Christmas Countdown to an Organized Christmas - Day 5 - Start a Master Gift List

Article and Photo Courtesy of Organized Christmas

Ready to "Think Christmas"? For most of us, those thoughts are likely turn to gifts and giving!

Who doesn't love the holiday custom of giving and receiving gifts? But holiday gift-giving also comes with a sting in the tail. Much as we love the custom, we also find it stressful!

A recent poll at our site showed that gift-buying topped our list as the "biggest holiday organization challenge". Whether it's anxiety over choosing the right gift, worries about staying within budget, or simple resentment of the time required to find, buy, wrap and deliver holiday gifts, the downside of holiday giving is enough to bring out the Scrooge in any of us.

How to speed the chore--and keep the joy in the giving? Today, we'll begin a Master Gift List: a decision-making platform for holiday gifts and giving.

To Do Today

Begin a Master Gift List

More than a simple “name-to-present” checklist, a Master Gift List is a power-giver’s tool of choice. As today's reading assignment explains, it’s the place to record gift suggestions, track shopping, wrapping and shipping, and track our giving from year to year.

The Master Gift List will be the start point for Gifts and Giving Week (additional printable forms), so the time to begin one is now! Print the Master Gift List form to start your Master Gift List today.

Place the Master Gift List directly behind the Gifts divider in your Christmas planner for easy reference. The two of you are going to become very good friends in the weeks to come!

Every family has one: a gift-giver of extraordinary flair and creativity. Year after year, this paragon finds just the right gift, large or small, for every friend and relation, and all without breaking the bank.

Her “just because” offerings are tiny jewels, she’s hip to the latest teen trends—and she never, ever hears the double-barbed response, “Oh, you shouldn't have--you really shouldn’t have!”

What’s her secret? A master gift list.

More than a simple “name-to-present” checklist, a Master Gift List is a power-giver’s tool of choice. It’s the place to record gift suggestions, track shopping, wrapping and shipping, and find inspiration for tough-to-buy-for loved ones. Started well before the holiday season, it'll buy precious time during December's busy days.

How will you use a Master Gift List?

Grab gift ideas

If there’s a single trait that sets apart a power gift-giver, it’s attentiveness. Inspired gift ideas don’t just alight from thin air, but spring from close attention to the needs and preferences of loved ones. That’s why the Master Gift List’s first function is to record fleeting gift ideas as they occur to you—whatever the time of year.

Here's an example. Say you visit your brother and sister-in-law for a family cookout. You notice that Sis is trying to toss the salad with a mismatched pair of mixing spoons. Gift idea!

In the corner, a teen nephew hunches in full thrall to a hand-held video game. Ditto!

When you return home, make a quick note that “salad servers” might be a welcome gift for the family, and write “video game magazine subscription” next to your nephew’s name.

Entrusted to the Master Gift List, those summer observations will make shopping simple come December.

Take charge of shopping

Rely on the Shopping Mall Method of gift buying, and your budget will rise like a helium-filled balloon. Without the guidance of a good gift list, you’ll drift from store to store, buying what the eye sees, not what the family needs. At day’s end, you’re likely to have multiple gifts for some recipients, nothing for others, and a flattened wallet to match your flattened feet.

Shop with a list, and take control! Rely on the Master Gift List as you shop to resist retailing blandishments and put purchasing power back in your hands. Keep a running tally of gift purchases to protect the budget against seasonal temptation, and use the list to organize holiday shopping trips efficiently. Armed with a Master Gift List, you’ll save money, time and energy at a busy time of year.

The Master Gift List. Don’t leave home without it!

Track gift-giving progress

Buying is only the beginning; holiday gifts must still be wrapped, packed and shipped. Who needs the stress of standing in line for overnight shipping on Christmas Eve?

Add simple checkboxes for “bought”, “wrapped”, and “delivered”; they’ll let you see at a glance where you lie along the trail to the Christmas tree. Check the list regularly, and you’ll have a visual reminder to get gifts delivered in a timely way.

Lessons of Christmas Past

Finally, there’s no such thing as a “finished” gift list. Even at season’s end, the Master Gift List remains a treasure trove for Christmases to come.

Tuck the completed Master Gift List away behind the Christmas Past divider in your Christmas planner.

As you make next year’s lists, refer to it to avoid duplicating gifts, to recall gift ideas and to prevent violating the “unwritten rules” by veering from modest to extravagant gifts from year to year.

Gather gift-giving data with a Gift Ideas Planner 

Making the list and checking it twice (with an eye to the budget!) is a job for the Master Gift List, but where do you go to remember a loved one's favorite color, clothing size, or preferred video game platform? Enter and print the Gift Ideas Planner!

Partner to the Master Gift List, a Gift Ideas Planner is the secret of those oh-so-marvelous gift-givers. Tracking information about the likes, preferences and clothing sizes of gift recipients, a Gift Ideas Planner captures--and keeps!--the small details that can turn a gift from delightful to dazzling!

Today, begin to list data for gift recipients on a gift ideas planner page. Reminding yourself of favorite colors, sizes and interests will help you cut through the shopping clamor and zero in on the perfect gift ... fast!

Today's Recipe

Almond Chocolate Toffee Recipe

To prepare this recipe for shipment, pour hot candy into a buttered disposable foil pan. Follow with chocolate chips as the recipe directs and smooth melted chips to form chocolate coating.

When cool, carefully fold down pan edges, then wrap in a zipper freezer storage bag. Wrap pan tightly without breaking to mail candy. Yum!

Ingredients:

1⁄2 cupalmonds, slivered

1 cupbutter, unsalted

1 cupsugar, granulated

3 tablespoonswater

1 tablespooncorn syrup, light

1 cupchocolate chips

Instructions

Line a 13-by-9 inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over the edges. Sprinkle almonds on the bottom of pan. Butter sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan.

Melt butter over low heat. Stir in sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium-high heat to boiling.

Clip candy thermometer to side of pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thermometer reads 290 degrees (soft-crack stage). Watch carefully after mixture reaches 280 degrees.

Remove pan from heat. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Let stand 2 or 3 minutes, until surface is firm. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes, until chocolate chips are glossy and soft.

Spread evenly over candy. Chill until firm. Lift candy out of pan with foil; break into pieces. Makes about 1 1/2 pounds.

Christmas Countdown to an Organized Christmas - Day 4 - Connect With Holiday Values

Article and Photo Courtesy of Organized Christmas

What do you really want for Christmas?

For most of us, our dreams center around family, faith and friends: a celebration of our deepest joys.

Yet too often, those dreams go by the wayside as the holidays take on a life of their own. What can cause this distortion of what we truly want?

The season brings many pressures to bear on our celebration. Holiday commercials raise their voice to an unavoidable shriek during this time of year. Lavish television programs showcase food and décor standards out of all reality. A trip to the mall can bring a quick end to a wish for a homemade holiday; all that glitz can be seductive!

Even our families can be parties to holiday distortion. Spouses may bring different expectations and family traditions to the same holiday. Children may clamor for a Christmas measured by a classmate's yardstick. Family traditions can live on well beyond their time, no longer enjoyed but not yet willing to leave.

Solution? Connect with your holiday values before you plan for the holiday season. Put your most cherished wishes at the center of your celebration ... for an organized Christmas.

To Do Today

Complete the holiday values exercise

To keep the season centered around the ideals your family holds dear, make a pre-season holiday values check. This short values exercise will keep you focused as you prepare for the holiday celebration.

Print the Holiday Values Worksheet to record your findings. Add a second sheet--or take notes--to track answers given by other family members in a second, fact-finding session.

Use the results to trim your celebration to the things you hold most dear ... to do less and enjoy it more this holiday season.

Focus on Holiday Values

What do you really want for Christmas? Our ideas may differ in the details, but most of us want much the same thing: a seasonal celebration focused on faith, family and friends.

We want the excitement of the season without the disruption that too often comes with it. We want to draw closer to those around us, not to be thrust apart by hectic schedules. We want to enjoy as well as to prepare, and to keep the Christmas season in a manner that is joyous and spiritually centered.

Problem is, it’s easy to get caught up in the seasonal whirlwind! Tradition, the media, family expectations and the economy lean on our decision-making, each with a different agenda. Unconscious forces can distort our celebration for reasons that have nothing to do with what we truly want from the holiday.

Lavish Christmas magazines raise décor standards out of all reality. Husband and wife may bring different expectations and traditions to the same holiday. During the Christmas season, we're easy prey to forces that open our wallets and eat our time, as well as to those that touch our hearts and open our souls.

Solution: focus on holiday values before you begin to plan the season’s activities. Knowing where your values lie allows you to set a path to true holiday happiness, and to avoid the minefields that culture and commercialism will throw in your way.

Ask the question! When you shop or cook or bake or decorate, what values will you serve? What result do you hope to see for your family’s seasonal expenditure of energy and resources?

Try these exercises to focus on the true meaning of the season:

For You

Sit back and bring to mind last year's celebration, then open the Christmas Notebook, and answer these questions. To make it easy, use our free printable Family Values Worksheet:

1. What went well for your family last year? Did you make innovations that made you more organized, calmer, and more centered?

2. What stresses did your family face? Were there too many activities on the calendar? Did household systems fall apart with the season's faster pace?

3. Was your family spiritually invigorated by the holiday celebration? Did you participate in appropriate service, worship or giving activities?

4. Did inappropriate influences enter your home? Were decorating, clothing or gift-buying decisions motivated by competitiveness or insecurity? Was the celebration over-focused on gifts and getting? Did the hectic pace of the season take precedence over family closeness, family values?

5. What would you have done differently?

Pondering last year's end sets the goals for this year's beginning. File your answers at the front of the Christmas Notebook, then take a day or two to review the notes you made.

Don’t be alarmed if your list contains more negative than positive entries; this taking-stock exercise naturally focuses on areas that need work. Becoming aware of the seasonal misses will help you hone this year’s activities to the holiday hits.

For the Family

After you think through your own conclusions, take the questions to the household as a whole. At a relaxed moment, such as a weeknight dinner or a long car ride, ask family members these questions:

What do you remember most about last Christmas?

What did you like best?

Was there something you didn’t like about the holiday season? How would you change it?

If we could only do three things to celebrate Christmas, what would they be?

Prepare to be surprised! Chances are, family members will bring a new perspective to the question of “What’s the right Christmas for us?” Nobody can be quicker to puncture the limp balloons of worn-out traditions than the very children who’ve outgrown them.

Listen, learn and let the family lead the way. The surest path to a stressed-out season is to insist on giving life-support to traditions that have run their course, so call an end to ho-hum activities that don’t make the cut for anyone.

Focus, instead, on those activities that brings the family closer—however silly, however small. Better a family Movie Night with popcorn and pajamas than a forced march to the Nutcracker, neckties dragging. Put your energies where the meaning is!

Tips for Holiday Season Travel

Will you visit family or take a Christmas holiday?

Between tight security, cramped airports and busy highways, holiday-season travel can be a big source of Christmas stress.

Whether you're flying or driving, being prepared means you'll be better able to roll with the inevitable punches.

Try these tips to keep the “happy” in holiday travel:

Be An Early Bird

Make travel plans early. Particularly during the busy Christmas season, early birds have more choice of transportation options, and usually pay a better price than the holdouts.

Fly Flexible

Can you be flexible about seasonal travel plans? During a holiday period, the best day to fly may be on the holiday itself, when traffic is light. Busiest days are generally the day before Thanksgiving, the Sunday before Christmas, and Christmas Eve.

Stay Informed

Bad weather, oversold flights or highway closures can all wreak havoc on carefully-laid travel plans. Fight back by staying informed of travel conditions. Check online travel sites or install smartphone apps to alert you to changes in travel arrangements. The earlier you know about travel issues, the easier it will be to find alternatives.

Packing Checklist

  

The distractions of the season can get in the way of efficient packing. To stay focused, print a packing checklist for each family member, noting all items of clothing and personal care needed for travel.

Try this free printable packing checklist from OrganizedHome.Com, or create your own list on blank lined paper. Bonus: store the lists in empty suitcases for quick reference for the next trip.

Traveling With Gifts

Airline security checkpoints are no place to try to re-wrap a Christmas gift. If you must fly with presents, wait until your destination to wrap them, or place gifts in easy-to-inspect gift bags. Better: ship gifts ahead of time, or arrange for direct delivery to your final destination.

Today's Recipe

Kitchen gifts are the right stuff: creative, consumable and low-cost. What does Mrs. Santa give from her kitchen? Reindeer Chow! A little bit salty, a little bit sweet--and a lot crunchy--this snack mix is Rudolph's favorite.

Package Reindeer Chow in zipper food storage bags or cellophane snack bags for an easy classroom treat or Secret Santa gift. Add a free printable Reindeer Chow bag topper to make an easy holiday gift.

For a fun and festive family gift, fill a pet dish (from the Dollar Store!) with Reindeer Chow. Inexpensive self-adhesive "foamie" letters spell out the name of your favorite reindeer!

Ingredients

1 poundwhite chocolate chips or almond bark coating

3 cupsRice Chex-brand cereal

3 cupsCorn Chex-brand cereal

3 cupsCheerios-brand cereal

2 cupspretzel sticks

2 cupsdry-roasted peanuts

12 ouncesM&M-brand chocolate candies

10 printable gift tags

Instructions

Slowly melt chocolate in double broiler over water. Alternately, place almond bark or white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until chocolate is melted.

Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl, then drizzle melted chocolate over top and mix well. Spread in a shallow layer on a cookie sheet or broiler pan.

Allow to cool completely, then package in single-serving bags or an inexpensive pet bowl.

Attach the Reindeer Chow gift tag or create your own tag using the poem below.

Makes 10 servings.

Reindeer Chow Poem:

When reindeer fly on Christmas night,

They work up quite an appetite!

But Mrs. Claus knows what to do,

To feed them when the flight is through.

She mixes up some Reindeer Chow.

A secret only she knows how.

With something salty, something sweet,

It’s Rudolph’s favorite reindeer treat.

Back in her kitchen at the Pole,

She heaps it high in every bowl

To welcome her returning crew.

So here’s a batch that’s just for you!

Print Reindeer Chow Gift Tag 

Christmas Countdown to an Organized Christmas - Day 3 - Set Up a Holiday Calendar

Article and Photo Courtesy of Organized Christmas

What's the number-one way to cut Christmas stress? Keep a careful eye on the calendar!

No doubt about it, December days can be busy. Keeping track of commitments, events and activities keeps the season real. If you know where the family must go, it's easier to get there--and to say "No!" to too many obligations.

Does a family calendar guide your holiday plans? It should ... if the goal is an organized Christmas!

To Do Today

1. Print your family holiday calendar 

Even the most organized among us can stub a toe when the madness of the holiday season descends! With family members participating in special seasonal activities, upended schedules and general holiday hubbub, the holiday season is no time to rely on memory or sticky notes.

Print or designate monthly calendar pages just for the holiday season, and post them in a public place. Then enter all holiday appointments and events out front, where you can see them.

Want to get fancy? Color-code entries by family member, or by category. Make it even simpler to know who must go where, when--so you can make good decisions as the season progresses.

Seldom acknowledged but often felt, time pressure creates a unique stressor during the Christmas season.

Holiday events, school functions and holiday parties crowd December days; service projects, travel and worship activities double. To keep holiday stress at bay, a calendar is a must-have tool for an organized Christmas.

Even if you never rely on a family calendar the other eleven months of the year, December's busy days call for a dedicated calendar for smooth sailing.

Take back your time--and find calm amidst the chaos--with a holiday family calendar. Try these tips to calendar your way to stress-free holidays:

Dump the data!

Next, ransack your desk for club bulletins, school newsletters, fund-raiser invitations and concert programs. Block out any travel plans, and note every seasonal commitment, large or small, in bright-colored ink on the Christmas calendars.

Larger families find it helpful to color-code events by family member; transportation issues are simpler to solve when the rainbow tells you who must be where each day.

As the season progresses, open your mail near the Christmas calendar. Note activities on the calendar as invitations arrive, and you’ll never again miss an open house or the Festival of Trees.

Schedule Smart for Stress Free Holidays

More than simply recording dates and events, a Christmas calendar operates as a good check against over-commitment. As the calendar brings you face-to-face with competing holiday events, let excitement be tempered with reality.

Accept the guidance your Christmas calendar will provide. A December Saturday with evening invitations signals that parents of young children need to call and reserve a baby-sitter. If you’re directing the Nativity Play on Sunday, decline the invitation to provide twelve dozen cookies for the school Choir Sing the following day.

When in doubt, under-schedule. Yes, every bazaar and party and concert celebrates the season in a special way, but stay grounded! Three parties in one evening? Tempting as it is to try to drop in all three, that's a sure recipe for Christmas stress. Are children double-booked for big events on two consecutive weekend days? Time to blow the whistle for some family time out.

Practice saying, "No!" But if you must say, "Yes!” a Christmas calendar gives you the information you need to say so intelligently.

You'll save tears. You'll save stress. You'll keep the meaning, rhythm and pace of a joyous holiday, not a hurried one. Do less ... and enjoy it more as you get ready for Christmas!

When you think about Christmas from a few weeks away, there’s a luxurious feeling of “plenty of time”, but as December draws near, the season’s pace quickens exponentially. Where did the time go?

Time takes on a slippery quality as the holiday season approaches.

Being proactive--and early--saves time and stress as the season's pace quickens.

Take major action against the seasonal time crunch with a pre-season scheduling session. The goal: to arrange for all those little appointments that slip the mind so easily.

With the Christmas calendar as a guide, consider scheduling these important pre-season tasks:

Carpet cleaning

Delay until November, and you’ll have to fight your way onto the carpet cleaner’s list. Clean carpets early—or postpone the cleaning until season’s end. Who needs to deal with damp carpeting during the holidays?

Haircuts and personal care

The night of the big Christmas bash is no time to repair a chipped pedicure--and salon appointment books fill up quickly as the season approaches. Make appointments for haircuts, manicures and pedicures early, to beat the rush.

 Family photo session

Whether it means a studio appointment or a do-it-yourself session with a tripod, set a date to snap the annual Christmas card photo. You’ll have prints in plenty of time to include in this year’s cards.

Chimney inspection / fireplace cleaning

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” isn’t quite the experience it ought to be when the season’s first fire reveals a blocked flue or a year’s worth of old ashes. Schedule chimney inspections early, and clean out the fireplace before you bring in the Yule Log.

Furnace / AC checkup

Early birds don’t just get the worm, they get the appreciation of the furnace guy when they schedule pre-season heating and cooling tune-ups. Scheduled well before the first cold snap, you’ll have the technician’s full attention—and no waiting list.

2. Make travel arrangements and schedule seasonal appointments

Will your family travel during the holiday season? Make travel plans and reservations this week; early birds score better prices and flexible options.

Will you host houseguests? Make arrangements for any overnight guests.

Arrange for family photo sessions for holiday giving or photo Christmas cards

Schedule carpet cleaning now! As the holidays approach, business picks up. Call now for your choice of appointment times.

To Make:

Today's Recipe

Brownies in a jar. What's a great consumable Christmas gift? Gifts in a jar!

Sand Art Brownies are easy to make and oh, so pretty! Layered cocoa, brown sugar, chocolate chips and pecans make this jar gift recipe extra-special.

Welcome a neighbor, thank a teacher or give a homemade Christmas gift with this layered cookie-in-a-jar recipe.

Our recipe makes 12 gift jars at a cost approximately $3 per jar, and includes printable gift tags to make assembling your Sand Art Brownies a breeze!

Sand Art Brownies

Ingredients:

1 wide-mouth quart (4-cup) canning jar

2⁄3 teaspoonssalt

1 1⁄8 cupsifted flour, all purpose, divided

1⁄3 cupcocoa powder

2⁄3 cupsbrown sugar

2⁄3 cupssugar

1⁄2 cupchocolate chips

1⁄2 cupwhite chocolate chips

1⁄2 cupwalnuts or pecans

Instructions:

1. Wash, rinse and dry canning jars.

2. Sift flour before measuring. Layer ingredients as follows:

2/3 t. salt

5/8 c. flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

1/2 c. flour

2/3 c. brown sugar

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. white chocolate chips

1/2 c. walnuts

3. Close jars with lids and rings.[Hint for FoodSaver brand vacuum sealer owners: use the jar sealing attachment to seal jars for longer storage.]

4. Cut appropriate amount of 7-inch circles from cotton fabric. Top each jar with fabric circle, and tie with ribbon.

5. Attach a printable gift tag, or create your own tag using the recipe below.

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 9x9 baking pan.

2. Pour the contents of the jar into a large bowl and mix well.

3. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2/3 cup vegetable oil and 3 eggs. Beat until just combined.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25

Print Sand Art Brownies Gift Recipe Labels.

Christmas Countdown to an Organized Christmas - Day 2 - Make a Christmas Planner

Article and Photo Courtesy of Organized Christmas

Today in the Christmas Countdown, we introduce the tool of choice for organized holidays: a Christmas planner.

Whether you're new to the concept, or have been using one for years, your Christmas planner is about to become your new best friend in the days and weeks to come.

Your planner will be home to lists, notes, ideas, recipes, decor inspiration, receipts, menus, inventories and journal pages. It's your personal record of the planning, deciding and doing that goes into creating the Christmas of your dreams.

To Do Today

Get organized and start your Christmas planner

1.  Get a 3 ring binde.

2.  Print a cover and spine for your binder. You’ll want to keep your Christmas planner to yourself, however! It will contain information not for the prying eyes of eager family members. If Christmas curiosity reaches a fever pitch in your household, consider the Hide-In-Plain-Sight method for your planner's cover. Label a binder "Manuals and Warranties" and slide it into the bookcase between college textbooks and old phone directories, or title your computer's Christmas planner section, "PTA Meeting Notes” to keep Christmas secrets until the big day.

3.  Print your dividers at Dividers 1 (Christmas Countdown, House and Holiday Planner) and Dividers 2 (Holiday Grand Plan Planner). Every family’s needs are different but here are some examples: 

• Calendars
• Gift Lists
• Christmas Cards
• Budget
• Meals and Menus
• Entertaining
• Recipes
• Décor
• Traditions
• Thanksgiving
• Advent
• New Years’
• Year-Round Holidays
• Birthdays
• Rudolph Club
• Sale Flyers
• Craft Projects
• Christmas Baking
• Cookie Collection
• Recipes Tried and True
• Recipes to Try
• In the Freezer
• Cleaning Calendar
• Inspiration and Faith
• Poems and Stories
• Music and Carols
• Movies and Books
• Web Sites
• Décor Room-by-Room
• Ornaments
• Collections
• Storage
• Christmas Past

4.  Get a supply stash. Dividers, lists and forms are only the beginning of a well-seasoned Christmas planner notebook. Add these supplies to the list; they’ll make it easier to use your Christmas planning tool:

• Lined paper for notes and lists
• Free printable forms from OrganizedChristmas.Com
• Clear plastic page protectors
• Pocket pages
• Large manila envelopes
• Post-It brand notes and flags
• Zipper pencil case
• Pencils, markers and highlighter
• Three-hole punch
• Planner Tip: Make it portable

5.  Make your planner portable. Be sure to take your Christmas planner with you. Gift lists, shopping lists, clothing size records, wardrobe inventories, decor ideas and pantry planners should be at your fingertips ... anywhere!

6.  Give a Christmas Planner as a gift. Since you're making one for yourself, go ahead and make another one as a gift.

Christmas Countdown to an Organized Christmas - Day 1

 Free Clipart from Clipart Panda

The secret to having a relaxing holiday is organization! We'll be sharing a tip a day from Organized Christmas to make sure you get there!

"Over the next six weeks, we'll break down holiday prep into simple, easy to complete checklists. We'll focus our holiday values to do less and enjoy it more. We'll streamline the chore side of holiday preparations. Most of all, we'll create a joyous and meaningful holiday season for our families, friends and neighbors."

Quote shared from Organized Christmas

WELCOME TO GET ORGANIZED WEEK! 

The first week of the Countdown gets u geared up and organized as we begin planning for the holiday season. We'll assess our family holiday values, begin a Christmas planner to hold our lists and notes, and start our lists for holiday gifts, shopping and home improvements. We'll give thought to holiday traditions, giving, travel and celebrations. In the first week of the Countdown, we lay the framework for the weeks to come. 

Find all the links go Get Organized for this week's assignments printables and articles here. Otherwise, check in with us daily to get the breakdown.

Projected Weekly Exercises

TO DO TODAY

Make the promise!

Beginning today, spend a few minutes each day on holiday planning. Each moment you spend now will reap enormous benefits during the rush and hustle of the holiday season.

Make the promise! Invest the time and energy now, for a simpler, more organized holiday celebration.

Designate a Christmas holiday planning center in your home.

Every activity deservces a "center" - a dedicated space with tools, workspace and surroundings that support the job. Jumpstart your holiday planning by selecting and setting aside an area in your home where you'll go to plan your holiday celebration. 

Make your space comfortable and appealing, because having a happy place to plan is the first step toward happy holidays!

TO READ TODAY

Planning for the holiday season is a lot more fun if you've gathered tools, supplies and inspiration into a single workspace area:

Create a Christmas Planning Center

TO PRINT TODAY

Christmas Calendar Countdown

Get Organized Week Checklist

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Tutorial: Recycled Painted Light Bulb Ornaments

Photo Courtesy of  Chipper's Blog

Instructions courtesy of Chipper's Blog.

1. Wipe bulb down with rubbing alcohol. This will help the paint adhere to the bulb. Let dry. Paint entire light bulb with white acrylic paint and let dry. Apply a second coat. If finish appears streaked, you can use a large paint brush or a sponge to blot on a stucco look. It is not necessary to paint the socket. Allow bulb to dry completely.

2. Spray on adhesive and white glitter to create a snowy effect as seen in picture below.

Photo Courtesy of  Chipper's Blog

3. Use black puffy craft paint for the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons. You can also use black and orange paint once everything is dry from Step 1. Alternatively, you could also use colored paper and cut out small round dots for the mouth, eyes and buttons and a small triangle for the nose.

4. For a red scarf, try finding some thick string to tie around the top of the bulb or cut up and old sock! You could even use felt or fleece scraps. Just like if you were making a real snowman, you have to work with what you can find!

5. Glue sticks for arms.

6. Tie twine or string around silver part of neck to hang. You can also cut up an old sweater to make a small hat. Glue to attach. 

To get lots of inspiration and other great ideas for painted light bulb ornaments, go to Pinterest and search for Painted Light Bulb Ornaments.