Tips for Managing Holiday Gatherings

Getting together with friends and family is one of the joys of the season. It can also be a trial when personalities clash or the event arrives before you are ready. Whether you are hosting the gathering or attending it, here are a few tips to lessen the stress.

Deciding what to wear is one of the great stressors for gals who often plan the wardrobe for the whole family. Make that decision long before the day of the event and hang the entire cleaned and pressed outfit, including underwear and accessories, on one hanger. When it is time to dress, there is no second-guessing, the right underwear is not in the dirty clothes hamper, and you do not have to scramble to find the missing snowflake earring.

When giving a party, be ready a half an hour early. I have never hosted a party when someone did not arrive before the stated start time. If it is a dinner party, have a few help-yourself appetizers set out for the early arrivals to nosh on while you put the finishing touches on the meal and table setting.

Be prepared for an unexpected guest by having a place setting in reserve and a plan in your head for where you will seat the extra guest. Under the best circumstances, no unexpected visitor will show up, but if one does you are prepared and cool as a cucumber as you squeeze him in next to Grandpa.

A hostess gift is a nice gesture, but do not expect the hostess to set out your home baked goods or wine. It is her choice whether to share your gift or save it to enjoy later. I saw a party brought to a standstill last year because a guest insisted that everyone taste his homemade snickerdoodles and peppermint Schnapps, even though the party had a carefully planned Felice Navidad theme. As a guest, follow the host’s lead and let it go his way. As a host, just say “ Thank you for the lovely gift. I am going to certainly enjoy this later.”

Steer clear of confrontation by having a few stock phrases for irritating and disagreeable encounters. Some of them are: “ I can’t say I agree, but what an interesting idea.” or “ Let’s talk about this another time” or “Look, there is Leo. I have been looking for him. Excuse me.” Then go somewhere else quickly.

Planning and preparation are the first to steps to organizing and they are good ways to take stress out of holiday gatherings.

Have a terrific holiday and may all your gatherings be happy ones.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransition.net

Plan for Easy Holiday Decorating

I just finished going through the weekend sales fliers, trying to decide if there was a bargain or two I needed to pursue. While none of the sales tempted me, I did notice that several department stores featured storage boxes for Christmas decorations.

It really is a smart idea to let consumers know that these convenient storage tools are available at the time that many of us are hauling out our decorations and finding that we did not do such a good job of putting them away last year. Lights are tangled, pretty tree ornaments are damaged and there is a piece missing from the nativity set (guess we will have to settle for we two kings of orient are)

In a few weeks, when it is time to put those ornaments away again, give yourself a break for next year. Try these simple hints:

Store decorations in see through boxes of uniform size or clearly labeled opaque boxes. Buy those custom decoration storage boxes while they are on sale and throw away the ratty cardboard boxes as you unpack

Roll strings of lights around coffees cans or similar sized cans with lids. Store the extra lights in the can with some paper towels or other batting to keep them from rolling around and breaking.

Store decorations according to the room in which they will be displayed. Next year you can choose to do one room at a time without lugging out all the decorations.

When you put the decorations in the storage place, go by the last in, first out rule. If you put the Christmas tree up first, put that closest to the entrance so you can remove it and get it set up as your first decorating step.

Next year decorating will be a snap!

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Treat Yourself to an Organized Happy Holiday

In our book, Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season. Before the carved pumpkin begins to sag, it is time to make plans for Thanksgiving, then Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza arrive followed by New Year’s celebrations which present another chance to resolve to do better next year- to get a handle on the celebrations before the celebrations handle us.

Don’t wait to make that New Year’s resolution. Here are a few tricks that will let you treat yourself to a happier holiday season. Take a few simple steps now that will help you save time, money and your sanity.

1. Label sections of an expanding folder for each holiday. At the front of the folder place a calendar with October, November and December.
2. List the activities you expect to do for each holiday. (make costumes, clean guest room, make cupcakes, plan church pageant, purchase synagogue tickets, buy gifts) and give each activity a completion date.
3. Review your lists and make sure you have not overscheduled your time. Get help if you need it and eliminate some activities if you need to.
4. Review your calendar daily to evaluate your progress and determine if you need to adjust your expectations or your activities.
5. As you complete an activity check it off the list. Also retain receipts, coupons for items you want to buy or ideas, patterns and recipes in the appropriate section. This saves time searching for that perfect decorating idea you know you saw in some magazine (or was it the newspaper?) last month.

You will probably be surprised at the extensive list you end up with, especially if you have school activities, work activities and worship activities along with family and social obligations. Knowing what you have to accomplish is the key to getting it done. It allows you to allocate time and resources that are necessary to accomplish the task without getting overwhelmed. It also allows you to take advantage of downtime to accomplish tasks that do not have to be done at the last minute, and to save money by purchasing things you know you need when they are on sale.

An organized approach makes holidays more happy than harried.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransition.net