Christmas Countdown: Celebrate Week
We're here and it's time to celebrate!
Celebrate! Week sees us into the full swing of the holiday season, prepared (or nearly so) for a great holiday with family and friends.
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Get organized for the holiday season with plans, printables, and Christmas inspiration.
Holiday Clean Up: Clutter Cutting Ideas for Year's End
Cynthia Ewer
January 3, 2022
Even in the midst of holiday cheer, it's time to look ahead to a clean and organized New Year--if you can see it, over the clutter of Christmas Past.
Ready to swing into the coming year from a clutter-free home? Try these year-end tips to cut clutter and start the New Year on an organized note.
Low-Cost, No-Cost Ways To Celebrate Christmas with Kids
Cynthia Ewer
December 1, 2021
Cutting costs at Christmas doesn't mean celebrating like Scrooge. It's not about what you buy--it's about what you do!
Putting "celebration" at the center of the season--and taking the focus off of gifts and giving--can be the key to happy holidays that don't break the bank.
Better, when it comes to kids and Christmas, cheap is good! Simple, inexpensive family activities can be as meaningful as pricey Nutcracker tickets--and no need for scratchy dresses or dress-up suits.
Try these no-cost, low-cost ways to celebrate the holiday season with kids:
Do Less, Enjoy More: Simplify Holiday Traditions
Cynthia Ewer
November 28, 2021
"Tradition" is a powerful force that sometimes pulls an unsuspecting family along in its wake. Do your holiday traditions serve your family, your values and your spiritual beliefs--or are you running a tired and joyless circle during the holiday season in the name of tradition?
To cut stress during the season, it's time to give your family's holiday traditions a stiff scrutiny. Today, think back to traditions from season's past, with an eye to trimming them.
Save on Decor: Frugal Holiday Decorating Tips
Nothing says "Christmas!" like a beautifully decorated home. Fragrant greens, twinkling lights, holiday centerpieces all set the stage for a merry holiday season.
But at what cost?
If you believe catalog vendors, department stores and florists, be prepared to lay down a bundle to create that holiday home. Each year sees a set of new colors, new images, new trends, all designed to part you from your holiday dollars.
Christmas Countdown: Decorate Week
American Thanksgiving arrives this week ... and we've reached Decorate Week at the Christmas Countdown.
Holiday Survival Kit: Six Last-Minute Additions to the Shopping List
The holidays are here, with wall-to-wall shoppers at the supermarket. Who wants to have to join them?
Instead, assemble a holiday survival kit. Before you shop for the holiday meal, check supplies of these often-forgotten items for your holiday gathering.
Pencil these items into your regular shopping list--and save a last-minute trip. They'll keep the fun in the festivities!
Christmas Countdown: Get Cooking Week
We move to the kitchen, where it's all things cooking, as we swing into Get Cooking! week at the Christmas Countdown.
We'll plan holiday meals and menus, save money on holiday meals, prepare easy freezer entrees for busy December nights, and make holiday baking easier.
No More UFOs! Get-Em-Done Strategies for Handmade Holiday Gifts
Scanning a list of handmade craft gifts is something like reading a cookbook: it makes you hungry!
Whether you wander the crafts store, settle in at the library's craft bookshelf, or browse online, visions of bright and beautiful gifts follow one after the other. Will this be the year you give hand-crafted gifts ... to everyone?
Give in to the impulse to overload on holiday crafts projects, and you're likely to find yourself drowning in UFOs: Un-Finished Objects. Try these ideas to keep your holiday crafting within bounds--and budget and timeframe, too.
It's A Wrap: Set Up A Gift Wrap And Mail Center
Wrapping gifts for the holidays? Repeat after me: "This year, I won't be wrapping gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve!"
If there's a single most-underestimated holiday chore, it's gift wrapping. Supplies lie scattered throughout the house, while space and privacy are hard to come by. Translation: late-night Christmas Eve wrapping sessions, grumbling your way through the job.