Wise Preperation = Happy Holidays

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Hello my lovelies. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving like I did. It felt really good to spend time with my family and friends and eat all that food (and I didnt even bother to watch calories cause I was going to chow down). Anyhoo....I was thinking about the term "happy holidays" and what all that includes. For many people, holiday time is a time of stress and running around like a beheaded chicken to prepare for travel, gifts, dinner, and making way for family that may come in. Its like you dont get to the happy part of the holidays (spending time with family, opening gifts, eating, relaxing, etc) after you have gone through hell to get to that point. So I got to thinking why go through hell on your way to happy? So I pondered on ways to keep holiday preperations as stress-free as possible, and you know I had to share with you guys. I am also looking forward to how you keep your holiday's happy beginning to the end. So here we go!

Avoid Racing Time
I think part of the reason that people stress over the holidays is because they often find themselves racing the clock while it is running out. Like the whole crazy holiday shoppers trying to purchase gifts the day before Christmas Eve type of thing. So the key to beating the time is to not start running while time is running out. When it seems you have all the time in the world to purchase gifts or groceries for holiday dinner, then that is the time to do it. That isnt the time to put it off and say I do it next weekend, because before you know it day before Thanksgiving/Christmas is upon you! So the earlier you start the better.

Keep Some Money in your Wallet
Holidays doesn't have to be a total bank breaker! In my Early Christmas Shopping article I did on Info Barrel, I gave wonderful tips on how to start early and save money on good quality gifts. As far as checking out the deals, couponing, using cash back rewards, and shopping online those tips still and always will apply holiday or no holiday. However starting months before December to do Christmas shopping is kind of irrelevant since December is like a day away from this post lol. Therefore, I am going to focus on how you can still save money even while you are in the month of a big holiday like Christmas. Saving money can be a family effort. This year me and my family decided to change the gift giving tradition this year. Since most of us is all grown there really was no point in each person having to buy a good 10+ gifts for each family member. We believe in doing that when children are involved, but adults not so much lol. So to keep the spirit of giving and receiving gifts for Christmas since having an empty Christmas tree is no fun, we decided on Thanksgiving to do a drawing. Whoever name we draw that is the only person you have to buy a gift for come Christmas time which save lots of money. So instead of me buying 10+ gifts I am only responsible for one gift out of my family. Another way to save money for the holidays is to cut down travel expenses. If your commute is not that far away, then take your car or a rental car instead of a plane. If your visiting family, stay with them instead of a hotel if you can stand them and they can stand you lol. One of the ways you spend so much extra money when traveling is the eating out expense on top of the price of how you get there and where you stay. During the Thanksgiving holidays, we packed lunches to eat on for the commute to and from my mom's house. So if we got hungry, we did not have to stop and spend money on our way to and from our destination. Also, instead of going out to eat directly after Thanksgiving we ate a good filling of the leftovers. We stayed Wednesday all the way till Sunday and only ate out once which was on Saturday. If you can find ways to not spend a ridiculous amount of money for the holidays, I promise you will found ways to keep your hair from turning gray or falling out. Looking at the amount of money spent on holidays use to be my biggest stress.

Avoid the Dreaded T.C.L (:::scary music::: dun dun duuuuuun)
Holidays are notorious for turning people into Scrooge clones. If you want to stay a people person for the holidays, then I suggest you avoid T.C.L. which stands for traffic, crowds, and long lines. Remember when I said you should start early? Well if you do that then you automatically will avoid T.C.L. Try not to do any holiday errands days before the actual holiday. Try to go early in the morning to shop or whatever hour that there isnt many people around. Shop online as much as possible so you dont have to leave the house at all. All these things can definitely cut down on T.C.L.

Do a Meal Plan with Your Family
If you plan the menu for the holiday with your family, then this keeps you from doing all the cooking plus you get to operate with 2+ heads instead of one. Instead of you making the turkey, the dressing, and the greens start delegating tasks to other family members. That is exactly what my mother did. She was an overachiever. She did the fantastic four (turkey, dressing, greens, and sweet potato pies) and many more dishes on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Of course we didn't complain because all we had to do was eat lol. Yes, yes I know we were selfish little piggies. However she said some changes are going to be made and she put our behinds to work. So all she did this year was the turkey and dressing while every family member contributed to other dishes which worked out perfectly especially for her. Doing this brings creativity and variety to the holiday dinner table and doesn't put too much stress on one person.

Dont Wait till After the Holidays to Relax
Actually doing things early, being wise in my spending, and avoiding T.C.L actually gives me time that I can afford to just sit on my bum and relax! For example, lets say I took care of my errands and travel preparations the first two weeks of December. Well the remaining weeks and days leading up to Christmas, means I can do something for myself without any guilt. The only thing I would have to do is cook the ingredients that should already be in my cabinet/fridge or pack if I am traveling. While everyone else is experiencing T.C.L. I will be experiencing T.L.C (tender, love, and care). So if you finished a day of shopping, cooking, or gift wrapping then simply wind down to your favorite movie or show on Netflix or ask your honey to give you a massage because you deserve it. Always, always, always make time for yourself after you made time for everyone else, and I don't know about you but I count errands and holiday preparations as time made for others lol. This helps you keep your sanity. If you saved a good amount of money because you chose to be smart during holiday preparations, then take a small chunk to buy yourself a nice outfit, some entertainment, or go out to eat and put the rest in savings.

Those are just a few of my tips to make your holidays happy, healthy, wealthy, and wise. So what say you? How do you make your holidays as stress-free as possible?