How To Turn A Hectic Holiday Into A Party

Christmas use to be my favorite holiday! As a little girl I loved seeing the neighborhood light up with lights and carolers going door to door singing Christmas carols, it was a magical time. I ask myself, why as an adult, does it seem so stressful? After years of trying to make Christmas perfect, I realized it was me that had taken the fun out of my favorite holiday. I started analyzing what I was doing that caused me to dread the holiday’s and how could I change it to make it fun once again. Once I identified the task that made me want to pull my hair out, I then created ways to turn them into enjoyable events.

Christmas Cards

Christmas cards were a nightmare to me. Not only did I feel I needed to send them to my personal friends and family, but I would send them out to my clients as well. After developing carpel tunnel syndrome one year from writing out all of my Christmas cards, I said, “No more!”. Who came up with this idea of sending out Christmas cards every year, anyway? I am sure it was the greeting card companies as a way to make more money. I must say I did feel a little guilty the first year and was relieved to see no one dismissed me as a friend because of it and now I am so glad to take that stress out of my Christmas.

Decorating the Tree

Get my chili recipe here

I always loved decorating the Christmas tree growing up and I certainly wasn’t going to let that tradition go, so I decided to just make it more fun! Every year it has become a tradition to have the Brown’s annual tree trimming party. I invite a group of friends to share in the festivities. I make a big pot of my winter chili and hot apple cider drink with cinnamon. My husband pre-lights the tree and I lay out all the ornaments to make it easy and fun for everyone. I have Christmas music playing and everyone enjoys getting into the spirit of the season. After the last ornament and candy cane are placed on the tree, I hand everyone a bag of plastic snow and the throwing of the snow usually turns into a snow fight.  After it’s all decorated, everyone toasts Christmas and I give each of my guests an ornament for their tree. This is how we get together to have a nice and enjoyable party with friends and family.

Shopping and wrapping packages

You cannot wait until December to do your Christmas shopping without adding stress to your holiday. I recommend getting together with your bestie before Thanksgiving, to do your Christmas shopping. I like to make a list so I can be most productive and knock it out in a day. Once presents are bought, gather your best group of friends and pick a day every week to sit around, share a glass of wine and have a wrapping party. A party makes everything fun! Every year my friends and I pool paper and ribbon, creating a big assortment, that we share and it really makes a colorful presentation under the tree.