It’s Monday again! See how fast time goes! For those of you reluctant to jump in to Christmas prep, think back to years past and consider some of those rushed feelings - maybe missed opportunities - or the feeling of exhaustion! We are not celebrating right now, simply doing some of the things that can eat up our time and prevent us from the things we most want to do with our families during the holiday season. So…. why not join us as we begin a new week!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to join some friends at a Crop (scrapbooking day) and I spent most of my day creating a fun countdown calendar for our family to enjoy this holiday season.

We do the usual countdown with chocolates (I have a cute felt hanging countdown that we have had for years) but this one is small and will be used to encourage us to dive into our collection of holiday story books.

Even though my kids are now 12 and 12 they still LOVE picture books, especially at Christmastime. So, inside each little drawer I will put a slip or two of paper, or maybe even a small photocopy of the book cover to guide us in our selection of books. We always read but I think this will be fun surprise each day for all of us. If you are interested in making this project, watch the CPO memory section for step by step instructions, coming next week!

OK - on to today… it’s wrapping day and a great opportunity to get a jump on the one thing many of us leave until the last minute. If you prefer to shop at the last minute or have your budget setup to shop in December then today can be used in preparation for your wrapping. Do you have supplies? Make a master list and add it to your shopping list so you can pick things up this week when you shop or pick things up a little at a time.

For those of you who have been making gifts or picking them up a little at a time - pick a time today and get your supplies out so you can get these items wrapped. Some of these items are a surprise so find a spot that you can store them. I use black garabage bags that can be easily recycled year after year. I find sorting by person is easiest and I use some inexpensive string or yarn which is color-coded so I can easily see what is what. I keep a master list of the gifts so I know what I have purchased, what is wrapped and I even use small stickers to help me identify what is in the package because I like to put things under the tree in a way that helps the opening order! An example of my list might be Name|TonkaTruck|Purchased|Wrapped|*Santa Sticker.

If you have an unwrapped gift in your house - please wrap it. When you can pull out your finished bags on Christmas Eve, open and place under the tree - then sit down and enjoy a quiet moment before heading to bed, you will be so glad you did!

Enjoy your day!

Helen

My week is so busy that I have found Sunday is my best day to pick up my groceries. This is also the day when I do a few errands to drop envelopes into the mailbox and at this time of year, I also take a bit of time to check a few gifts or holiday items off my shopping list.

Today my focus is just getting groceries - so I have my list with the ingredients I need over the holidays on hand. I will not buy everything but I will pickup a little at a time so I am not going out to buy a huge amount of stuff at one time.

When I get home I put the freezer stuff away but I keep it separate so it is not consumed - a bag or a basket is a good idea - if you have older kids who help themselves or a family who help with meals (I don’t!) then you might want to leave a note too!

As for the dry stuff - I recommend keeping these items together in a bin or a shelf where you know they won’t be consumed or used. When I get around to Wednesday, my project will be putting some shelves in a closet that I would like to use for storage like this . So for now, I am putting a basket into the closet in my room and will tranfer when I have my weekly project done.

If you are buying gifts be sure to keep a master list of your gifts and check off what you have purchased. When you wrap the gifts on Monday you can store them knowing you have an updated list which will save you wondering later - or worse, unwrapping because you can’t remember!

Whatever you do - just do something. When December rolls around and you are able to sit and enjoy your family and home you will be glad you did! A little at a time makes a HUGE difference!