Simplefying the Holidays

[bmccasland]

I kind of miss the cookie baking frenzy that I used to do. But the main reasons I'd bake have gone on, so I got out of the habit.

Although, I know if I offered to bake 10 varieties of cookies, y'all would volunteer to relieve me of them.

[jessmarimba]

Although, I know if I offered to bake 10 varieties of cookies, y'all would volunteer to relieve me of them.

I loooooove cookies. I make them and freeze most, since it's just me around to eat them! There is a part of Ohio that traditionally has a cookie table at weddings - I'm going to adopt that tradition if I ever get married.

I go all out with a tree and lights and everything, because it makes me happy since I'm alone for most of the holidays. But my tree is artifical and pre-lit, the outside lights take 15 minutes to put up (as long as I untangled the lights the year before) and it's worth it to me.

And I usually pick gifts throughout the year and save them. I wrap them all and put them under my tree until I either fly home or decide to mail them.

[GLC1968]

Having a very small family and not a huge circle of local friends really simplifies things. That and having a husband who is an introvert and refuses most party invitations makes the holiday season really peaceful for us!

I will do some baking this year to give as gifts to my new coworkers (probably quick breads - cookies are too easy to sneak a few!). I haven't done Christmas cards in a few years, either. It just felt so wasteful to me. It's amazing how quickly you drop off the list when you don't send out cards for a couple of years! It makes me think that everyone does it as an obligation and as soon as there is a chance to stop, they do. I'd rather just call important friends and family members to wish them seasons greetings. But we don't have children to brag about, either, so it's easier.

Gift giving has gotten easier over the years too, but again, not having ANY children in the family makes it simple. We only exchange consumable or home-made gifts with my family. My husband has no family (to speak of) so that's a non-issue. And for each other, we use the holiday as an excuse to buy things for the house that we'd like but don't necessarily NEED right at the moment. This year, it was a new fireplace and wood stove.

We do put up a tree and some simple outside lights, but that's for my enjoyment more than for any other reason. I still love this season, so it makes me smile to come home to Christmas lights when it's so damn dark this time of year.

[Koronin]

Gift with my family is pretty easy, either I have an idea of what to get or I ask for some suggestions, as to my sisters and my mom. (Other than my sisters and parents the only other person I exchange gifts with is my grandmother and I know exactly where she wants a gift card to, so that's easy as well).
My husband's family on the other hand, well actually it's just his one sister and her husband that we exchange gifts with and I would rather totally end that. His sister basically gives junk that typically ends up in the trash can because it's not even decent enough to take to Goodwill. I'd be 1000 times happier to NOT exchange with them at all.
As for the other stuff, never been one to do parties, ever, and I actually like to bake when I have time, so I will eventually get around to baking at least two types of Christmas cookies and maybe one candy....those typically consist of buckeye cookies/candy, themb print cookies, and a version of blossom cookies (the ones with the Hersey kiss in the center, but I make them smaller and use the small baking kisses instead).
I also like to decorate, but need my house in order first, so not a lot of decorating this year since I'm still putting boxes away from getting moved in.

[redrhodie]

I haven't done Christmas cards in a few years, either. It just felt so wasteful to me. It's amazing how quickly you drop off the list when you don't send out cards for a couple of years! It makes me think that everyone does it as an obligation and as soon as there is a chance to stop, they do.

Thank you for that. I've been looking for a reason to stop sending cards, and this works for me!

[Koronin]

I like sending and receiving Christmas Cards, however if someone does not send them back I figure they don't want them, so I don't send them to those don't send them back.

[Miranda]

I've cut out a TON of stuff from what I used to do years ago.

The season is suppose to be about joy. If my heart is not filled with joy in doing "it" (whatever that may be)... then I've decided I'm simply not doing it lol.

[jessmarimba]

I was just thinking about this thread and the fact that my tree isn't up yet. And it occurred to me that with Dammit Cat (err, I mean Critter) and his need to play with or attempt to eat anything that isn't tied down, my tree might be awfully plain this year.

He's inside the Xmas storage box playing with tinsel as I type this...

[ny biker]

I generally don't feel like my holidays need to be simplified.

I have the holiday pot-luck lunch at work, a small party with the folks on the condo committee I'm on, and maybe the condo association holiday party if I feel like going. I am not burdened by many people wanting my company. I expect to have no plans for New Years Eve, since I don't usually have anything to do other than watch TV.

I buy gifts for family members (immediate family and the cousins I am closest to) and two other people -- my trainer and one friend. I enjoy shopping and can handle the crowded mall for a day or so.

I don't have a tree because I'm always at my parents' house on Christmas. I look forward to decorating their tree every year, and of course the ornaments I made as a child are always front and center. Some years I decorate my condo with lights in the windows and a few knick knacks, some years I don't. It depends on whether I feel like it, since no one else cares one way or the other.

I don't generally bake. A couple of years ago I got the recipe for rum cake that a co-worker always brought to the pot-luck lunch after he retired. I will probably make a few of them this year, but don't feel any pressure from anyone to do it. Mostly I do it because I really like this cake.

I always intend to send out a few cards to relatives and close friends who live far away, but I never get around to it. I'm going to try to write out one per day this year so I finally get some sent out.

[Bethany1]

This is one of the few years where I'm loving the holidays. DH and I have boring lives so there aren't any invites to parties and family lives far too much for a visit. Thankfully my in-laws move to Florida during the winter so I don't have to deal with them.

I actually bought a magazine with a paper tree on the cover, cut out all the strips and put the tree together with my daughters. That was tons of fun. I love blue and silver and it came out really nice.

I got out my Cricut cutter and made a a tree box from a pattern I bought and downloaded. Glue and paper are not my friends as I've discovered. I finally had to have my kids put it together. I'm not a scrapbooker, but bought the Cricut for quilting purposes. I've spent the past two days trying to figure out why my Cougar cutter is being all growly and finally figured it out earlier so I could do some more intricate projects that the Cricut can't do.

I think simplifying means doing the things that are special to you and your family. Anything else just turns into a chore.

I love Christmas cards and wish more people sent them to me. It's so much fun to see them lined up and specially arranged. I don't even care if they are generic. I thought about making cards and realized it would be a chore and way too expensive. I'm not that crafty.

The only thing I would love is a pair of hand knitted socks. I've tried several times to make a pair with a couple of books, but keeping track of the pattern, using the needles and counting kills me. I have two wonderful blue skeins of wool yarn that I had planned to use once I really knew what I was doing. Someday I'll figure it out.

[Dannielle]

I have to keep life simplified during the holiday season to survive it lol. I go into full on "elf mode" with my doll/toy-making business and have to let a lot of things slide.

I used to go nuts during the holidays with baking, decorating, etc but when time constraints no longer allowed for such things I actually asked my family which traditions meant something to them. It was a surprisingly short list. And there were a lot of things I had always considered essential that no one really cared about.

These days I make sure we do the things that are important to my family and I skip the rest.

[Veronica]

Our mail to list has gotten much shorter. Unless you're one of the "protected" old folk, if we don't hear from you for three years, you're off the list.

I go to Barnes and Noble after Christmas and buy marked down "Made in the USA" cards. They have a pretty good selection of these. I just buy a bunch every couple of years. I need to go again this year.

Veronica

[Owlie]

I don't do parties. I love baking, so I do a few batches of cookies. (One of those has to be oatmeal cookies, and we freeze them, so they last for a while unless DBF finds them...)

I have my tiny tree that I wrapped with lights my first year of college. My family does a big tree, a second tree in the basement (I do not know why, because we don't spend a lot of time down there, but decorating it is my dad's pet project), and one little one for the table in the entry hall. My mom does a few table-top decorations and lit wreaths for the windows. We do outdoor lights too, but they're low-key and don't take very long to put up, once we've found the lights. We like it.

I did Christmas cards last year for close friends from college. I figure people like getting mail that's not a bill. I don't know if I'll do it again this year. Maybe for two people.

Gifts are the hard thing. DBF and I get each other something useful or consumable (often tea), and then something silly.

[shootingstar]

The most elaborate thing we do is preparing for Christmas dinner (on Christmas Eve) and buying presents.

I left behind my Christmas tree in another city....so hmmm. The spirit will live on in other ways.

[limewave]

We used to draw names for the big family Christmas, but the last few years we have done Dirty Santa instead--it's easier and a lot more fun! If you want to participate you bring a wrapped gift to exchange. Everyone draws a number and then you get to open gifts in the order that you drew. After the first person goes, the next person can either steal a gift already opened or open a new one. If someone had their gift stolen, they get to open another gift. After all the presents are open, we draw numbers AGAIN and the real fun begins. Everyone "steals" a gift in the order of the numbers drawn. For once, being last really pays :-)