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The Busy Woman ~ Take Charge of Your Holidays!
1:14 AM, Sep. 8, 2006
As we approach Thanksgiving and then the end of the year holidays, do
you
experience stress? Do you get tired of being pulled in all directions?
Are
you dreading eating pumpkin pie and cookies in too many different
homes?
Too many times I hear the same story: "I have to traipse my whole
family
first to my family's home and then to his family's home. It's
exhausting!"
If you're a blended family, you may have even more homes to visit. Or
perhaps you are the one having people traipse in and out of your house
all
day.
How do we stop all the madness?
* Put your foot down!
* Take control of your time. Say NO if you need to.
* Keep each day simple, fun and meaningful,and perhaps even begin your
own
holiday traditions, so you can spend quality time with your loved
ones.
* If you are going somewhere, take charge of what food you're
comfortable
bringing and at what time you're comfortable getting there. If guests
are
coming to your home, ask how each person would like to be involved --
such
as bringing a particular dish or doing a certain job to prepare for the
day.
* If you tell yourself and other people what you CAN do, you have just
taken
charge of that situation.
* Think about what the purpose of the Thanksgiving holiday is: to spend
time
with your family and friends giving thanks for everything you've
received.
Thanksgiving is not just about getting together for good food, football
or
after - Thanksgiving- sales. Identify some new goals for the holidays,
such
as less stress and more time with family as a result of fewer visits
away
from home or fewer visitors, simpler meals, less cooking or cleanup, and
so
on.
* Then have a meeting in person with your family and describe your ideas
and
new holiday plans. Ask what everyone thinks and then make a list of
your
holiday goals. Or, just explain your new plans and let whomever wishes
be
involved.
Some suggestions for simplifying different holiday situations:
Idea #1
For those of you who have to do the traipsing, call each homes and ask
if
you can bring a particular item or food dish. Try to bring the same dish
to
every home you visit -- this will help make the traipsing easier. Say
that
you can arrive at approximately ___ a.m./p.m. and stay until
___a.m./p.m.
since you also have 2 or 3 etc. other places you need to get to that
day.
Idea #2
If you have visitors coming to your home mail a list of foods to bring
or
some other form of involvement for everyone invited, and then call
each
person to identify their item on the list. Here is what one of my
letters
might look like...
Dear Family and Friends,
For all of us to have a great day to give thanks, please sign up for
at
least one of the items listed below. All food items need to feed 14
people.
I will call you by November ___(date) to identify your item on the
list:
* Cranberry Sauce
* Pumpkin Pie
* Stuffing
* Salad
* Vegetable
* Ice Cream
* Coffee and condiments to go with it
* Clean up after meal
* Make and serve coffee
If you have old photos of family or friends that you think would be
interesting to everyone else, please bring them. We will eat around
4:00PM.
Blessings and Love, Susie
Idea #3
When you have company in your home, make a list for each immediate
family
member to sign up. My list might look like this...
* Vacuum
* Dust
* Clean Bathrooms
* Mop floor
* Empty all trash cans
* Put kleenex in every room
* Make sure all toilet paper rolls are full
* Put fresh hand towels in all bathrooms and kitchen
* Sweep out front walkways
* Set table with ______ dishes (everyone has certain dishes they like
used
on the holidays)
* Go shopping
Often a list of assigned or chosen chores will allow family members to
take
pride in what they are doing.
Idea #4
Or, instead of sending out a letter and list, call all invited parties
and
tell them food items and chores you need help with. Ask each person
whether
they would like to bring a food, or help set up, or clean up. Right then
and
there, identify what dish each person will bring or what job they want
to
do. Next, send out postcards stating something like this...
Dear ________,
Thank you so much for committing to bring cranberry sauce to
Thanksgiving
Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 25th. I can't wait to see you around 4:00PM!
Love, Susie
There's not much room for error here.
Idea #5
The extreme opposite is what we are doing this year. Our family has
decided
to go to a Thanksgiving Family Camp. I'll actually get to have
Thanksgiving
Dinner and not cook or clean it up. At the same time, I will get a chance
to
be thankful with my immediate family in beautiful, PEACEFUL
surroundings.
Now apply this article to Hanukkah, Christmas, etc... and "TAKE CHARGE
OF
YOUR HOLIDAYS"!
May your holiday season be filled with love, joy, and PEACE!
Copyright ฉ 1999 Susie Glennan
Susie Glennan has been happily married since 1982, is mom to 3, grandmom
to
2, and mother in law. She is also a Teacher, Author, Professional
Speaker,
Toastmaster, President of The Busy Woman, Inc., and The Busy Woman's
Daily
Plannerฎ. Susie teaches time management seminars, offers FREE
consultations
with your order, and will help you set up a schedule that's right for
you.
800-848-7715 www.thebusywoman.com
Related Tags: holidays, organization, schedule, planning, time management, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah Comments 
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