It has been a while since I’ve had a “tea talk” with my friends…everyone has been busy with getting back into the school routine and all those fall activities and sports! So I thought it was time to “chat” with them, especially since the months ahead will be even busier. With that thought in mind, I asked my friends the following question…
“What are some things that you do to simplify the holidays?”
My friends shared a lot of great advice, so read on…
- Name: Christy
- Age: 49
- City: Nashville, Tennessee
- Occupation: stay at home mom
- Number of Children: two
I am going to TRY to get my Christmas cards out early this year!! We are going to host several gatherings with friends rather than exchanging gifts. The real “gift” is the time spent together. I but almost everything online. I will be decorating the inside of my house for Christmas before Thanksgiving.
- Name: Tammy
- Age: 49
- City: Pauline, South Carolina
- Occupation: homemaker
- Number of Children: 2 daughters, 1 heavenly daughter
- Name: Meredith
- Age: 40
- City: Ottawa Hills, Ohio
- Occupation: former licensed nursing home administrator…now a household engineer
- Number of Children: four
I try to shop locally, shop Amazon, shop from catalogs, AND avoid all the stores. Another thing I’ve started to do is have a babysitter some over and wrap for me or take my kids somewhere to play so I can wrap.
- Name: Julie
- Age: 48
- City: Sylvania, Ohio
- Occupation: stay at home mom
- Number of Children: three
One idea we do is to give the children a new ornament every year and I put them in the same decorative box each year to save on wrapping.
- Name: Lauri
- Age: 47
- City: Ottawa Hills, Ohio
- Occupation: mother, coach, and retired attorney
- Number of Children: two
1. Some years we have agreed to donate money toward our favorite charities. We were able to send 4 girls to school for a year in Afghanistan.
2. For Christmas Eve dinner I like to make things that are made ahead of time, or simple to put together at the last minute, like a holiday Trifle with fruit, cake/brownies and topping/whipped cream — with a combination that changes every year, but which is so easy and usually a big hit after a meal. My husband does most of the night-of chef cooking/grilling. He just doesn’t bake.
3. For hostess gifts/friends I typically buy a case of my favorite wines of late and cute little wine bags – maybe not creative — but being a wine sommelier student gives you also something interesting to talk about with the recipient.
4. For cookie baking we pick a date in late November/early December, include all of the nieces and nephews and have a group cut out and cooking baking session (lots of pre-hand washing), and freeze the cookies until Christmas. The cookies are also great to grab out of the freezer for kid events/parties.
5. And for gift selection, it’s hard to beat the ease of Amazon Prime and a small portion gets donated to our school’s parent association. I also like to simplify group gift giving by having White Elephant events, sometimes with a theme (bring what you really want for Christmas within the dollar amount, which makes for some interesting steals, or the gift must be white, etc.).
- Name: Wendy
- Age: 47
- City: Ottawa Hills, Ohio
- Occupation: financial advisor
- Number of Children: two
I have photos taken of my kids in August to use on my holiday cards, and I order the cards in October.
I like to make homemade meatballs. I double the recipe and freeze them. I serve half on Christmas Eve and half when we’re asked to bring an appetizer to a cocktail party. (Wendy is willing to share her family’s meatball recipe…let me know if you would like that, and I’ll include it in a future post)
I hire someone (Beth’s daughter) to wrap my gifts.
- Name: Christy
- Age: 46
- City: Toledo, Ohio
- Occupation: mom, wife, and corporate executive
- Number of Children: two
Shop early and lean on the services/ suggestions of professionals. I call my favorite stores and give them my gift giving list and budget for colleagues, teachers, service providers, etc. I ask them to text me pictures of various gift ideas. I make my choices via text; the store wraps everything and I pick it up at my convenience.
Choose various paper choices for different categories of gift. All Santa gifts are wrapped in one type of paper. All gifts from Mom and Dad in another type of paper. Cousin gifts gifts are wrapped in another type of paper.
Stock up on a selection of hostess gifts, so that you have some on hand, wrapped and ready to go.
- Name: Caroline
- Age: 45
- City: San Antonio, Texas
- Occupation: mom
- Number of Children: one
I learned this from my Jewish friend. To add the finishing touch to a Christmas tree, buy 2 or 3 bunches of babies breath and tuck small sprays over the branches. It really makes a tree POP.
Order the big food items precooked from your favorite restaurant. A turkey is a nightmare to cook, so we order a smoked turkey to be collected the day before. Everyone raves about it and we didn’t have to stress over it. That way, I have time to make the extra special side dishes.
No matter who will be sitting at at your table, write out some conversation starter cards and put one or two at each place setting. No matter how well you think you know someone, these random notes could teach you something new about your spouse, parent, or aunt. At my home, they have lead to some truly amazing conversations.
I love the variety of answers and advice! Over the years, I’ve definitely learned that “less is more” and I also try to get my shopping finished before Thanksgiving so that I can spend time with my family enjoying all the holiday festivities and merriment.
Do you have any tips or advice for simplifying the holidays? Share them in the comments below…
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