Get organized for the holiday season with plans, printables, and Christmas inspiration.  

Seven Tips for Sparkling Christmas Letters
Tips for holiday letters
Cynthia Ewer

Christmas is coming, holiday cards and letters fill the mailbox--and it's time to write your family's annual Christmas letter. 

Want your letter to stand out from the crowd? Looking for ways to spice up the same-old, same-old Christmas greeting?  Try these seven tips for a sparkling holiday letter.

Start off on a positive note

It's a trend you can count on! Roughly 95% of holiday letters begin with a sentence like this: "I can't believe the year has come and gone so quickly!" While we all feel this sentiment, it's not the happiest way to begin a holiday letter.

Christmas Calm: 10 Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday Season
Tips for a calm Christmas
Cynthia Ewer

Sure, you love the holiday season--but just not so much of it! This year, you're hoping to cut the crazy out of Christmas: to trim the celebration back to one that is sustainable and calm.

Question is, just how do you do less--and enjoy it more--during the Christmas holiday season?

If you're aiming to simplify Christmas, take time to ponder ways to cut stress, save money and tame over-the-top traditions. Setting simplicity strategies in place early will keep you from being swept up in holiday madness.  Try these ideas:

Printable Christmas planning pages

Ready for Christmas: Make A Christmas Planner

As we get ready for Christmas, we’ll be making lists (and checking them a lot more than twice!), holding discussions with spouses, children and parents, and drawing up a holiday budget. 

Too often, we record our plans piecemeal, consigning them to a confused clutter of scrawled envelopes, jotted notes and cryptic calendar entries—none of which make it to the shopping center with us when it’s time to buy gifts.