Planning...Day 13 of 31 Days of Creating with Meaning

Some ideas for taking the stress out of the holidays  
{Updated post from a couple of years ago}
Worship and Service:
-Plan your church worship and other Christmas services to attend.  We always go to the community Creche festival on the first weekend of December.  We also watch the LDS Christmas Broadcast on the first Sunday in December.
-Plan to do some service for another family or charity, or even for your own family.  Bake cookies and take a plate to the fire station or the Dr’s office or to a nursing home.  Sing some carols while you’re there!  If you’re really organized you can plan a 12 days of Christmas for a neighbor or friend.  Pick a tag off of a “giving tree” and donate something.  Donate to Toys for Tots.  If your budget won’t allow for extra purchases then donate your time to a good cause.  We are celebrating the birth of Christ, and charity is the pure love of Christ.  So make it a Charitable Christmas!

Gifts:
-Make a budget and stick to it. Do a little bit of shopping each trip.
-Have a set number of gifts that are given to each child.  Some use “3” gifts like the wise men brought to the baby Jesus.
-Choose names and set a price limit. Instead of buying gifts for all siblings and cousins, you’ll end up spending a lot less!
-Let grandparents and other relatives know children’s gift lists, and what you think is appropriate. They’ll usually listen.
-Shop on-line and take advantage of free shipping or gift-wrapping.
-If you are making homemade or handcrafted gifts, get going on it!  If you haven’t started, make a list of the supplies you need and collect or buy them.  Set up a corner in the living room or somewhere convenient to keep the projects out so you can work on them as you have time.
-Take turns with friends watching each other’s children for Christmas shopping.
-Make sure you have tape, tags, and wrap.  Have the kids hand-stamp tags or plain kraft paper for inexpensive wrapping.
-Wrap gifts as they are purchased or have a gift-wrapping party with friends. Have children help wrap gifts. They love to be involved!

Cooking or Baking:
-Make your Thanksgiving Menu and your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Menu, or if you have a potluck assign dishes to be brought.
-Throughout November and December cook double for dinner when you can and freeze the extra portions. When you have a busy day, dinner is ready to be heated up.
-Cook or prepare ahead any dishes that will freeze and reheat well.
-Shop ahead of time for non-perishable food items for Christmas meals and baking.
-Host a cookie baking day or cookie exchange with friends.
-When you have a free block of time, mix up a batch of cookie dough and freeze it. Then bake when you have time.

Christmas cards:
-Schedule picture appointment.
-Instead of doing newsletter yourself, have each person write a paragraph or draw a picture.
-Purchase stamps and cards ahead of time and address a few each night, or have older kids help.
-Or skip Christmas cards altogether and send a Christmas e-mail!

Decorating:
-Get rid of decorations you don’t use or love!  Call and inquire about donating them to a nursing home or other facility.
-Pack up knick-knacks from house into Christmas boxes while decorations are out.  Your house will look less cluttered.

Entertaining:
-Wash china or holiday dishes ahead of time (or use paper and plastic)
-Do you need anything dry cleaned?
-Make sure to buy film for cameras, or clear out your card, and charge up video camera.

Homemaking:
-Plan and do a fall cleaning.  Break it down by room, and then shampoo carpets.
-This is a great time to replace worn out towels and washcloths before guests come to stay.  Shop black Friday sales or white sales.
-Go through and donate toys that the kids have grown out of or do not use anymore before the new Christmas toys are in the mix.
-Go through and donate any clothes that are not being used.  Then you’ll know what needs replacing for Christmas lists.

Having a holiday plan can save a lot of stress. Especially if you're a procrastinator like me.  Most of all, the holidays are about faith, family and fun.

And don’t forget, Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.

You should see the other guy...

Yesterday I got an e-mail from the little league website with tips and drills to do during the off-season. I couldn't find the tip "play catch with your 16-year old brother and catch the ball with your eye" anywhere in that information. So yesterday morning was spent at the doctor's office to make sure the eye underneath didn't take a beating, too.

 Here are the cards from the last post.  I couldn't get the pictures to load!  So, I made two cards, embellished the envelopes, and made an 8-1/2 x 11 inch layout...all from 1 piece of white cardstock, three pieces of patterned paper, some letter stickers and a couple of buttons, and the lace and trim on the layout.  Not bad, if I do say so myself!  I love flowers, and can't keep them off of my pages, which is a problem when three out of four children are of the male persuasion.

Here's another look at the Treasure Map cake.

A cake decorator I am not, but it's always fun to try!  Disclaimer:  do not try to find the treasure by using this map.  It will just confuse you.

Now I'm off to pack umpteen lunches, make breakfast, send the kids off to school, and head to work myself.  And get rid of this cold I've seem to come down with.  Hope you stay healthy and warm!

Cookies. Need I say more...

Don't let the mundane, everyday look of these cookies fool you.  They're the perfect, homey, oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  True story.  Hallelujah.

Once these are given a chance, the taster realizes the awesomeness that they are.

I've been using this same recipe since I was a teenager and made cookies every Sunday afternoon.  Then I left the mess in the kitchen.  And my mom would tell me to clean the kitchen.  20 times.  Then I would be doing the dishes at 10 o'clock at night because I thought I could outlast my mom and that maybe she would forget that I was supposed to do the dishes and I would be off the hook.  Now I do the same thing to my kids.  I've turned into my mother.

Family Favorite Oatmeal Cookies (adapted from a Quaker Oatmeal recipe)

2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
6 cups quick or rolled (old fashioned) oats
2 cups walnuts
3 cups chocolate chips (I like mine extra chocolatey)

Cream shortening, white sugar and brown sugar until slightly fluffy.  Blend in eggs, one at a time,  and vanilla.  Mix in flour, salt, and baking soda.  Stir in oatmeal, walnuts and chocolate chips.  Roll into small balls (or use a cookie scoop) and place on cookie sheet.  Flatten with a fork if you think you need to.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, but do not over bake.  Take out of oven when they look slightly underdone and let them sit on cookie sheet for 1 or 2 minutes to set up.

To quote the cookie monster, "C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me."