Brace yourself. The holiday onslaught has begun. As soon as Halloween decor departs Thanksgiving will move into the shop displays, soon to be replaced by Santas and sleigh bells. The ubiquitous Christmas songs will soon play over every mall loudspeaker.
The secret to keeping all of the warm sentiments of the holidays alive and well, without capitulating to crass commercialism, is to simplify. Before you turn into a raving Grinch along about mid-December, take a few moments to consider ways you can streamline your to-do’s, to-buys and to-makes.
Here are four ways to keep your sanity.
1. Cheat your way to a decorated table
Ever looked at a home-goods catalog and wished your table could look as elegant without spending a dime? It can. The marvelous blog, TheNester.com has a brilliant post titled “Pottery Barn Hacks for Thanksgiving,” which is like a cheat sheet for decorating with flair without spending a thing.
Another website chockful of good stuff is theinspiredroom.net. Melissa Michaels counts down with 31 Days Inspired for the Holidays, offering ideas for decorating with things you already own: grouping your white dishes, vases and candleholders, or your prized collections, all complemented by candles, dried flowers or twigs and berry branches from your garden.
2. Limit decorations
If you have ever been to Colonial Williamsburg around the holidays, you know the decorating wonders that can be accomplished with four simple things: greens, red ribbon, baby’s breath, and candles (faux or real). Don’t forget to exercise caution whenever lighted candles are involved. Or better yet, use battery-operated “flameless” candles.
3. Skip the wrapping paper and gift cards
Instead, use old newspapers, outdated maps, cloth bags or even kids’ artwork to wrap presents. It’s better for the planet and easier on your wallet.
Instead of buying individual gift cards for each gift, use free printable gift tags, which you can find online by the gazillion these days and print right from your own printer.
4. Invest in an ornament box
These inexpensive bins make it much easier (and faster) to take out and put away holiday decorations.
They protect your heirloom ornaments so they survive for another generation. And the boxes keep your delicate decorations in mint condition, which means you don’t have to buy new ones very often.
The writers are co-founders of Buttoned Up, a company dedicated to helping stressed women get organized. Send ideas and questions to yourlife@getbuttonedup.com.
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