Already feeling the crush of impending holiday chaos? Here are tips to help you keep your cool and a weekly calendar to keep you on track.
Reflect on priorities: You don’t have to buy gifts for every colleague or bake cookies for all of your neighbors. Determine your true priorities for the season: What traditions really put me and my family in the spirit?
Go potluck: It will make your life easier and enable others to more fully participate. If you don’t want to leave the menu to chance, assign responsibility for specific dishes to guests.
“Day of” cooking plan: At least one week before the event, sit down and map out the cooking schedule hour-by-hour or even minute-by-minute.
Keep the plan on your kitchen counter and look for ways you can preprep items and delegate tasks.
Set the table ahead: Arrange the tablecloth, plates and silverware a few days before or even the night before a holiday event.
Don’t enter a grocery store without a list: Shopping lists help you avoid buying more than you really need or having to run back for an essential ingredient you forgot. Lists make it easier to delegate the shopping.
Assign family members to cleanup duty: Keep a rotating team of dishwashers in the kitchen who can wash pots, pans and other cooking utensils as you go along.
Use packing lists to help you travel light: If you are hitting the road to visit family or friends, take five minutes to make a list of must-have items to pack before you start. Just pack the essentials and skip the rest.
Send e-cards: Companies such as Blue Mountain, Hallmark and American Greetings have huge selections of e-greeting cards you can customize and send to friends and family right from your computer.
Streamline gift-giving: You give better gifts without going over your budget when you take the time to organize before hitting the mall.
Use free tools, such as Holiday Gift Printables from GetButtonedUp.com, to map out your budget, brainstorm gifts and organize shopping trips.
Skip the mall: Shop online. You can do it any time that works for you, and you can have items shipped directly without a trip to the post office. It’s also easier to comparison shop.
Set a gift shopping deadline: Simply set a date — say, Dec. 10 — as the deadline for getting through your shopping list this year. Set reminders in your calendar to keep yourself on track.
Limit commitments and set aside time each week to decompress. A few holiday events are essential (i.e., your child’s school play), but many are not.
Discuss invitations with your family and outline your true priorities in advance. If you feel guilty saying you can’t make an event, try this script: “My heart says yes, but, sadly, our family calendar says no. Wish we could be there to celebrate. Hope you have a wonderful time!”
Set aside time each week, like Sundays after lunch, to relax, meditate and recapture a sense of calm.
The writers are co-founders of Buttoned Up, a company dedicated to helping stressed women get organized.
Weekly countdown
We’ve created a week-by-week plan to get you through December without losing it.
This week
Set budgets and make lists: Figure out a number that you absolutely will not go over that covers the cost of food, presents, travel, decorations and everything else.
Plan the menus: Think about the drinks, appetizers, main course and desserts, and try to keep it simple.
Two free online resources for clipping and organizing recipe ideas are the notes program Evernote (www.evernote.com) and the virtual pin board Pinterest (pinterest.com).
Choose cards: It’s almost too late, but you can still order your cards online and organize addresses.
Thanksgiving week
Clean house: On Monday and Tuesday, get everything in order. On Wednesday, figure out when each dish needs to be cooked and what can be prepared in advance. Double recipes that can be frozen for Christmas.
Nov. 28
Get gifts in order: Armed with your list, hit the Internet and get shopping out of the way on Cyber Monday.
RSVPs: Reply to invitations and send out your own.
Dec. 5
Deck the halls: Drag out those storage bins and start unpacking the decorations.
Ship gifts: And order any you’ve missed online.
Dec. 12
Wrapping station: Clear off a flat working space and organize supplies. Wrap a few presents every evening this week.
Dec. 19
Seek peace: Relax. You are ready. It’s easy to get caught up in the rush, so slow down and enjoy your loved ones before the season is over.
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