The most wonderful time of the year can also be the most stressful time of the year. The hap, happiest season of all, often is the bus, busiest season of all. While few would dispute that reuniting with loved ones, getting together with friends, sharing in the excitement of Santa with children are highlights of the season, Christmas is, to be blunt, a lot of work. It’s extra cooking and cleaning and decorating and buying and wrapping and social engagements and…… you get what I’m saying. It’s a lot of added “stuff” to deal with and often a stretch to budget and time limitations.
Organizing is all about keeping what is truly valuable to you, easily accessible. It’s about taking ownership of your life, your things and your time. If right now you are feeling at the mercy of all the extra “stuff” and commitments of the season, you might want to re-evaluate and decide what is worth the effort and what isn’t. What can you delete, what can you delegate, what can you diminish from you to do lists and schedules and if not for this year, for next?
I know easier said than done. But start small (is last week’s column ringing in your ears?). Eliminate one of the dishes from your menu. Decide to have a lunch outing with friends in lieu of a gift exchange. Buy the baking and use canned cranberries. Appoint (with authority) your husband to greeting and beverage duties. Spend your time doing the tasks you like doing and, when at all possible, delegate the ones that you find painful. If you’re a baker, spend an afternoon baking while your eight-year-old daughter, niece or neighbour tackles the wrapping. Another idea is to have a chore jar at the end of the meal. Everyone gets assigned a job (whether they object or not). For example, cousins Joe and Georgie clear the table, brother-in-laws Rick and Bob put away the extra tables and chairs, Nieces Katie and Jordan look after the little kids. Etc. You may hear some grumbling initially but my experience is that it makes for some entertaining situations (especially if you’re creative with the job distribution) and everyone enjoys it. And if they don’t enjoy it – who cares!? You get help
Ahhh the chaos that is gift opening! To get even a small handle on that inevitable mess, I can suggest having recycle and garbage bags on hand for Christmas wrap and cardboard. Give one to everyone and make each person responsible for disposing of their own wrapping. You can also give everyone a box or container that they can put their own gifts and stocking stuffers in as they unwrap them. Following the opening, the containers can then be immediately put in appropriate rooms or vehicles.
Last year I discovered the handiest tool. It’s called a Safe Cut (about $10 and available at Home Hardware). It cuts through all the hard plastic and hard-to-open packaging. Ironically, it comes on the inside of a hard to open plastic package. Anyway, it’s so helpful to have on hand Christmas morning.
It’s Christmas Eve and here’s hoping that in all the frantic doing of the season, you take some time to just be …and enjoy. As I finish writing this, snowflakes are slowly falling to the ground and it’s hard not to feel festive. My warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and an utterly unclutterly amazing New Year!