Several weeks ago, I shared a bunch of tips to get organized BEFORE the holiday season; however if you’re like most people {including myself} — you probably got busy or procrastinated and are now frantically shopping for last-minute gifts, making food for all your holiday parties, getting your holiday cards in the mail, and clearing the clutter from your home!
Sound familiar?
If so, here are a few tips to get you through the next two weeks.
1. Give Gift Cards.
There is nothing wrong with giving gift cards — even if they are your last-minute, oh-crap-I-forgot-about-that-person gift! Here are a few creative ways to give your gift cards.
2. Use Simple “No-Wrap” Gift Wrap.
If you still have to wrap a bunch of gifts, try using some of these “no-wrap” ideas — or simply use newspaper with fun ribbons or cute tags.
3. Make Semi-Homemade Food.
I honestly do enjoy baking and cooking, but when I get really busy {like around the holidays with a newborn crying in the background} I almost always head to my pantry and pull out a few boxed mixes. There are a bunch of different ways you can make them look more “homemade” — like my Monster Brownies, Angel Food Cake, and Pecan Lemon Bars.
Oh, and I’ll be sharing a few more semi-homemade recipe ideas later this week!
4. Go Easy on the Decorations.
I love decorating my house for Christmas — but if I hadn’t done it before Nora was born, my house would NOT be super festive. Holiday decor is just not something I’m willing to stress myself out about — or spend lots of time/money on.
If you’re running short on time, simply light a few festive candles and put out a bunch of delicious food… I guarantee your guests won’t miss the decorations!
5. Skip Holiday Cards.
If you still haven’t sent out your holiday cards, it might be time to start typing out a holiday email instead. If you don’t want to do email, you could always send out a New Year card or even wait until summer and send out a “Christmas in July” card — or something else creative!
6. Don’t Worry About Deep Cleaning.
Believe it or not, I almost NEVER do any sort of “deep cleaning” before the holidays. Yes, my house is almost always clean and clutter-free, but I save my deep cleaning for AFTER the holidays — after the parties are over, after the food is spilled, after the guests leave, and after my decorations are put away.
For me, there’s just no point in having my house super clean before holiday parties because it’s just going to get dirty again. So instead, I simply do my regular weekly cleaning now, and then save the heavier deep cleaning for January when I have more time.
There are only SIX days until Christmas, so if your to-do list is still a mile long, consider taking some of these short cuts and using your extra time to actually enjoy this time of year with family and friends 🙂
Skye @ Neathering Our Fest says
These are super tips! I try so hard to not stress at the holidays but sometimes I just let it get to me! I have to remember that if things don’t happen that I am probably the only one that notices! 🙂 The hubs and I will be sending out our Christmas cards via email this year and plan to include a nice note to all of our family and friends. It has saved us a ton in cards plus postage and we are very happy about that!