When we recall pleasant memories of holidays past, we may be bringing up rosy memories because we were children and weren’t responsible for buying and wrapping gifts and decorating and cooking. Our mothers and grandmothers lacked many of the household conveniences we enjoy, and while there may have been a shared pleasure to a family going out to select and chop down a Christmas tree, or an extended family getting together to prepare a big holiday meal, they almost certainly felt over-extended and ran into frustrations with all the extra work surrounding the holidays, just as we do today.

The true secret to holidays then and now is to simplify. Be careful about what activities actually make it onto the family calendar, and be very careful about what commitments you make at this time of year.

Plan Ahead

• In November, sit down with the family and let everyone express what is most important to them for the holiday. A good way to elicit this information is asking each person to complete the following sentence: “It wouldn’t be our family’s holiday if we didn’t __________.” If your eight-year-old doesn’t even remember the skating expedition you took him on last December, that’s a good activity to cut from the list.
• Write on the family calendar any school concerts or performances. Also, consider how you want to help out at school. Baking? Donating juice? Doing a project? By letting your child know now, you have a better chance that the tasks assigned fit the time you have to devote to them.
• As soon as any adult activities are scheduled, book your favorite sitter immediately.

Simplifying Gifts in This Day of “Too Much”

American families of the past limited the number of gifts they gave simply because they didn’t rely on plastic. Without credit cards, family members bought only what they had cash for. Parents know from years past that if a child receives 10 different gifts, only one or two of them have “staying power.” (And think how much tidier your house would be if you could limit the number of toys in the house!)

• In preparation for the new toys your children will receive, ask them to sort through their old ones. Broken toys and incomplete games should be thrown out; “gently used” items should be donated. Some families pass on to cousins items such as tricycles, bikes and dollhouses so they are always being used by someone.
• Encourage your children to give you and any other relatives a “gift of themselves.” A beautiful drawing by your four-year-old or a list of “Ten Favorite Things I Like to Do With Mommy (or Daddy)” will bring everyone more pleasure than any purchased item could possibly bring.

Out and About

• For holiday outings, a large tote is indispensable. Use it to hold coats (roll them) and to store umbrellas, hats and mittens. Tuck the tote under your seat and enjoy the performance without worrying that your little one may have kicked the umbrella out into the aisle.

Ending in Style

• Enlist extra hands in putting away. If children are old enough to decorate, they are old enough to put away.
• Note what worked and what didn’t work this year. (How big was the tree? When did you feel over-scheduled?) Notes that you can refer to next December will make all the difference.

What tips have you found useful for getting through the busy holiday season?

This is sure to be one of those weeks when the balance fairies need to pay me a visit. With Christmas being ONLY 4 DAYS AWAY, my brother and nephew being in town from Milwaukee, client work to do, a blog to maintain, a house to keep clean, and my sanity hanging by a thread, I could definitely use some magical pixie dust that will help me get it all done.

It’s one of those weeks, when I have to be sure to write everything down, plan, plan, and plan, and remind myself to breathe. I’m sure we all have those times and perhaps many of you are sharing this moment with me this week as well.

With that, I decided to share a few things that I plan to do this week to help:

1. Use SimpleMom’s Daily Docket template to keep track of my daily to-do lists. I may even fill in a sheet for each day at one sitting and plan out my whole week.
2. Divide up my days to split my time between housework and blog/client work. If I specifically designate chunks of my days for each type of work, it’ll be better than just going with the flow of the day and risk getting caught up in one or the other.
3. Cook simple meals that will not take a lot of time. Meals like those on my sample weekly menu that allow for leftovers or two meals to be cooked at a time.
4. Use an online timer to limit my time online. I still want to ensure I don’t go MIA in social media, but I don’t have to be online hours at a time. Using the timer, will help me shut it all down when time’s up.

I’m sure that using these simple ideas will help me tremendously to stay sane. I may not get everything done I hope to, but I’ll feel less scatter-brained.

What do you plan to do this week to help you keep a low-stress level?

I hate that nowadays the hot phrase in our house is “You’re wasting time baby girl.” For one reason or another it’s always, “Eat faster,” or “Don’t take too long,” or “You have 5 minutes.” We’re often talking about time somehow or another.

But, it’s necessary. Life dictates it to be so.

I HAVE to be at work at a certain time. Which means she HAS to be to preschool at a certain time. And that means we have to leave the house at a certain time in order to avoid the bulk of traffic.

One must follow the other. And if one part falls behind by even one minute, the entire schedule is thrown off.

Now, I realize that teaching her a sense of time and that she can’t take forever to do something is a good thing. It’s not like she won’t have to follow a schedule when she starts school. So in a sense, I know that providing some very basic time management skills early on will do her good later.

But, it still sucks to hear yourself say “hurry” in a variety of ways so often. Especially when I just want to allow her to run and play freely without such a heavy sense of responsibility at the age of three.

So, I turn to you. My very own parenting experts.

What eases your morning and evening routines so that everything flows smoothly and right on schedule?

Lately it seems that I totally suck at this balance thing. Ok, maybe suck is a strong word. But, I can say that I need to definitely work on my time management.

Being sick hasn’t helped either. It seems lately I spend all my time either laying on the couch trying to get over a headache (or *something*) or I spend my time cleaning one area of the house only for the rest of the house to be in chaos.

And weekends are just not long enough. After both of us being at work all week, there’s not enough time in two days to do everything we need to get done. Forget fun or things we want to do, I’m just talking about things we need to do. Like laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, and of course spending time playing with our baby girl. Because that’s absolutely on the need list for us.

Obviously, I need a little help to get myself and our household back in order. I need to get back into a routine that allows for most things to get done in a week. I think I’d be lying to myself if I tried to get all things done. It just never works out that way.

So, let me share with you some articles I’ve come across lately that provide tips on saving time and organizing your work or life in general. I share because maybe you’re like me and are looking to be more organized and productive or maybe just need to reduce a little of the chaos in your life.

Or maybe you’ve got it all together and could teach me a few things. In that case, skip right along past these links and leave me a comment with your wise words.

Organization and Time Saving Resources

1. The 4 Hour Workday
2. Simplify Your Life Week
3. Real Simple’s 18 Timesaving Tips
4. Simple Mom’s Steps for Organizing…Life
5. Organized Grocery Shopping

Whether you’ve got it all together or need a little help, leave me a comment and let me know. I can definitely use either your tips or the comfort of knowing I’m not alone.

Image credit: mirrorwithmemory