Worth the read: 12 Tips for an Easier Christmas

Detail from a table runner I made for my daughter

This post, 12 Tips for an Easier Christmas, from Rachel at Small Notebook, is well worth your read.  In fact, it is well worth printing out and placing in your Christmas notebook for perusal again and again.

I'll briefly detail a few of Rachel's tips and how I'll use them, but you must read the full article to get the real benefit.

*  Handmade doesn't necessarily mean DIY.  So true.  I love to support Etsy shops and they are filled with great gift ideas.

* Buy, wrap, and ship gifts early.  Yes, indeed, especially if, like me, you have family living three time zones away.  I also like to schedule package pickups (very easy with Priority Mail flat rate boxes) -- and another thing I've done is to have gifts from places like Amazon and ThriftBooks sent directly to my daughter.  She then wraps and tags them for me.

* Limit traveling.  This is such a great idea, especially if you have small children or a lot of children.  Do not be guilted into going "home for Christmas."  You are home!  Let your parents come to you, if they must, or just enjoy your own personal family traditions.  Don't add stress to Christmas by traveling unnecessarily in iffy weather.

* Do "preventive life maintenance".  Wonderful ideas.  Stock up on tissues, toilet paper, cough drops.  Plan and even cook ahead for easy meals.  (I've written in the past about this concept.)  Life is going to go on.  It's not going to slow down just because it's Christmas time.  In fact, quite the reverse.  So be prepared, and there won't need to be emergency runs to the store or drive-thru.

Go check out Rachel's post!  Rudolph Day for July is the perfect time to give this some thought and do some planning.