3 Keys Thursday: 3 Key Strategies for De-Grinchifying this Christmas

Although today's post is a 3 Keys Thursday post, it's not about organizing. As much as I love organizing and tout its value as a life skill, there is -- and you may want to sit down for this -- more to life than organizing.

This year, the holidays will be quite different for most of us, but they are still worth celebrating. Here are three things I plan to remember this year.

How lucky I am.  I know it sounds incredibly Pollyanna-ish, especially in a year like this one, but there's never been a better time to focus on gratitudes. I miss my mom more than ever at Christmas, and I can curl up in a ball and let that overtake me or I can focus on what -- and who -- I have. My daughter who, under normal circumstances, might be miles away in a place of her own. My husband, who does so many little things -- like going to the grocery store for the one item I always seem to need when I bake. My dad, who's just around the corner, instead of more than a hundred miles away in my home state. My friends, who I see mostly on social media for now, but with whom I look forward to celebrating...soon (I hope). There may be things we don't have, but why let those take us away from what we do have?

wixin_56 via Pixabay

Not all Christmases will be like this one. We've been so isolated for so long that it seems as though normalcy may never return -- and it may not return in the way with which we're most familiar. But not every Christmas will be a lockdown Christmas. This year, we need to focus on the traditions that matter, and perhaps treat ourselves to some new ones, too. I splurged on some special hot chocolate which we may consume after our live-streamed Mass tonight and maybe instead of champagne on New Year's Eve as well -- or maybe with a family movie between Christmas and the new year. And, as someone who'd rather write than bake, I'm not entirely sorry to not have to bake as many cookies this year. Maybe this is the year to move from "we never do that" to "why not try it?"

JillWellington via Pixabay

Why we celebrate in the first place. Even the Grinch figured this one out:

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” (Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas)

Christmas is a day to celebrate the birth of a child who changed the world. Even if Christmas doesn't mean that to you, it's hard to deny that it's about life and rebirth and if it can come "without packages, boxes or bags," well then, it can come during a pandemic, too.

This Christmas will be different -- that much is true. And, while some of us are in undeniably terrible circumstances, where finding even a spark of gratitude is challenging, many of us are mourning a loss that is much more like the packages, tags, ribbons and bags.  

We are here. Christmas is here. Let's celebrate.

AnnaliseArt via Pixabay

Three Christmases

One good thing about an artificial tree is that
it can be put up any time.

We picked my daughter up from college last Friday. On Saturday, she baked cookies and attended a family party with my husband. I stayed behind because the party venue had cats (I'm allergic) and my own home venue was festively adorned with end-of-semester papers to be graded. Since then, my college kid has gone shopping, wrapped gifts, visited with friends and exercised her right to stay up late and sleep in. 

Back in November, before my daughter returned to school from Thanksgiving break, my husband suggested that we put up the tree. In fact, he made this suggestion even before she came home. I pooh-poohed him -- put the tree up in November? Long story short, he was right. We put it up the Friday after Thanksgiving, all together as a family, and it has been lit every day since. In the intervening time, my husband has put up outside lights, purchased and wrapped gifts and written his portion of the Christmas cards.

Which brings me to the third Christmas.

Since last Friday, I've graded stacks of papers, administered a final, graded more stacks of papers and calculated grades. In between, I've written a Christmas letter and a few cards, wrapped a few gifts, tried to keep the competing Christmas and end-of-semester piles in check, done some online shopping and basically tried to fit Christmas into the cracks of the end-of-semester stuff while ignoring the date on the calendar. If I take my blinders off and truly consider how much I need to do in the next three days, I will be unfit to live with.

So, I keep checking things off. My family helps (see "she baked cookies" and "his portion of the Christmas cards" above) and will help even more if I just ask them. The problem is, my lists are in my head and I don't completely -- hang on a second, I want to text my husband and ask him if he can pick something up --

Know what I need to have done.

And that's pretty much how my brain is working right now.

Chipping away at things really does work for me, but there are times when it drives those around me (okay, my husband) a little crazy. And, to be honest, there are times that I question its efficacy. I was just telling a friend this morning that in the muddled middle -- when it's all started and nothing is finished -- this idea of dedicating a little bit of time to everything, rather than tackling one task from start to finish, can feel foolish and overwhelming.

Then again, this time of year seems to feel like that no matter what plan I have in place. It's all too easy to let the lists expand to not only fill, but also overflow the time available, and to forget that more isn't necessarily better. 

Chipping away helps me dial it back, but I'm thinking I also need to make better use of my available resources. For some reason, it's just now occurring to me that my family has reached the stage where it  consists of three adults. That I can text my husband or my daughter and say, "hey, would you mind...?"

Photo: Ponce Photography via Pixabay

That I don't have to do Christmas all by myself. 

Which is a good thing. Because without them, I'm pretty sure Christmas at our house would come sometime in January. 

Okay, I'm kidding. Sort of.

So, as you deck the halls, keep in mind that this is supposed to be fun. That the anxiety, as one of our priests reminded us in the homily on Sunday, is of our own making. Keep the lists minimal so you can maximize the time you spend doing things you love with people you love.

'Tis the season, after all.

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys for Decorating for the Holidays

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Last weekend, before my daughter went back to school after Thanksgiving break, we put up our Christmas tree.

It's the only thing I've done ahead of schedule all month.

It got me started on holiday decorating, though, along with inspiring some thoughts on what holiday decorating ought to be.

Fun. Although I had no desire to put up a Christmas tree in November, it wouldn't have been any fun putting it up without my daughter, and we didn't want to wait until the very hectic week before Christmas. While decorating can't always be fun, deciding when and how you want to approach the task, whether all at once or a little at a time so that things come together slowly and peak at Christmas, can make a difference.

Peaceful. While this may be too much to hope for in the actual process, it's not too much to expect from the end product. Decorating, whether for every day or for the holidays, should enhance your home. I love coming home late in the afternoon and switching on the tree, candles and white lights that are part of the decor. It almost makes up for daylight savings time.

Meaningful. Our Christmas tree might have gone up first, but a key feature in our Christmas decorating is the nativity scene. Making sure there's a reminder of the reason for the season is an important part of getting ready for the holidays.

Whenever and how ever you decide to do it, may all of your decorating be merry and bright.

And STYLE-ish, of course.

Just One Thing...or Maybe Two

pippalou via Morguefile

Organization and efficiency are wonderful things. But sometimes we need to wave the white flag.

Lists abound in December. It's two days until Christmas, and my lists still have lists.

'Tis the season to be...crazy?

I don't think so.

So I got to thinking. What's the opposite of a to-do list?

Just one thing.

Okay, maybe it's not technically the opposite of a to-do list, but it has been my plan for December, one that has served me well in terms of maintaining my sanity. But with two days remaining until the big day, and traffic slowed to a crawl, it's time to decide where to go from here, both literally and figuratively, especially since there seems so far from here.

And so my "one thing" has morphed into two questions:

pixabay.com

• Is it necessary? 
• Do I love doing it?

Anything that doesn't meet at least one of those criteria goes to the bottom of the list. I won't dispense with those things entirely (at least not yet), but the likelihood of accomplishing them is greatly reduced. That means that the things that remain on the list are the ones that matter most.

Things can be necessary for a variety of reasons. They may be necessary for practical reasons (toilet paper is necessary), or because they make someone (you or someone else) happy. Any definition of necessary will do, as long as it's true to your spirit of the season. Doing it just because you always have? That's a recipe for stress, especially this late in the season. Better to make a conscious decision that it's not top priority than to not get to it and feel guilty.

As for things we love to do, those are the things that bring us joy, or that Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without. I used to love to bake gazillions of Christmas cookies. While I can't say that's a task I love any more, it wouldn't be Christmas without them. So, while I'll reconsider just how many kinds of Christmas cookies an extended family of less than twenty needs and plan accordingly, I will bake them. Really I will. 

Organization and efficiency are wonderful things. But there's much to be said for enjoying the season.

Merry Christmas, and may all of your celebrations be happy, healthy and peaceful.
See you in January.

Organization Extra: Re-Gifting -- In a Good Way

Photo from Magic 106.1 FM, Guelph, Canada
via Facebook

When my daughter was small, we started a book tradition at our house. I can't remember where I found the idea -- it might have been Family Fun magazine -- but I do seem to remember that it was just a front-of-book snippet by a parent. "Just" a snippet turned into a tradition that, at our house, lasted until my daughter was into her teens. And when a writer friend posted the photo at left on her Facebook page earlier this month, it had "Organization Extra" written all over it.

The process is a bit time consuming up front, but very simple. In November, gather all of your child's Christmas-themed books. Then, sometime before December 1, wrap each book individually. Beginning December 1, your child can open a book a day (or a book a week, or somewhere in between, depending upon the number of books you have available). Secretly purchasing new books I could add to the pile was fun, too, and less expensive than it would seem, as many old favorites endured for years.

My daughter loved coming downstairs each morning and opening a "new" book, and, as a bonus, it started each day with reading. Although mornings worked well for us, you could just as easily do this after dinner (or before dinner to procure some late afternoon peace and quiet), or at bedtime.

Once all of the books have been opened and the season has passed, gather them up again when you gather up the decorations and put them in a special box (labeled or unique so you can find them quickly in November). If you're feeling really industrious, you can wrap a few (or all of them) before you put them away, saving yourself some time at the outset, but choose carefully. You may find that your child deems some of this year's books too babyish next year.

Why is this an "Organization Extra"? Because managing our stuff doesn't always mean getting rid of things. Sometimes, it means rotating things from season to season so we can keep and enjoy more of what we love, without creating organizational mishaps along the way.

Merry Christmas, especially to my I love stuff friends. I've just given you an excuse to acquire more books. Then again, we authors do that.

Thank you to Carole Brown, who posted this photo on her Facebook page, 

bringing back many lovely memories.

3 Keys...Friday?? 3 Tasks, Once Each Day

Photo: Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

'Tis the season...for an overabundance of responsibility! It's easy to push the panic button, or, alternatively, curl up in the fetal position and avoid it all. Or, if you're stubborn  (like me), you create a plan, preferably one that's easy enough to guarantee successes, no matter how small.

So today's post, while still in keeping with my "Three Theme," isn't so much "Three Keys" as it is "Three Things." And, since I deviated from the schedule this week and am posting this on Friday, I figured it was a good opportunity to change things up a little bit.

Next week, the posting schedule returns to normal. I think. Meanwhile, I will...

Take one step toward Christmas. I wrote about this in Wednesday's post on The Porch Swing Chronicles. Overwhelmed by all that needs to be done for the holidays on top of everything else that needs to be done, I decided that simply moving forward slowly was better than standing still and stressing out. A side benefit? I'm savoring things a bit more.

Do one thing to promote my new book. Like it or not, promotion is part of the territory when you're an author. Fortunately, I enjoy the promotion aspect, and, since I have a list (of course), taking things slowly now means laying the groundwork I need to tackle the events themselves when January rolls around and my teaching schedule is less demanding.

Tackle one pile. Yesterday, it was accumulated mail. The day before that, it was a project in the playroom/man cave that freed up space for a Christmas tree  -- one that will reap clear space benefits in the new year. My standard for selection? Whatever's bugging me that day.

What's your plan for managing December with your sanity intact?

Organization Extra: Holiday Planning

publicdomainpictures.net

Perhaps you're one of those folks who Christmas shops all year long. Or maybe you're a serious Black Friday shopper and you spent yesterday making lists and checking them twice.

Maybe you're spending today patronizing local businesses in honor of Small Business Saturday. Or perhaps you're creating lists for Cyber Monday when you can shop from home in your pajamas.

No matter your shopping style, it's the time of year when tracking down gifts becomes a necessity for most of us. And shopping is just the tip of the holiday to-do iceberg.

Fortunately, although the holidays are creeping ever closer (as several of my Facebook friends enjoy pointing out on a regular basis), there's plenty of time to tackle things in an organized fashion. If the mere thought of getting ready for the holidays leaves you in a panic, check out this article by organizing guru Julie Morgenstern, who always manages to make planning seem not just possible, but palatable as well.

Not ready to tackle holiday planning yet? Just below Julie's article on holiday planning is one on organizing your mail.

Whatever you organize today, do it with STYLE. :-)