Saturday, December 4, 2010

Cutting Back This Year

How is all of your holiday planning going friends?  I'm just where I want to be.  This year I'm taking the pressure off of myself to try and let the holiday spirit speak to me again.

My tree is up.  It's not all decorated, but who says you have to have a million ornaments on your tree?  Maybe I'll put some on if it seems like a fun thing to do.  If it doesn't it's O.K.  See where I'm going with this?

It alright to opt out of your yearly cookie exchange this year, or leave some of those cute holiday knick-knacks in the box, if it means you can enjoy yourself and your loved ones more.

I decided that cards were important to me this year and that was my first priority.  My cards have been sent out and I'm hanging the ones that we recieve on some twine that we strung up around our sunporch.  I bought some tiny clothes pins to hang them with & it only cost me $12.00 total for the twine and clothes pins.  Do you like it?



Oskar participated in a card exchange with his blogging buddies so we have lots of adorable pet cards on our wall.  They just make me smile!


You can see that Oskar is in the holiday spirit with his candy cane collar. 

I guess in my rambling way what I'm trying to say is don't put too much pressure on yourself to make the holidays "perfect".  Identify what's most important, make that a priority, and then do the rest if it sounds like fun. 

What are you doing to make your holildays less stressful?  I'll take all of the ideas I can get, lol!

12 comments:

Brenda Susan said...

Could not agree with you more! Rather than walking around complaining about the chaos of the holiday why not cut back and just do what is fun? We've been doing that for years and it is wonderful!

jamfiescreations1 said...

That is a great idea. I usually save past christmas decorations and use them mixed and matched the following year.

jamfiescreations1 said...

Oh, and thank you for the nice comment you left on my blog. It really means alot.

Unknown said...

Thanks! I needed this reminder, because the holidays stress.me.out! BAD!
I love the card hanging though. What a great idea!

Shawn said...

While driving to the grocery store today, I had this same conversation with Hubby. We are both at a stage in life if we get the tree decorated fine, if not ..that is OK too because we just want to enjoy Christmas without the stress. My tree is up but as of today..No decorations....the lights look beautiful! We brought all the boxes of decorations in the house and after a busy day the only thing I wanted to decorate is the old Hooser.
Shawn

Mimi N said...

I'm going to my mom's for Christmas so I'm not even bothering to decorate. LOL That's the kind of mood I'm in this year. I love those cards!!

~Meems

Sueann said...

I am decorating at a leisurely pace. One area at a time. One day I did the mantel...the next day I did the dining room table...etc., etc. Taking my time...enjoying life!
Hugs
SueAnn
PS Love your twine and clothes pin card holder. Very cool!

Emily said...

My tree is up and decorated--it's my favorite of all my decorations. I am only putting out a few of my favorite decorations this year. My family decided several years ago to give up the stress of holiday gift giving. Instead we gather for a good meal and quality family time. It has made our holiday much more enjoyable. If we do buy gifts, we try to help a child in need. Nothing is more rewarding than helping someone else!

Queenie Jeannie said...

Everything looks and sounds very festive and fun!! I'm only stressing about cards. Very few people are going to get them in time this year, and that makes me sooooo sad!

It's been a rough weekend and I'm praising God that tomorrow is Monday. It's my favorite freaking day of the week!!!!

And I don't see any PROOF that your package is unopened!!! Just sayin'....

LOVE YOU BACK!

Alicia The Snowflake said...

I agree with you completely! We can't do it all. We need to pick what's most important to us & our families.

BTW, I've never sent out Christmas cards. I know that's terrible. But I just can never seem to get them done. Oh well, there are worse sins in life ;)

Take care my friend!

Liz Mays said...

I feel the same way! I left my Snow Village in boxes this year. I just didn't feel like doing it.

Rachael said...

I am so excited about Christmas this year! We got a beautiful tree, I've decorated the house, and we're having Christmas morning at our house for the first time since Sam was born! I just can't wait. I was feeling apathetic about cards, but I've decided to do them. I can't wait until we start receiving one - I usually string them up a lot like what you did.

We are sticking to a budget this Christmas, and our shopping is about 1/2 done. I'm feeling pretty good about everything!