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Planning Your Christmas Menu

December 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As you prepare for Christmas dinner with your family, you may be wondering how to set your dinner table. Here are some ideas to get your creativity started:

Plan Your Menu

The first and most important step is to plan your menu. Does your family usually serve a traditional Christmas dinner? Do they like tradition, or would they mind something new? What types of meat does your family eat?

Once you’ve decided on the main meat (turkey, chicken, duck, pork, etc.), now you should decide what vegetables to serve. Is anyone allergic to any particular foods? Do certain members have certain vegetables they prefer to eat with their meat? Plan a nice variety to ensure that everyone will find something they like.

Next, plan your sides and desserts. Will you serve dinner rolls? What types of drinks will you offer? What desserts does everyone like?

When you plan your Christmas menu, remember that it is okay to ask for help. Perhaps it will be easier on you to call your guests and ask that everyone bring their favorite dish or dessert. This will take a lot of stress off you and ensures that there is a nice variety of food to eat.

Set the Table

Now that your dinner is planned, you’re ready to set the table. Try going for a theme that will encompass your dinner. Are you serving lots of casseroles? Go for a country-themed setting. Are you planning a four-course meal? Create a more elegant setting, with china and stemware.

Many family Christmas dinners are relaxed. This may be a good option, especially if you have young children. Create a simple, yet graceful centerpiece with candles and an edible fruit tree. Sometimes simple is best, offset the simple setting with some delicious food and great company for a memorable family Christmas.

P.S. Remember to pre-order The Printable Planner for Moms at 50% off before January 1st! Click Here!

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Planning Tagged With: ,

Christmas Organization Tips

December 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Don’t let this holiday season be stressful. Simply organize yourself to get it all done with little to no hassle. Get started early with these easy holiday organization tips.

Be a List Writer

Writing lists is an excellent way to keep yourself organized and on track. Write your list by hand then type them into a computer and print a neat copy to keep handy. Some list ideas for you: Christmas gift shopping list, spending budget, holiday cards list, meal planning, etc. Be sure to keep each list separate and mark off every task as it is completed.

Learn to Delegate

When it’s time to decorate for the holidays, get your family involved. Delegate specific tasks to each person. This will help you by reducing decorating time. Your family will also have fun decorating the house for Christmas. Your family members can also help get the house ready for Christmas by doing laundry, dusting, clearing snow and shopping.

Order Online

You can cut your shopping time in half (or more!) just by ordering online. After your shopping list is complete, sit down and shop online. You will most likely be able to find the majority of your gift list online. What’s even better is that you can save time and money by having some gifts automatically shipped to friends and family afar. You can even order your groceries online.

Think Ahead

Christmas happens every year and every year you swear you will put those decorations back in the right place. This is a good time to think about what you can do this year to make next year easier on yourself next Christmas. Organize your Christmas decorations before storing them in the attic. Jot down any ideas you might have for next year in a special holiday journal. Collect those favorite family recipes you requested this year and save them in your holiday journal for next year’s family dinner. And remember to untangle the Christmas lights before putting them away!

Share the Love

Plan your holiday dinner early and share the love (or food). If you’re hosting the Christmas dinner ask family and friends to each bring a dish, make sure you ask what everyone is bringing so you don’t end up with ten desserts and no main courses. This will take a huge amount of stress of you and your family members can show off their favorite recipes. If you’re going to someone else’s house for dinner offer to bring a dish along, your offer may be greatly appreciated.

By starting early, doing some online shopping and learning to delegate you can dramatically reduce your Christmas stress this year. Christmas shouldn’t be a time of stress and worry, try to slow down so that you can enjoy the sites and festivities around you and more importantly share it with your family. Merry Christmas.

P.S. Remember to pre-order The Printable Planner for Moms at 50% off before January 1st! Click Here!

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Organization Tagged With: , ,

She’s Making a List, Checking it Twice…

December 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Are you tired of running around, feeling like you don’t know if you’re coming or going during the Holidays? Christmas is so full of activities and it can get overwhelming trying to get everything done on time. Plan ahead to save yourself the hassle this year, here’s a Christmas checklist to help keep you on track:

Set a budget.

Know exactly how much money you can spend and stick to your budget. Don’t spend one penny more. Once you have a budget in place, you will know exactly how to plan for your spending. If money is tight this can reduce a lot of stress.

Decorate your home.

If your family likes to decorate both indoor and out, plan a day and have everyone in the family pitch in to decorate.

Find a bargain.

Don’t wait until the last minute to do your gift shopping. Get started early. Watch your newspaper and television for special sales.

Plan the meal.

Be prepared for your family dinner by planning every dish. If you are going to request that every family member bring something to the dinner, make those phone calls early in December.

Mail packages.

If you have family out of town that you won’t be able to visit, be sure to mail their packages in late November to early December. It’s best to mail them as early as possible, to ensure they will receive them before Christmas. The post office can also be a nightmare close to Christmas so be warned and go early!

Do your baking early.

Cook and bake whatever food items you can early in the month. Some pies, candies and casseroles can be prepared ahead and frozen. Then all you have to do is defrost and warm it up for dinner.

The most important thing you can do to be prepared is to create your own To Do and checklists.

Some list ideas you might need are:

  • Christmas gifts (don’t forget friends, bosses and teachers!)
  • Menus
  • Holiday errands
  • Christmas card list
  • Guest list for Christmas dinner

Make your list and check things off as you go along, this will give you a great sense of accomplishment and will help keep you on track, it’s much too easy to forget things during the holidays.

P.S. Remember to pre-order The Printable Planner for Moms at 50% off before January 1st! Click Here!

Filed Under: Checklists, Christmas, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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