My 10 Holiday Survival Tips #HolidayCards

Can you believe Christmas is just 40 days away and Thanksgiving is just about a week away!  I feel like this year flew by and I feel the rest of the year is just a blink away.  I do my best and with planning and breathing I make it through the holidays with grace and ease.  Well Tiny Prints and Twitter Moms have teamed up to get ideas on 10 Holiday survival tips, so here are mine:

1.     Shop early.  I shop throughout the year for gifts so I am not stuck buying for 20 people or so in December.  Not only does it kill my December budget if I wait for until the last minute, but also many items have been picked over so there are slim pickings as far as hot gifts go.

2.     Shop Online.  I shop online whenever I can to avoid dragging my kids from store to store and so the gifts are delivered right to me or that person!  I can also usually get a  better deal online than in the store because of online coupons and cash back shopping sites.  I will even buy online and choose store pickup to earn cash back from shopping online but still be able to pick up the gift myself if it is cutting it too close.

3.     Make a kid car pack.  We drive a lot from Thanksgiving to Christmas for parties and dinners so I pack a kit with a few random toys and snacks so my boys don’t get stir crazy in the car!  I also replace all the kids DVDs with new ones, especially ones about winter or Christmas!

4.     I make a hair appointment for myself.  I love to get my hair cut and highlighted as a holiday treat for myself and to feel better about myself.  It is the one thing I do for myself at Christmastime and I enjoy all three hours of it!  This year I think I am adding a pedicure to my session!

5.     Pick out holiday outfits.  There is nothing worse than waking up for a holiay dinner or party and realizing that what I planned on all of us wearing is dirty or doesn’t match.  It may sound petty but I pick out our outfits and set them aside so they are ready for the occasion.

6.     Make your plans.  I try to schedule time with all of our relatives and figure out who is having what so I know what I need to do.  I have no problems having holidays at my house but it is nice to know if I am!  I also like to try to coordinate hitting peoples houses with who is in the same area so I can minimize driving.

7.     Send out holiday cards early if you are.  I send mine out right after Thanksgiving so it is one less thing for me to do in December.  I also like to order them early because they can take awhile to get and one year I didn’t get my cards until a week before Christmas!  One site to check out is Tiny Prints Christmas cards.

8.     Keep extra items in your car if you drive a lot.  I keep extra outfits and pjs for the kids as well as diapers and such since I am usually dragging my purse, the kids, presents, and a food dish out when we go places that I can’t remember everything!  I also keep clean blankets in the car for the kids to snuggle into on cold drives home.

9.     Try to take your vacation during Christmas.  Now if you work retail, I know it is impossible to get time off during the holidays but if you can or work in another area then try to save vacation days so you can relax as a family.  My husband takes the last two weeks off of the year every year because it is his down time at work and then we have two weeks as a family to lounge around and play with Christmas presents.  It is also less stressful for me since my husband is home to help out.

10. Schedule your work.  As a blogger I will schedule as many posts as I can so I can minimize my blogging time during the holidays.  I still go on every day but I won’t spend hours blogging and tweeting when I can spend some quality family time!

Overall, you have to do what is right for you and what works for your family.  Maybe waiting to the last minute is the pressure you need or maybe you need everything planned to the last detail.  I go with the flow but still need some organization and with holidays being stressful to begin with anything I can do to alleviate some work or stress I will do!

Mama’s Money Savers Disclosure:  I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $75 Tiny Prints gift certificate! For more information on how you can participate, click here.