So if you know me, then you know I am a classic Type A personality. Combined with me being a Scorpio, you can only imagine how difficult it is to go with the flow during the holidays. Don’t get me wrong – I truly love the holidays, and I really do follow my own message about being stress free about the holidays.
The problem is that Type A individuals are very organized and don’t like to waste time. For us, multi-tasking is a way of life, not just a way to get more than one thing done at a time. So when it comes to parties, buying presents, and decorating, well…. You can imagine that those things to me are like running a business. A business of the holidays!
Here are a few things I’ve learned in the interest of keeping the family peace and help me relax as well:
It’s ok if the tree doesn’t go up on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Seriously to me, that’s a disgrace! I mean, who wouldn’t want to do that on Black Friday, before or after taking advantage of the sales. I’m pacing around where the tree is going to go, and everyone else is just relaxing and enjoying the leftover food. Don’t they understand the importance here? So this year we did it the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and it was really fun! I was totally fine with not doing it on Friday, and everyone was involved as well, rather than me doing it by myself.
It’s ok if the tree stays up after 12/25. Once Christmas is over, I can’t stand to look at the tree or any decorations outside. I’ve already moved on to my New Year’s resolutions and my plans for the next year plan of attack. The problem is that everyone else leaves their decorations up through New Year’s anyway. Plus, when I get in a hurry, I shove everything back into the box and it ends up getting broken or tangled up. So this year, I concede to keeping everything up until January 1st (but not a second later, OK? I can only compromise so muchJ )
I don’t have to create a holiday hobby. I’ve always thought that you are supposed to send Christmas cards and also do something artsy during the holidays. Well, I’m not artsy, but I have tried to make homemade candles, and the truth is that they are really complicated, messy, and end up costing more than the better one’s at the store. When you are only making 50 of them, the jars alone are just not cost effective. So this year I’m going to let that slide, although I did do a fun Christmas card with pictures, and I had a great time doing it at CVS as well.
My party doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s fine to keep it simple, let other people bring appetizers or dessert, and make it BYOB. Keep it casual, have some great music, and of course a signature drink is always good. Other than that, just remember it’s all about friends and fun! I’m good with that nowadays, because I want to have fun too!
Keep the presents simple. It’s so much more fun to shop with someone in mind and not a crazy list. I love buying for people, but I want to have fun during the shopping of it all. I know that I can find special gifts for the people in my life, and I know they will be happy with it, so there is no reason to go to ten different stores to get someone that “perfect gift”. The truth is that there are many perfect gifts, and the real joy is in the giving itself.
Have a wonderful and stress free holiday!
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