Trying to Feel Better

I am sorry I had to stop posting for a few days.  I have been dealing with food poisoning or a bad stomach virus.  Ugh!  I hope to resume posting as soon as I get my strength back.

31 Days to Stree-Free Holiday-Family Time

Today I would like to discuss scheduling family time during the holidays.  It is easy to get caught up in holiday activities and realize you really didn't get to spend some fun quality family time.  I live in Tennessee and if you are looking for some fun family time activitieses for all ages I have a couple of ideas. 

The first one is in Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel for The Christmassy DreamWorks Experience and you can find it here.  My family went a couple of years ago and it was great!  My son still talks about the Ice! exhibit.  The Opryland Hotel can be expensive.  Don't get me wrong it is very nice but if you would like another alternative try staying in Mt. Juliet, TN which is about 10 minutes from Gaylord and they have plenty of places to eat and shop.  I give this place a 10.  You can find the Mt. Juliet information here.  Oprymills is also reopen which is located next to the Opryland Hotel.  The Oprymills information is here. Parking prices are very high in downtown Nashville and at the Opryland Hotel and it is hard to find a variety of places to eat.  I would rather spend my money on shopping and it is always good to have a variety of restaurants when traveling with children which are the another reasons why I recommend Mt. Juliet at Providence Marketplace (no charge for parking). 

The next location is Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains.  I do not live very far from this location and it is worth the trip.  The link for Winterfest is here.  Dollywood is also located here!  Here is a link to Dollywood.  My recommendation is if you are planning a trip to this area is to rent a cabin.  The rates for a hotel room are just as much as rental rates for a whole house.  Imagine sitting in a rocking chair by a fireplace with some hot chocolate and a good book.  Sorry, I was daydreaming for a moment. 

Tennessee welcomes you!

Disclaimer-I am not being paid by any of the companies mentioned.

31 Days to Stress-Free Holidays-Home Maintenance

Today I am going to focus on home maintenance.  Sometimes I like to enter my house from the front door and pretend I am a guest.  I know this my sound silly but it gives me a perspective of what a guest in my home my feel or see.  Is it welcoming? Does it smell good?  Do I see any minor repairs that need to be made (I want to stress minor repairs)?  Does it show my family's personality?  Does it appear cluttered?  These are just are few of the questions I ask myself as I go into each room and make a list of items to change.  This is very important if you are planning to host a party or having overnight guest in your home.  It is also important to set aside a day or two to make the minor repairs instead of rushing around at the last minute. 

31 Days to Stree-Free Holidays-Shopping Lists

Today I am going to focus on a shopping list for the holidays.  There is probably some items that can go on the shopping lists from my previous posts.  I recently discovered on Pinterest a site that has great printables for the holidays.  The site is Life Your Way and the link is here.  They also have a great worksheet for Christmas cards that could be used with my post here.  Please feel free to look on my Pinterest boards under Things To Make for the Christmas Planner pin.  

 

31 Days to Stress-Free Holidays - Inventory (Decorations)

A holiday decorations inventory is a very important process to keep the  holidays stress-free.  Have you ever had a year when a string of lights will not work or your pre-lit tree will not light up?  Most stores already have decorations displayed and even discounted.  Also, most decorations are picked over a month before the holiday and they are already putting out decorations for the next holiday. 

Questions to consider during this process:

Do I have lights for the tree (real or artificial)?  Also, consider lights for the outside?

Does my pre-lit tree work?

Should I keep the same theme or color for my decorations?

Do I need additional decorations for parties?

Do I have enough batteries or the right kind of batteries for certain decorations?

Did I buy decorations on clearence last year?  Do I know where they are?

Are any of the current decorations worn or faded?

Are there any decorations to discard, donate, or take to consignment?

The next step is to make a list to have ready when you are shopping.  The list is also helpful as you find items you need on sale.

I encourage you to schedule a time for this process to help make your holiday stress-free.

31 Days to Stress-Free Holidays-Cards

Today I am going to talk about cards.  I used to stress out around the holidays over cards because I tried to do all the work.  I admit that I can be a perfectionist when it comes to cards.

 

Boxed Cards - Stores seem to be putting out Christmas items earlier every year.  This can have its advantages for some items.  If you prefer boxed cards over photo cards  I encourage you to go ahead and purchase your cards and start (leisurely) getting them ready to mail the day after Thanksgiving.  There is nothing more stressful than looking through picked over boxes of cards in December.

Photo Cards - I like to send photo cards because we have several friends and relatives that live out of town or out of state.  They enjoy seeing how much our son has grown.  I decided a few years ago to let a professional photographer take our picture for our photo cards.  I used to stress out over getting the right picture, spending hours editing, and then creating the card.  If you choose this way go ahead and schedule an appointment with a photographer.  Many photographers are heavily booked a month prior to a major holiday.  I will be discussing holiday protraits later in the 31 day series. Some photographers will provide a CD of their images for you (of course, for a price).  I like this idea though because they are already edited and I can order cards from Shutterfly, Snapfish, or Walgreens.  You can actually go ahead and order cards if you have your picture ready.  They have some beautiful designs this year and they usually have coupons.  Disclaimer-I am not being paid by the companies mentioned.

 

Whether you send boxed cards or photo cards I recommend putting the planning of your cards on your calendar.

 

What kind of cards do you send for the holidays?

31 Days to Stress Free Holidays-Calendar

The first step to become stress-free for the holidays is to get your calendar and a pencil.

 

I may sound old fashioned but this is how I like to start and then transfer it to my Cozi calendar.  I will talk about Cozi later in the month.

 

I like to start by scheduling events that are set in stone.  example: Church Programs, parties, and community events.

The second step is the main reason I use a pencil.  I schedule tentative dates for events.  I place a star beside the event for me to know the date may change.  This helps me to not forget about the events and to watch for the date.

 

I have always wanted to host a Cookie Exchange at my house and I am going to schedule it beacuse I am more likely to host if I set a date for it and plan.

 

We will be scheduling other items during the 31 days.

 

Hopefully my calendar will not fill up to quickly.