Firstly..take a deep breath..
Posted on November 20, 2007 - Filed Under General
I was thinking that we could share a few different tips, advice or recipes that we know are tried and true for our upcoming holiday celebrations.
Here are my ten ways to save your sanity these holidays…
1. Everything does NOT have to be perfect.
2. Don’t do guilt this year. Don’t use your expectations of the season as a weapon against your friends and family. Enjoy what comes this season. It may not be what you expected – it may be better!
3. KISS. Keep it simple stupid! Decorations do not need to be elaborate.
While fancy schmancy decorations may appeal to your decorating ego, putting them up takes time and energy that just may be better spent elsewhere this Christmas.
4. Not everything (or anything) needs to be homemade. Bought cakes, puddings and biscuits are acceptable the rest of the year so why not at Christmas?
5. Relax. Take time out from the hustle and bustle to just sit with a cup of tea and breathe ..Or even better take a long hot bath. If you take some time for yourself, you will be better able to cope with the holiday chaos.
6. Let other people help! You are not the only one who can do Christmas! Ask someone to do tasks you hate. And then LET THEM DO IT – even if they don’t do it just the way you want! Don’t constantly look over their shoulder.
7. Don’t make the season an ordeal for your children by expecting perfect behavior. Children can easily be overloaded with the food, sights, expectations and social whirlwind of the season.
8. If you can afford to hire a cleaning service before visitors arrive for Christmas, do it! Give it to yourself as a Christmas present! You will enjoy the season more because you won’t be worn out from scrubbing that toilet with a toothbrush!
9. DON’T over stretch yourself financially. Who wants to be still paying off Christmas well into the New Year?
10. Be kind to yourself, when you feel the stress mounting up just leave it all behind and go for a walk to sweep away the stresses of the day.
Here is a recipe for SPICY PAPRIKA NUTS that are very, very popular at our house.
Makes 3 1/2 cups.
2 eggwhites
3 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon caster sugar
500g unsalted nuts.
Preheat oven to 150 degrees celcius.
Line a baking tray with paper.
Whisk eggwhites in a bowl until frothy.
Add salt, paprika, chilli and sugar and stir to combine.
Stir in peanuts.
Spread peanuts in a single layer on tray. Bake, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or until almost dry.
Remove from oven. Cool on tray. Store in an airtight container.
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Please feel free to add any hints or tips that you think might help us all get through the holiday season a little easier……..
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13 Responses to “Firstly..take a deep breath..”
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I love this idea, I’m going to be stalking this post until Christmas for new ideas!
. . . those with small children know the living joy of trying to unpackage those newly unwrapped Christmas toys! There are wires and screws, sometimes one toy truck can take 15 minutes to get out of the box! This is what we do at our house: Buy a small pair of wire cutters, and a small sized screwdriver set (phillips and flat). Take these with you to every home you plan on unwrapping presents. Believe me, these simple little tools will make Christmas morning so much more enjoyable!
Oooh Yum - they sound great Patric!
Now I surfed on over here after Tiff from threeringcircus suggested you might be able to answer my four year olds question ‘What happens when a goat coughs?’ but it must have been karma in action because I really needed to read your post about holiday sanity too! Thanks!
The nuts sound delicious!
I did have a no stress policy but Google ruined it. Ahh well, I shall not stress over Xmas. Promise.
My hubby will like those nuts.. I will make them.. yay thankyou…
I can’t think of a christmassy recipe right at the minute, but when I do I will come back and share..
cheers kim.
Some good advice there, sound,s like you have learnt from experience, the nut,s sound yummy might try them for new year.
brilliant ideas and the nuts sound like something I could go crazy over too. We are hosting Christmas day with DH’s family and then Boxing Day with mine - so this advice is timely.Thanks
usually i promise to do a whole bunch of cool stuff and we get about 1/3 of it done, to my dismay. this year, no promising! whatever we do will be bonus!
nice post.
Great tips! I think keeping things simple (read: less stressful) is the best advice ever. Striving for the ‘perfect’ Christmas will just leave you stressed out & disappointed. One thing my family likes to do is draw names for gifts. With 16 of us (including kids) it just gets to be too much. This way everyone gets something they like and the focus isn’t all about gifts.
I’ve been visiting family so I haven’t been on the blogosphere much, hope you are doing well! I would say Happy Thanksgiving but I’ll just say Happy Thursday!
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Uh…#2 struck a chord with me! I think I do this so this year, I’m gonna strive to do the opposite! lol! thanks for the recipe…it sounds completely yummy!
Great post. I love the Kiss idea.