The Elf Blog

Taking Down the Christmas Decorations

Now that the 12 Days of Christmas have passed, taking down your decorations is acceptable (though Catholic Churches in the US will celebrate through Monday). You can take steps now that will make preparations for next Christmas much easier:

• Don’t even bother storing decorations that are damaged. Either fix it now or accept that it is gone.

• If possible, store all of your decorations in one place, rather than scattered about. Next November, you don’t want to try to guess where you put the creche.

• Make sure your storage boxes and bubble wrap are in good condition. Replace any that are too worn or damaged.

• Label the boxes clearly.

• If you use a few things from a variety of boxes, consider taking the time to reorganize things as youput them away. That way you won’t have to open as many boxes next year.

Do you have any other tips for storing Christmas decorations well?

Don't Move On Quite Yet

Why is it that we spend weeks (or months) preparing for Christmas, then we can't wait to finish off our celebration and move on to the next thing?

December 25th is the first day of the Christmas season, not the last. Please don't take your decorations down yet. At the very least, keep your celebration through the 12 Days of Christmas -- through January 6th.  (I don't care what the stores tell you.  The 12 days start with Christmas, they don't end there.)

Enjoy the seaso.  There will be plenty of winter left when the Christas season is over.

A Big Weekend

This is the last full weekend before Christmas so, for most people, it's the last large block of non-work time to prepare. Unfortunately, that means that stores (department, grocery,big-box, boutique, etc.) will be packed this weekend. Unless you can get to a store at an off hour (like grocery shopping at 6 a.m.), I recommend avoiding stores this weekend.

If you haven't finished your shopping yet, many online retailers are offering free shipping or shipping upgrades through midnight tonight. Give yourself a break and finish your shopping online.

Even better, use this weekend to make Christmas preparations at home:

• Finish your decorating. Wrap everything you have purchased.
• If you still have gifts to ship, pack them for shipment (but avoid the post office lines on Saturday!)
• Prepare cookie doughs that can be refrgerated or frozen as logs. Then you just slice and bake your homemade Christmas cookies.
• Finish your cards (if you haven't already!)
• Do a quick tidying and decluttering of the house so you are ready for guests.

And if you are finished? Sit back and enjoy the season.

As for me, I'll be hosting the Elf Extravaganza. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by!

Christmas Countdown - 2 Weeks

Christmas is two weeks from yesterday. You should be moving into end game on your preparations. By the end of this week:

• You should complete your shopping. You do not want to be in the stores this weekend. They will be packed with impatient people in bad moods.

• Ship any gifts that you cannot deliver personally. Shipping this week means shorter lines in the post office and less chance that you’ll have to pay expedited shipping charges.

• Finalize your menus for holiday meals and purchase all non-perishable ingredients.

• If you haven’t done your decorating, you at least need a timeline.

• Try to wrap the gifts you’ve already purchased.

• You want your Christmas cards to go out no later than December 20th.

• Follow the schedule you made weeks ago for baking, parties, and other biog events.

• Get into the habit of doing a quick tidy and declutter each day so the house will be prepared for folks to drop in.

• Keep some easy refreshments (chips, cheese and crackers, cocoa, wine, soda, sparkling water, etc.) on hand for guests who drop in.

You’re in the home stretch. If you’ve been following this countdown from the beginning, you should be just about ready for the holidays!

Of Trees and Wreaths

For me, Christmas a full sensory experience – sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell – from wine and cider mulling on the stove to cookies baking to the smell of fresh pine in a tree or wreath.

Because I do not spend Christmas at Elf House, I typically do not have a real tree. Having a real tree requires your presence to make sure it stays watered to avoid a fire hazard. Also, you need to sweep up fallen needles fairly regularly.

But since I love the smell of pine, I buy a wreath that I can hang on my front door. (As an added bonus, even very nice wreaths are far less expensive than trees. Coming or going, walking the dog or greeting a guest, I breathe in the scent of the season. You could also hang the wreath indoors if you choose, though there would be the pesky needle issue.

Where do you come down on the real versus artificial tree question?

Christmas Countdown - (Less Than) 3 Weeks

It figures, I go away for a week and the blog gets a ton of visitors!

But better late than never.

Here’s your Christmas Countdown list for this week:

• Any gifts that need to be shipped have to go this week. If they are going outside the US, you're already pushing it.

• Finish up your cards and get them in the mail.

• Continue shopping. To avoid rush shipping charges or unexpected back orders, complete all online shopping.

• You might want to begin wrapping the presents you've bought.

• If you are hosting a party, confirm attendance and shop, cook, and bake.

• Decorations should be up this week (unless you keep to the German tradition of putting up the tree on Christmas Eve). You don’t have to do everything all at once. In fact, it can be very pleasant to do a little bit each day and slowly watch the house come alive with the spirit of Christmas.

• Decide what you will wear for your Christmas party, for Christmas Day, and for New Year's Eve. Drop off any necessary dry cleaning. Make necessary purchases. Even plan your accessories. It's not a bad idea to put the accessories in plastic bags and attach it to the clothing hanger with a clothespin (this hint is especially helpful if you have small children).

• Make final decisions on Christmas baking and on your major holiday meals so that you can begin purchasing the non-perishable ingredients.

Christmas Countdown: (Less than) 4 Weeks!

 

We are now under 4 weeks until Christmas!  It’s time to pick up the pace.

 

• Work on finishing up your Christmas cards.  You want them in the mail no later than December 15.
• Start your shopping in earnest. Decide how you shop best: a marathon or a bit at a time and schedule the time you need. Ideally, you should have at least half of your gifts bought before December 7^th.
• Mail gifts that have a distance to travel (anything outside the US).
• If you have some time, wrap the presents you’ve already bought.
• You may wish to start your decorating.  You may find it easier to do a little decorating each day.  It breaks up the work and you get the joy of watching your house be filled with Christmas.
• Begin finalizing your menus for Christmas entertaining as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
• Make your New Year’s reservations.

Christmas Countdown - 6 Weeks

Six weeks from today is Christmas! (Deep breaths. It will be ok!)

From this point on, our preparations will intensify (with a bit of a break next week for Thanksgiving preparations and celebration.)

So here’s your task list for this week:

· If you are making gifts or decorations, keep working. Ideally, you will be finished by the end of November.

· On your master calendar for the season, schedule your major preparation tasks: parties, decorating, baking, wrapping, etc. Also, take the opportunity now to block out a few days to just relax at home with your loved ones, drinking cocoa and watching movies.

· Plan what you will do to decorate. If you need to purchase anything, you should do it now.

· If you haven’t already done so, start working on your cards. By the end of this month, you’ll want your cards to be purchased (duh) and addressed.

· Begin shopping. Any gift that needs to be shipped should be purchased by the end of the week. You do not want to pay shipping fees greater in value than the gift.

· Finalize any plans for entertaining during the holiday season – through New Year’s. If you are hosting, decide what the event will be, when it will be, who you will invite, and what you’ll need to prepare. If you want to go somewhere on New Year’s Eve, make reservations now.

· Decide what varieties of cookies you will bake. Make sure you have the proper pans, utensils, and ingredients, as well as an appropriate stock of parchment paper and storage containers.

· Check your stock of stamps, shipping materials, address labels, and wrapping supplies. Purchase anything you need. You do not want to be standing in line at the Post Office and have to go to the back of the line because your package doesn’t have the right tape.

I know this seems like a lot, bit much of it is just thinking through planning or taking little steps to accomplish tasks. Believe me, when you are not going insane the week of December 17^th, you’ll thank me.

Why Holiday Planning Scares Us: Part 3

Today I’ll look at the final major reason that I think folks are intimidated by celebrating the holidays.

Over the last few years, the number of “lifestyle” magazines, books, and television shows has grown exponentially. There are entire channels dedicated to home improvement, cooking, and lifestyle. Craft books are a growth genre in the publishing world.

While these are excellent resources (I learn a lot from them myself), they do create unrealistic expectations.

People feel like they’ve failed because they don’t have a perfectly set table with the perfect meal in the perfect house with the perfect family. Why bother putting thought into a gift if you don’t have time to handcraft your wrapping paper and gift tags? Why bother hosting a party if you don’t have matching serving trays for the hors d’ouevres? Why bake Christmas cookies if you don’t hand paint the frosting in perfectly rendered forms?

As much as I love watching these shows, I’ll be honest: There are less real than Kim Kardashian’s wedding! These shows (and the books and magazines) have large staffs, including specialists in each area (décor, cooking, various crafts, etc.). No one person is an expert in all these areas.

They also have far larger budgets than real people are ever likely to have. Who among us can afford to purchase a dozen turkeys so that only the prettiest is photographed for the magaizine cover? (And who would tolerate that waste even if we could afford it?)

Holding ourselves to unrealistic standards is the surest recipe for disappointment and it fuels the desire to avoid holiday preparations.

So here are your marching orders: Celebrate with the people you love. Do your best with what you have (both skills and goods). Remember, the point is to enjoy spending time with people – not to get ratings or newsstand sales. In truth, the mistakes and disasters will be the stories the family recounts for generations. Just celebrate – and let the chips (or the decorations) fall where they may.

Christmas Countdown: Ten Weeks!

Christmas Eve is only 10 weeks away! From here on out, the countdown will be weekly. (Until we get to the last week when things go daily.)

But before I start with the task list, I want to spend some time on why.  Why should you use the Christmas countdown?  Simply, because it will make your life easier and less stressful.  You will be able to achieve your goals without killing yourself.  The goal of the countdown is to space out your Christmas preparations so you can enjoy the season and be finished by Christmas Eve.  Just think how great you'll feel when you wake up on December 24th and realize there is nothing left to finish apart from enjoying the day!

First, finalize your list of gift recipients.  If you have already bought some gifts, write down what you've bought.  You can also jot down any ideas you might have. You may want to color-code the gifts that will have to be shipped. 

Second, finalize your Christmas card list.

Third, if you will be throwing a party, make your guest list and let folks know of the need to save the date (if you haven't already.)

Fourth, using your calendar, block out any existing engagements from November 1st through New Year's:  family, work, religious, social.  Also, block out some rest time.  You'll need it.

Finally, if you make any gifts, make a list of the things you plan to make and the supplies you'll need.  Make sure you have all necessary supplies on hand or that you have a plan to get them!  Make sure you schedule in crafting time.

These lists will be the basis of our efforts over the next ten weeks, so make these lists and check them twice!