Better Days Column: Holiday Tips and Tricks

  • By Teri Stein
  • December 14, 2010
  • 255
                        
Every Christmas I want to be able to relax and enjoy the season, but it seems every Christmas I end up behind on everything. The holiday just sneaks up on you. One day it’s the middle of October and you’ve got plenty of time. Then it seems one morning you wake up and it’s just days before Christmas. I haven’t finished the decorations, the cards aren’t out, and homemade cookies – forget about ‘em. But just like Martha Stewart I’ve got my own holiday tips to help cope. Tip #1 – The Tree. If you are really running behind just throw some lights on the tree. Buy a couple of packages of candy canes and some red bows, and stick them all on the tree and you’re done. (I only used this tip a couple of times when I was desperately running late on Christmas but it looked good!) Tip #2 – The Cards. I always feel like I should write a personal message by hand in each card. Sometimes I have to get over that and skip it. Other times I write a short one page letter on the computer to put in the cards, but I don’t try to be braggy – just newsy. Sometimes I even use greeting cards as decorations. When a card arrives in the mail you can tape it to a door, mirror, china cupboard window, or sit it on a shelf. Then when Christmas is over it’s easier to undecorate and recycle your decorations. Old cards can be used to make gift tags and as holiday scrapbook decorations too. But where I excel is house cleaning so Tip # 3 – Holiday cleaning! First – get yourself a husband– one who is more serious about cleaning than you are. (This might take some time but it’s worth it.) This means that most of the time you don’t even have to say a word. He knows a party is coming up and he starts dusting and sweeping. It’s great, so now I’m ahead on my holiday party preparations. Second – what to do about those little piles and even the occasional gift from last year that never got put away? OK, THIS is where I really excel. I pick up an item or pile and study it. Where would be the best place for it? I determine this based on my two available last minute choices – out of sight in the basement or out of sight in the extra bedroom. Then I’m multitasking because I’m also getting my exercise taking piles and items, one at a time, up and down or down and up the stairs. Whew! What a workout but when I’m done our main floor rooms look amazing! The holiday party is a great success (as no-one looks in the basement or the extra bedroom) and when the New Year rolls around I’ve already got an instant resolution – clean up the basement and the extra bedroom. So, move over Martha, I think someone is gonna want to give me my own show.


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