File this one away!

Gorgeous winter graphic from (in)courage

Yes, this post by Jessica Turner at (in)courage: 6 Ways to Find Time for You During the Holidays is well worth filing away for December.    Put it somewhere where you'll be able to find it.  In fact,  it would even be worth printing out and adding to your Christmas notebook, and I will plan to do just that. 

Or maybe you have a file on your computer desktop for Christmas helps and ideas, or a Pinterest board for Christmas planning.  Mine is here: Christmas planning and preparation. 

Just put this post where you will find it easily in December.  I think that I am going to post this on my regular blog for December Daily, so that none of my readers will miss out.

Jessica's six basic points are these:

1.  Prioritize.

2.  Include you in your calendar.

3.  Plan for times of waiting.

4.  Don't overschedule yourself.

5.  Take care of your body.

6.  Give yourself grace.

But by all means, head on over to her (in)courage post and get the full benefit of Jessica's helpful advice. 

I'm currently working my way through Jessica Turner's book The Fringe Hours, and am finding commonsense advice there as well.

An encouraging link to help you prepare for Christmas during July

 

Yesterday I was delighted to see that one of my favorite bloggers, Whitney at Come Home for Comfort, had shared a post concerning preparing for Christmas during July.  She has some really good tips which I will summarize here, but I'd love for you all to go over and read for yourselves.

Whitney mentions that she finds planning ahead for Christmas makes the holiday much less stressful and much more enjoyable.  I've definitely found this to be true, and it's probably the major reason that I do so much planning toward Christmas ahead of time.

Buying gifts during July is one thing Whitney suggests, and I agree with that suggestion.  Many shops, especially online, are offering Christmas in July sales this month.  It would be crazy not to do some shopping now, assuming you have the money.  It really helps to spread out the expense of Christmas.

Another thought Whitney offers is to follow a decorating schedule -- to get your holiday decor up early enough to really enjoy it throughout the season.  This makes a lot of sense.  She shares her own time frames for fall and Christmas decorating, which you might find very helpful.

And lastly she also suggests considering difficult situations that could complicate our Christmas season -- difficult family members, strained relationships, loss, loneliness, being away from family and more.  Thinking and praying about those things now, well in advance, will help us to gain wisdom in handling them when the time comes.

So I encourage you to head on over and read Whitney's post, How to Prepare for Christmas in July!   I think you'll enjoy her practical approach and helpful tips.

Worth the read: an exhortation to be still this Christmas season

Four of my grandkids doing their annual Christmas cookie baking in 2017

I read this last Christmas and think it's something we should reread every year: Be Still: Resist  the Christmas Urgency, by Sarah Beals at Joy-Filled Days.

It can be oh-so-tempting to feel as if we have to do all the Christmas things.  We want to make everything so special for our families.  Sarah relates how she asked her kids what made the Christmas season special to them -- what they saw as the parts of the season that they considered important family traditions.  To her surprise, their list was nothing like hers and included very simple things done together as a family.

Sarah shares a list of ten things we might want to do with our families this season to help us be still and truly savor Christmas.

She concludes with these wise words: "Tis the season to slow down and savor, to be thankful for what’s in front of you. These days that will pass so quickly and be gone forever. Days so full that we might just miss them if we don’t purposefully stop and notice. This is the day–the moment–the Lord has made. It’s up to us to rejoice and be glad in it right now. Joy comes in the present. It’s not found in the chase for more, or in the memory of the good old days. It’s found now."

I love this advice!  Head on over and read the entire post.  You will be blessed, I guarantee it!

A Cracker Barrel Christmas with Arlene!

Image of Woodland Cardinal Mug from CrackerBarrel.com

My friend Arlene blogs over at Nanaland, and she recently visited a Cracker Barrel where the Christmas goodies were already on display.  Check out the post here:  A Cracker Barrel Christmas.

Our nearest Cracker Barrel (and the only one) here in New Hampshire is quite a distance away, certainly not a trip to take on the spur of the moment.  So I went to their website instead and enjoyed browsing the Christmas section there.  It's not arranged as beautifully as in the store, but the merchandise is all there.  (Arlene's photos, of course, do give the flavor of actually being in the store.)

I was smitten by the Woodland Cardinal Mug at the top of the post, even though I certainly don't need another mug of any sort.  Maybe for decorating?  It would work for fall right through Christmas!

Here are a couple of other neat finds from CrackerBarrel.com:

This sweet Woodland Chickadee Ornament would make a nice gift, 

Photo from CrackerBarrel.com

 and I also love the  Paper Barn Ornament, a cute variation on a putz house.

Photo from CrackerBarrel.com

 I would love to hang either on our own tree.  Both are very reasonably priced.

Thanks to Arlene for the Christmas inspiration from Cracker Barrel!

A couple more from the September archives

Just a couple more posts from the September archives!

I couldn't resist linking to our Mini Christmas in September from 2012.  Just a fun memory!

And then this one: Thinking Out Loud -- from last year, and still timely, especially for people like me who have a history of overextending themselves.  Due to my estate responsibilities, this is going to be another year of very few handmade gifts. 

Maybe these thoughts will be helpful to someone else!

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.

Thinking out loud ...

From a sweet calendar my girls loved as children.  So thankful I thought to scan the illustrations!

So I'm just thinking out loud here.  My dear hubby, Mr. T, told me some time ago (in fact, it was probably last December) that he didn't want me to be all tired out this coming Christmas.  To that end, he was establishing a deadline by which all handmade Christmas gifts must be completed (other than cookies, fudge, or other kitchen gifts).  The deadline is December 1st, and has been written on the calendar from Day 1 of 2016.

Some may see that as heavy-handed, but I know that he has my best good in mind.  He has always been very willing to pitch in with other things while I work on the handmade gifts.  He hates seeing me get so tired, however.  So I've been willing to work with that very reasonable deadline on the calendar.  After all, that's always been one of the main reasons I work on handmade gifts and Christmas preparations year round -- to free up December so I can really enjoy Christmas!

A couple of weeks ago I was challenged by something another blogger wrote about the importance of saying No to good things.  In that post, the blogger, Christa, linked to a fall planning workbook she was using. (It's free, so you might want to download one for yourself!)  As I thought, just a little bit, of what my summer has been like, and about what I want my autumn to look like, I began to seriously think about not doing handmade gifts (other than kitchen gifts) for the family this year.  For awhile I've been considering making the handmade gifts for birthdays, and giving consumable family gifts at Christmas.  I do have a few handmade things started for this year, and will finish them up.  And  I'll definitely be creating a few handmade things for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Beyond that, I haven't decided for sure yet.  I'll let you know!

But regardless of what I decide, I do plan to be here in the Christmas kitchen just as often as possible, and I'll have plenty of recipes along with crafting and decorating inspiration to share.  I'll stop in again very soon!

Helpful tips for a handmade holiday

Over the years I've saved many ideas in a folder labeled "Christmas crafting" in my Yahoo inbox.  This one, a blog post from Twelve Crafts Till Christmas concerning Handmade Holiday Tips, is very, very helpful as we begin to plan (or continue to plan) our handcrafted gifts.

I'll let you follow the link and check it out for yourself -- and if I were you I would print out the post and put it somewhere safe, like my Christmas notebook.  I think this is something I probably need to re-read as I plan my handcrafted gifts each year.  There are eight incredibly helpful tips, including the need to be realistic about your level of crafting skill in various areas.

(And I would add to that the need to be realistic about how long a particular project is going to take you.  Invariably I underestimate how long something is going to take.)

Another important thought is to consider your recipient.  Yes, you love to craft gifts and most people love receiving something handmade.  But others do not, so know your recipient.  And then there is the matter of allergies and sensitivities when thinking about food gifts or anything scented.  It used to be that homemade cookies or a loaf of bread were always a safe bet.  Not so much anymore, with so many people avoiding wheat and gluten.  So you can see that this tip is a very valuable one.

I'll be printing this out and putting it in my Christmas notebook.  How about you?

December 3 ~ Worth the read!

This sweet graphic is from Little Birdie Blessings.

As we approach this blessed Christmas season, we need to be so sure that we are focusing on the real reason we're celebrating.  It's so easy, even as believers, to get sidetracked by decorations, gifts, crafts -- almost anything.  I read two very helpful blog posts this week and wanted to share the links with all of you.

The first is from Gina at Home Joys. Her thoughtful post is titled What makes a meaningful Christmas?. This would be especially helpful for families with young children.  In the post, Gina also links to other helpful posts she's shared on this topic in previous years.

The second link is for the first in a series of posts by Sarah at Joy-Filled Days. She is doing a series of One-Minute Christmas Devotionals and this is the first one: One-Minute Christmas Devotional #1. You will want to visit Joy-Filled Days daily for as long as the series runs.  It's been a great blessing to me already!