Focus On The Family

When you ask people what their favorite part of the holiday season is, often they answer enthusiastically it’s all the great food and the decorations. Cookies, candies, pies, and other special sweet treats are at the top of most everyone’s list, and everyone loves a festively decorated home to make Christmas even merrier. But you don’t have to be a Christmas grinch worrying about how much all these special treats and decorations will take from your holiday budget.  With some creativity and a quick inventory of what you already have on hand it can really be quite simple.

One of most affordable treats you can make is yummy cookies made with homemade dough.  Generally speaking, it’s usually pretty simple for even the most challenged bakers to make. And if you’re pressed for time and choose to use the ready-made cookie dough from the grocery store, that doesn’t mean you have to do without fun holiday-shaped cookies. It’s very simple to choose a design or two that you like, trace it onto wax paper or aluminum foil, cut it out and use as a pattern to trim your cookie dough around.

If you’re serving these cookies at a party or open house with coffee or hot tea, try getting creative with some sugar cubes as a sweet decoration nearby.  Take the sugar cubes, stack in a pyramid-fashion, and perhaps place some small colored marshmallows on toothpicks and place carefully in the cubes, and you’ll have a festive looking, snow-covered decorated outdoor Christmas tree.  Then the cubes can be used for the tea and coffee, and the marshmallows can be used for the hot cocoa.

Focus your decorating around colors and themes you already have in your decorations collection. Red and green are both bold colors that really pop once you add a golden or silvery accent to it.  If you don’t own vast amounts of decorations, focus on decorating one particular area of a room, such as the corner the tree stands in, or the fireplace mantelpiece. To complement your decorating, don’t overlook anything in your possession as something you can use.  Maybe you have a Christmas sweater that you wouldn’t wear. Put it on one of your children’s large teddy bears and set him in a corner chair, and he may become a hot topic of conversation at your holiday open house. 

Votive candles are a quick, affordable decoration.  Place a cluster of three of them on holiday plates, light them, and scatter them on coffee and end tables to add a nice, soft glow.  Floating votives in a fishbowl or other festive serving bowl made from clear or colored glass is an easy addition to your decorating scheme. Bouquets of candy canes tied with Christmas ribbon and placed in red- or green-colored drinking glasses add just a touch of Christmas cheer, and make a sweet treat to send home with your guests once your open house or party is over.

But the most important ingredient at your holiday table or gathering is the Christmas spirit.  Remember the reason for the season.  Your guests will surely feel the same Christmas cheer once they arrive at your home.

-  Leon Edward

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Early November might seem like a premature time to some to start getting ready for the holidays, but those who are super organized and never seem to stress out during the holidays would be the first to tell you it’s never too early to plan.  If you aren’t one of those who start your Christmas shopping early, don’t despair.  There’s plenty you can do right now to get a good head start on the holiday season to be ready.

Probably one of the most time-consuming Christmas chores is sending out your holiday greeting cards.  It can be doubly frustrating when some of them come back because your address book was out-of-date.  Now would be a great time to sit down and look through your address book and make sure you are caught up and have current mailing addresses for everyone.  While you’re in the process of updating, you might want to check current phone numbers so you can quickly invite someone to an open house or to join you for sledding, caroling, or a shopping excursion.  Try to include current e-mail addresses for your computer-savvy friends, family and associates, so all your contact options are up to snuff.  If you’re sending out photo cards this year, there’s no reason why you can’t get those envelopes addressed and stamped early.  Then once those cards are back from the printers, it’s simply a matter of jotting a quick note if you choose, signing, and sending them off.  Also, be sure to schedule your photo studio session early if you’re having professional pictures taken this year for your Christmas cards.

Another big item on people’s Christmas to-do list is finalizing their shopping list.  Once you have a good idea what you want to get everyone on your list, take some time and shop around.  If you’re an internet user, look around online for the best deals.  Check out some of the catalogs that have recently arrived in the mail.  Many internet and catalog retailers deeply discount or waive shipping altogether for customers depending on the amount of their purchase.  And you can save time and frustration by having it delivered either directly to you or have the retailer gift wrap and drop ship it for you. 

Finalize your grocery shopping lists as well.  That way when it’s time to start baking, you won’t be caught without the necessary ingredients.  You’ll also avoid that last-minute rush to get your turkey or ham before they’re all gone.  Take a look at your menu and see what items can be prepped beforehand, and schedule that accordingly to make meal prep a breeze. 

Take stock of what decorations you have available, and check their condition. Replace light strands and broken ornaments now, so that when the time comes to decorate, you’ll have everything you need.

With some proper planning and a little creativity and forethought, the holidays can be a time of peace and tranquility because you’ve taken the steps ahead of time to eliminate the stress.

-  Leon Edward

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