Simplicity expert Sandy Kreps shares 10 tips from her new book, Simply Christmas, to help you streamline your holidays so you can enjoy the season and what matters most.
Prioritize the activities and events that are most important to you and your family. Then organize your schedule around them. If family tradition dictates a big tree decorating party on the weekend before Christmas, schedule it in and skip some lesser events. Don’t feel obligated to go to every party, dinner, or parade you’re invited to attend. Choose meaningful, memorable activities and enjoy them to the fullest.
Make a list of the things you don’t like about the holidays–then avoid those things. Feel like the holidays are too commercial? Spend some time creating handmade gifts or writing heartfelt Christmas letters. Don’t like Christmas cards? Bow out of sending them. Dislike that certain holiday party that comes up each year? Don’t go. Eliminate what you dread about the holidays, and the season becomes more enjoyable.
Keep your expectations in check. If you’re hosting a party, remember it’s just a party. It’s supposed to be fun, not perfect. Release the stress and enjoy it!
The Christmas spirit is about more than gift giving, cookies and decoration overload. Make a point to share the spirit of the season with the receptionist, postal worker, security guard, and coffee barista by smiling and greeting them cheerfully. Thank them for their services and wish them holiday blessings. These are simple ways to share the spirit that can start a chain reaction of good cheer… and they don’t cost a cent.
Purge your decor before the holidays. When you start decorating for the year, pull out any decorations or supplies you don’t need anymore. Offer them up on Freecycle, local organizations or to friends and neighbors so they can use them for the season, and you can free up storage space.
Almost 30 billion pounds of food is wasted each year – that’s nearly 100 pounds per person. When making your holiday menus, think simple. Do you really need stuffing, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes? Three types of fruit salad? Six pies? Create a simple holiday meal of your favorite items, and don’t cook like you’re feeding an army.
Giving out of obligation is not necessarily generosity. Many gifts these days feel like obligations rather than true gifts. Giving fewer gifts does not make you a Scrooge. Generosity is a year-round attitude — it’s not defined by the number of presents you wrapped last year. There’s no reason to feel guilty about giving fewer gifts, so don’t feel obligated to give a gift to everyone you know. Trim your gift list, and the resulting relief might just inspire your holiday giving with a newfound sense of excitement.
Need to keep the kids busy? Let them make their own gifts for family and friends. Paper collages, framed artwork, hand-stamped potholders and aprons, beaded necklaces, painted sun catchers, stamped garden stones — there are plenty of crafty ideas to thrill the kids and make nice gifts for loved ones.
Instead of going overboard buying gifts for your children, consider this 4-gift strategy: Want, Need, Wear, Read. Each kid gets something from their wish list, something they actually need (such as a new backpack to replace the one with the broken strap), something to wear (such as a new outfit or new coat or gloves), and a new book to read.
Not ready to go full-tilt on a streamlined holiday? No worries! Changing holiday traditions doesn’t happen overnight. Try trimming the things you’re ready to let go… even by 10 percent. That could mean fewer decorations, cutting back the gift list, a little less baking, a smaller holiday meal, fewer Christmas cards sent. Once you feel the freedom of less, you can always cut more. If you find you’re missing something, you can always add it back.
Sandy Kreps is a writer, editor and graphic designer, wife, and mom to two gorgeous little boys. She is committed to simplifying her hectic life, reducing waste and helping others who want to live a greener, simpler lifestyle through her blog Modern Simplicity. Her book, “Simply Christmas,” is available at Amazon.
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