest you.   Pick one or two projects like ornaments or an easy decoration for your porch and start now.  The craft stores are stocked and ready and you’ll feel accomplished actually doing it!  If you wait until mid to late October, all bets are off because you know darn well you’re probably not going to do it.  (*raising hand*)

Test your lights
Just because you put the lights away in working order doesn’t mean they’ll be working when the holidays roll around. Give a quick test now to see if any strands are out or branches on that expensive prelit tree, so it doesn’t spoil the holiday spirit when it’s time to put up the tree.  We swear by this Light Keeper.   Our lights on our tree are not common so any time there’s been a strand out, this baby has saved our bacon.

Purchase thank you cards and holiday stamps now
You can find thank you cards at craft stores and even dollar stores that have Christmas colors but aren’t necessarily Christmas/holiday specific.  Places like Hobby Lobby have 40% off coupons available on their site all the time even if you find holiday specific ones (yep, Christmas stuff is out!), you can snag them for less.  It doesn’t have to be holiday time to buy holiday stamps.  You can stock up now and keep them handy for when it comes time to addrees Christmas cards.

Speaking of which…

Update your address book. 
I have several people who move almost yearly on me and I always send a quick message “hey, you still at “123 Main St?” and many times I’ve gotten back “no, I’m here now.”  There’s nothing more irritating than getting a Christmas card back especially if it’s close to the holiday.  So now is a good time to check in with people and see if they have moved or their leases are up and plan to move before the holidays so you can check back when they’re settled.

Put together those holiday playlists.
If you’re hosting or even just want some good tunes to up your holiday spirit anytime, selecting it now will stop you from just schlepping a bunch of albums together and calling it done. That can be fine too, or you could always put it on shuffle but taking the time to search out some new to you Christmas music can be fun. (I’m looking at you “Christmas Day” by Johnnyswim which turns us into puddles every time!) I love going with instrumentals like Beegie Adair or classics sung old school with Steve Tyrell or Tony Bennett for just chilling by the fire. For game nights or more festive gatherings with friends, I get some upbeat classics that everyone knows. For Christmas Eve with my mom and Christmas morning with my honey, it’s our tried and true list with our childhood favorites like Kenny Rogers, Oak Ridge Boys, (can you tell I grew up when country crossed over to the pop charts?) and Pickwick Living Voices but I’m not gonna lie, Billy Idol’s Happy Holidays also made it on there because Billy Idol.

Start better daily cleaning habits now
I didn’t inherit my Grandma’s cleaning gene but after her passing this year, I wanted to make an effort to honor her by attempting to have my house (almost) company ready more often than not.  I have always been a “dish soaker” and “I’ll get that tomorrow” kind of person and coming down to last night’s soaking taco skillet is no way to start your day.  I’ve been trying to live by the motto “if you see something (that needs done), do something!”  Need to swap out the dishes from the dishwasher or clear off the table but don’t feel like it?  Guess what, you’re not going to feel like it in two hours either.  Just do it and it’s done.  I know it sounds simple but if that hasn’t been your way, it’s not simple.  If you need a nudge in the right direction, so many people I know swear by the old school site FlyLady.  She helps you set up good cleaning habits so you’ll have less clutter and a clean home on the regular.  I’ve got a long way to go but I’m doing pretty good so far!  That will make entertaining and not having a list a mile long of what needs cleaned around the holidays one less thing to stress about!  (Just don’t open my bedroom door.)

Start (or keep up) your fitness routine
From this point on is what I call “bulking season.”  We’re about to get slammed with pumpkin spice everything, comfort foods a-plenty, baking genes are activated and temptation is everywhere.  While exercise certainly helps combat some of the sins of the lips (many you can find here!), it serves a much better purpose…stress relief.  It doesn’t matter if you exercise in the morning or at night as long as you do it.  As someone who has lost a significant amount of weight, I can tell you that while exercise for weight loss is nice, exercising for mental health is way better.  It doesn’t have to be long or torturous or even cost you any money.  We workout at home and Fitness Blender is one of our go to workout sites.  Over 500 workouts for free.  Don’t like formal exercise?  Do stuff you love!  We kayak and paddleboard in the summer and fall and snowshoe and ski in the winter if we’re blessed with snow.  (Not nearly enough in our book)

*Bonus tip for those hosting guests*

Deep clean guest room
If you’re going to have guests over the holiday season, now is the time to dig into the closets and tidy up drawers.  If things aren’t in bins in the closet, purchase a few and start your piles of keep, donate and trash.  Keeps go into the bins and you can use a label maker to make it easier to see what’s inside in the future without rifling through it.  This is the one I use and it makes things so much easier!   You can even flip the labeled side to the back before guests come because if you think they’re not going to snoop in there or your drawers, you’re sorely mistaken.  These drawer organizers can make unruly desk drawers look like you give a darn.  Look, no one wants to do it but right now is when you have more time to do it and not panic when you remember your in-laws are coming in two days.  If you want to keep them out of your closet or at least hint at such, this over the door clothes hanger with about 5-10 hangers depending on how many guests you have will help keep their outfits accessible.

I hope these tips give you a good place to start preparing for the best holiday season yet!  You’ve got this!