📷 Brandi Kristina Photography
The holidays are the most stressful time of year for most. Even if you cut back on holiday get-togethers and activities it can still be overwhelming. With two kids at home I myself can get overwhelmed and feel the pressures of the holiday take over. I don’t know about you but I’d much rather enjoy my holidays. It takes just a little planning to make your holidays a little easier. Here are my top five tips:
FREEZE EVERYTHING
Seriously. I’m the queen of the freezer. Without it, I would never survive. Make ahead your freezer friendly foods like sausage balls, breads and cookies! That way you can sit back and enjoy the day instead of spending it in the kitchen. Take it a step further and have guests decorate their cookies as part of the activities. Then if it looks like crap that’s on them. 😂
GROCERY SHOP ONCE
Make a list of all the dinners, appetizers and desserts you will be making with a list of all the ingredients. Aside from fruits and veggies most things can be bought a month ahead of time and many perishables can be frozen frozen. (I told you I freeze everything). This keeps you from running around at the last second to gather ingredients and fighting the crowd.
WRAP BATCHING
What?! You know batching in the kitchen means making things all at once. Apply that concept to your gift wrapping. It’s exhausting to pull out all the wrapping supplies each time you have a gift to wrap. Pick one day or one night after the kids are in bed to just wrap away! Which brings me to another tip....
SHOP EARLY
There’s always going to be that last minute gift, but for the most part you can shop now. Make a list of everyone on your list and start your shopping right away. Most retailers are now doing Black Friday early. Take advantage of those sales now. Some retailers are even price matching themselves. So say you purchase a product from them and then the price is cheaper on Black Friday, they will actually price match it! No more excuses to wait.
ELF ON THE SHELF
Oh gosh. Do we even need to discuss this topic? It’s so much fun for the kids but let’s be honest; it’s so much work for the parents. It might be the number one stress in a parent’s life. Here’s how I make it easier. Pick one night to “craft” (make little signs, gather up any little props, and throw in some tape and glue). I put all my Elf projects in one box that I can discreetly get to every night. Make enough things for at least 10 of the nights. The rest of the days can just be things like putting it in a stocking or in the tree. That Elf doesn’t have to be creative every night.
Oh, one last one (so that makes 6) put all your lights on timers. It’s just one last thing you don’t have to worry about especially those outside ones. No one likes going out in the cold to plug and unplug.
I hope this helps you to relax a little and focus on the important things during the holidays. Isn’t that really what it’s all about? 💕