|
|
|
|
|
|
You Are Here: Home - Newsletters - "Get Organized" - Article
As we approach Thanksgiving and then the end of the year holidays, do you experience STRESS? Do you get tired of being pulled in all directions? Are you dreading eating pumpkin pie and cookies in too many different homes? Too many times I hear the same story: "I have to traipse my whole family first to my family's home and then to his family's home. It's exhausting!" If you're a blended family, you may have even more homes to visit. Or perhaps you are the one having people traipse in and out of your house all day. How do we stop all the MADNESS?
TAKING CHARGE
Put your foot down! Take control of your time. Say NO if you need to. Keep each day simple, fun and meaningful, and perhaps even begin your own holiday traditions, so you can spend quality time with your loved ones. If you are going somewhere, take charge of what food you're comfortable bringing and at what time you're comfortable getting there. If guests are coming to your home, ask how each person would like to be involved -- such as bringing a particular dish or doing a certain job to prepare for the day. If you tell yourself and other people what you CAN do, you have just taken charge of that situation.
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Think about what the purpose of the Thanksgiving holiday is -- to spend time with your family and friends giving thanks for everything you've received. Thanksgiving is not just about getting together for good food, football or after-Thanksgiving sales. Identify some new goals for the holidays -- such as less stress and more time with family, as a result of FEWER visits away from home or fewer visitors, SIMPLER meals, less cooking or cleanup, and so on. Then have a meeting in person with your family and describe your ideas and new holiday plans. Ask what everyone thinks and then make a list of your holiday goals. Or, just explain your new plans and let whomever wishes be involved. Some suggestions for simplifying different holiday situations:
VISITING OTHERS
For those of you who have to do the traipsing, call each home and ask if you can bring a particular item or food dish. Try to bring the SAME DISH to every home you visit -- this will help make the cooking and preparation easier. Then, set some TIME LIMITS -- say that you can arrive at approximately ___ a.m./p.m. and stay until ___a.m./p.m. since you also have other places you need to get to that day.
HAVING COMPANY
If you have visitors coming to your home, mail a LIST of foods to bring -- or some other form of involvement for everyone invited -- and then call each person to identify their item on the list. Here is what one of my letters might look like: “Dear Family and Friends, For all of us to have a great day to give thanks, please sign up for at least one of the items listed below. All food items need to feed 14 people. I will call you by November ___(date) to identify your item on the list: ____ Cranberry Sauce ____ Pumpkin Pie ____ Stuffing ____ Salad ____ Vegetable ____ Ice Cream ____ Coffee ____ Make and serve coffee ____ Clean up After Meal If you have old photos of family or friends that you think would be interesting to everyone else, please bring them. We will eat around 4:00PM.”
FOLLOWING UP
Or, instead of sending out a letter and list, call all invited parties and tell them food items and chores you need help with. Ask each person whether they would like to bring a food, or help set up, or clean up. Right then and there, IDENTIFY what dish each person will bring or what job they want to do. Next, send out POSTCARDS stating something like this: "Dear ________, Thank you so much for committing to bring cranberry sauce to Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 25th. I can't wait to see you around 4:00PM!" There's not much room for error here.
SHARING THE PREP WORK
When you have company in your home, make a list of CHORES for each immediate family member to sign up. My list might look like this: ____ Vacuum ____ Dust ____ Clean Bathrooms ____ Mop Floor ____ Empty Trash Cans ____ Put Kleenex Out ____ Refill Toilet Paper Rolls ____ Put Out Fresh Hand Towels ____ Sweep Walkways ____ Set Table ____ Go shopping ____ Put Out Decorations Often a list of assigned or chosen chores will allow family members to take pride in what they are doing.
GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE
The extreme opposite is what we are doing this year. Our family has decided to go to a Thanksgiving Family Camp. I'll actually get to have Thanksgiving Dinner and not cook or clean it up. At the same time, I will get a chance to be thankful with my immediate family in beautiful, PEACEFUL surroundings. You can do the same thing by choosing to EAT OUT just about anywhere -- a restaurant, church gathering, or community function.
ONE LAST TIP
Now apply this article to Hanukkah, Christmas, etc -- and "take charge of your holidays!" May your holiday season be filled with LOVE, JOY, and PEACE!
Susie Glennan has been happily married since 1982, is mom to 3 teenagers, and is a Home Maker, Nurturer, Teacher, Author and owner of The Busy Woman's Daily Planner -- whose products are available directly through www.OnlineOrganizing.com. You can reach Susie at or 800-848-7715. Want to receive these kind of articles via e-mail each month? Sign up for a free subscription. Click here to return to "Get Organized" -- November 2001... Add this page to your Bookmarks!
If you notice any problems with this site, please contact our webmaster. To see what people are saying about www.OnlineOrganizing.com, check out our visitor comments.
|
|
www.OnlineOrganizing.com is a service mark of Creative Solutions for Home and Office, LLC.
