Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here.

How is the Holiday Season treating you???

We watched Bad Moms Christmas the other night. You know, there are crazy shenanigans happening and the 3 moms are talking about how stressed out everything is/will be… and it got me thinking…. Does everyone have stressed out Christmases?  It is a genuine question. I feel like overall – the month of December is not too stressful for me, and it boggles my mind a bit that people are going to freak out over the holidays. Now I am not perfect …and I don’t always have all my shit together all the time….but I like to enjoy my Christmas… not let it drive me batty!!

 

What do I do to keep Christmas stress free? 

 

I start things early…
Shopping…planning…. you name it… I start anything I can early!!!

I start thinking about Christmas before Thanksgiving is here. I start shopping as early as possible.. There are times when it is summer time and I see something that I think my mom will like-what do I do???  I bought it and saved it for Christmas.  I buy little things here and there – throughout the year – Stocking stuffers, or odds and ends that I think the kids will like. 

I try to plan it out…
I like to start getting an idea of what we will be doing for Christmas at least a month (or more) before Christmas is actually here….. When will we see family? Do we have any Christmas parties to attend? If so-when?  This gets the ball rolling and allows me to start making a game plan and allows me to get an idea of when I will be decorating, baking, getting the tree…etc.  This year we will be visiting the fellows family on Sunday (in NJ) and then after the new year we will be driving to PA to visit my family (my family decided to push our Christmas get together for after the holidays to make traveling easier for everyone).  This means that I do not need to focus on having my family’s gifts and everything wrapped until after Christmas.  Planning…..its key!!

I try to follow a schedule…
The weekend after thanksgiving I start taking down the fall decorations. It is during this time that I clean and dust everything (if you know me- you know I HATE dusting lol) and get ready to start putting up the Christmas decorations!

During the first week of December I start putting up my winter (these decorations stay up December, January, and February) and Christmas decorations (These are only up for the Month of December – no tree yet – but the other decor goes up). 

And I really do mean the whole week…. I don’t rush it…. After work on Monday I started.. I put on Love Actually and got to work… Wednesday I watched the Grinch (classic Grinch) while I decorated some more….. Tonight I will probably watch Rudolf… I don’t pack it all into a weekend or a short time because I want to enjoy this time – not worry and stress about it. This really is one of my favorite tasks of the Holidays and I like to bask in it!!

The first weekend of December I usually bake some cookies… At this time I make a double or triple batch and freeze the excess dough…This way – throughout the rest of the month – all I have to do is grab the dough and bake.. I don’t have to worry if I have enough chocolate chips or butter – it is ALREADY done for me!

During the first weekend of December I also start wrapping… all those little odds and ends of gifts I got – I wrap them… and each weekend leading up to Christmas – I wrap a few more!  This way when Christmas eve is here – I am not pulling out my hair and staying up till 2 am wrapping gifts!

2 to 3 weekends before Christmas we go get the tree… and I give myself the weekend to get it up and decorated.. again – I do not like to rush this as decorating is my favorite!!

Roll with the Punches….
You have to be willing to roll with the punches and go with the flow… Nothing is ever “perfect”, be it during the Holidays or everyday life… You know it’s going to be hektic and a bit crazy and that is ok…  Easier said than done sometimes…. But try not to worry about things that are out of your control!!

Say No to things that are not important
During this time it is good to remember that you don’t have to do everything that everyone else does…. Just because you saw it on Pinterest doesn’t mean that you have to follow suit… Remember.. There is Pinterest Perfect and Perfect for you – find your perfect!!

Is your “perfect” baking cookies with the kids…. Or relaxing on the couch watching Hallmark movies??  What are your favorite things to do this time of year? Focus on that! Not what you think everyone else THINKS you should be doing.  Do you despise making Christmas cookies? Then pass on it… buy some from the store or specialty market and instead of wasting time doing something you don’t enjoy – focus that time on your family, focus on the things you enjoy and on the things that make this time of year special.

Prepare for next year!!
When you put away decorations this year – Pay attention to how you put them away.  Christmas tree decorations and lights should stay together, if you have a mantle that you decorate with stockings and the like – keep them together… 

Just like when you organize your house – keep “like with like” (and be sure to label your totes clearly!!). This will make things easier on you next year!! 

Homework to think about…

  1.  ask each of your family members what their favorite part of the Holidays is… That way – for next year – You’ll know what to focus on and won’t sweat the rest of it!
  2. Think about giving back… The holidays are ending, you and your family have a bunch of new things.. What about your old things? I know I am not the most graceful speaker/writer sometimes – but bare with me… You have just been given some amazing things right? And let’s be real – you’re an adult – and you probably have a ton of stuff already crammed into your house? Why not take some time to donate some of your …less used items…. It’s good to give and it makes some room for your new gifts….Why not donate them somewhere that they will get used and loved by someone else?? How many teddy bears does your child need? Can you teach them about the spirit of giving…. Food for thought.

Stay warm, and I’ll talk to you later!

 

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