7 Tips to Simplify Your Holidays

The turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes have hardly left your plate, and you can already hear Christmas music blasting from the radio and see your neighbors hanging up their decor. Yes, the holiday season is right around the corner. This time can be filled with joy and happiness, but for many, it also causes a lot of stress and anxiety. We’ve compiled 7 simple tips to help you reduce stress, get organized, and have a holiday season that you and your family will enjoy.

1. Minimize stress by making a holiday checklist

Can’t seem to remember what you’re getting Aunt Susie? Flying back home to see your family but always feel like you’re forgetting something? This holiday, make a checklist of everything you want to accomplish and what you will purchase. You can even add a timeline to better prepare. If you don’t finish it, you’ll know what you can cut out for next year!

2. Set a budget….and stick to it!

Sometimes the biggest stressor during the holidays is spending over your monetary limit. A few ways to manage this is to set a spending limit on each person you want to buy for or only carry as much cash as you want to spend and leave your credit and debit cards at home.

3. Clear out the clutter!

If you store holiday décor at home, fill up some empty boxes or bins with toys and decor that you don’t want to see laying around for the next couple months and put them back in your hiding place. No room at home?  Rent a storage unit! This will help get the holiday clutter out of your home. Plus, storage units are a great place to hide gifts if you have nosey kids or spouses.

4. Save money by using Christmas cards as gift tags

Do you get a million Christmas cards in the mail from relatives and friends every year, but feel a bit guilty throwing them away at the end of the season? Keep those precious cards and use them as the gift tags on your presents. All you’ll need are scissors, a hole punch, and some string. You can cut out the best part of the cards and use the bags to label who the gift belongs to. If you want to spice it up a little, you can add glitter or switch up your punch outs.

5. Pinterest anyone?

Pinterest is a great place to save all of your Christmas ideas. You can create separate boards for each part of the holiday season like recipes, decor, organization, DIY presents, and even gift wrapping ideas. This will keep you organized and take some of the pressure off of you to come up with everything yourself. You can even add collaborators to your boards if you share the hosting duties with another person. Tech-savvy kids? Have them create a wish list board during the year so that you can reference it closer to Christmas!

6. Cyber Monday

Arguably just as popular as Black Friday, Cyber Monday has become the new way we shop. Avoid the crowds, early mornings, and stress of shopping on Black Friday by waiting until Monday. Most popular retailers like Target and Walmart have just as good of deals on Cyber Monday, and you can just order them while sipping your morning coffee. Sites like eBay and Amazon are also very popular for online shopping during this time. Download an extension like Honey to make sure you are getting the best deal possible on your items. Just make sure to order them in time, since shipping gets delayed the closer you get to Christmas.

7. Organize, Protect, Store – Just a few tips for storing ornaments and lights

Wrapping ornaments in discarded tissue paper from opened gifts helps minimize waste and protect your precious bulbs. Storing ornaments in an ornaments box, well-padded wine box or egg cartons can help them last longer and protect during storage. Coil lights around a reel or reuse that empty coffee can keep from untangling pesky lights every year.

These are just some tips that you can use to kick start or better organize for the holiday season. I hope it helps you stay on budget, reduce waste and make this year a little less stressful and little more fun!