Dealing With Christmas Stress - Part 3

The last thing about Christmas that usually stresses me out is the thought of having to decorate the entire house.

Not this year. I have listed a couple of tips below to make holiday decorating quick and easy.

1. Add Christmas tree lights to mirrors and doorways. I know, the sprigs of evergreen and lights looks so nice, but I find that a cheap set of multi-colored lights around a mirror or door frame can quickly decorate a small room (like the bathroom).

2. Place baskets of ornaments on tables and countertops. We all have baskets lying around, and most of us probably have old ornaments that we don't hang on the tree anymore. Put them in a basket for an instant centerpiece. Add some ribbon and you have a very nice new decoration. If you want to do more, paint the basket to match the bulbs.

3. Add handmade snowflakes to windows and mirrors. My kids actually love to make snowflakes and tape them to the windows. Here is a great site with some patterns to use.

4. Another thing I do is decorate pillows with ribbon from past Christmas presents and wrap wall art and pictures like presents.

5. All you need to complete this look is to decorate the tree with traditional ornaments, bows and lights.

Dealing With Christmas Stress - Part 2

As promised, today I will share one of my secrets for dealing with Christmas stress this year. I am cheating.

That is right, the second thing I stress out about most years is all of the baking I have to do in order to take cookies everywhere I go. I am not gonna slave in the kitchen for hours upon hours trying to make the perfect cookie this year! I am going to start with some dough provided by good old Pillsbury, and go from there.

In fact, over at the Pillsbury site they have some pretty darn good looking recipes that I plan to use, as well as some of my own editing of their dough. Why reinvent the wheel? Most cookies consist of sugar, butter, flour, I think that is what is in the Pillsbury stuff . . . right?

And instead of making 30 different kinds of cookies, I am going to narrow in on a couple and do them really well.

How I Keep Stress Away at Christmas

I was thinking on my drive to work today that the folks on the radio are special. The woman on the morning talk show was going on and on about how stressed she was and her shopping is almost done, as is her baking and decorating. I was thinking how I had barely started those things and yet for the first year that I remember, I am not at all stressed.

Then, upon arriving to work and checking Christine Kane's blog as I do each day, I saw that she was also blogging about how to destress, and I figured I may as well add my $.02.

There are three things that usually get me stressed out around Christams time; gifts, baking, and decorating. I will spend the next three days telling you why I am not worried about these things this year.

Gifts: All I had to do to not stress about this is two things. First, I asked myself to quickly list what I received last year. I couldn't do it. I remember what my thoughtful husband got me, but for the most part, I couldn't remember the gifts. I am guessing that many people are like me; they remember that they were thought of by friends and relatives, but can't remember the actual gift. As long as you make the effort, there is absolutely no reason to stress over picking the perfect gift. It doesn't exist.

Second, I made a list of all the gifts I need to get. I have 22 purchases to make. Now, I don't know about you, but there are many days, at the outlet malls usually, where I can easily make 22 purchases in a matter of hours. Why is it that we insist on spending several weeekends at the malls this month of the year? Come on ladies, we can do this in a day or less. Again, the key is to quit looking for the perfect gift and instead do the best you can.

Do not let others stress you out, and please realize that none of us have the perfect home, gift, kids, husband, family. Enjoy whatever you do have!