Having Pleasant Holidays ... Would that be GREAT or What?

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Having Pleasant Holidays...Would that be GREAT or What?

Celebrate Simply

by Nancy Twigg

Karen's Book Review

Making sure you have pleasant holidays sure sounds easier than it is. There are tons of books out there that talk about how holidays have changed from what used to be simple, yet meaningful times spent with family and friends to all out, over-the-top parties and extravagant family gatherings that would leave Martha Stewart begging for mercy.

I'm not sure how our dreams of pleasant holidays transformed into what we have today. Somewhere along the line they seem to have taken on a life of their own.

"Celebrate Simply" takes a down-to-earth, practical approach to holidays. The author addresses each holiday and describes ways to restore sanity to each one of them.

I found this book refreshing and, quite frankly, desperately needed. The book talks a lot about Christmas, because this is the holiday where we seem to act even more nuts than usual. The author covers Christmas topics like gift giving, which is usually the biggest problem for many of us, how to simplify the actual Christmas celebration, and most importantly, how to make sure Christ doesn't take a back seat to all the hoopla of the season.

Here are some of the Christmas suggestions I found the most useful:

Take care of time-consuming tasks EARLY. The author puts a lot of emphasis on doing everything you can in advance to avoid all that excessive hair-pulling, sweating, and heart palpitations that seem to happen to me at Christmas time.

Fill your freezer. Doubling your normal recipes with the intent of freezing half is a great idea. Then when you're in the "crisis" mode, you can simply pull out something from the freezer and dinner is served.

Plan volunteer activities now. Having things scheduled on the calendar gives me a sense of purpose and focus. Any advanced planning and scheduling will definitely contribute to the pleasant holidays you're after.

Complete Christmas crafts. Working on this sort of thing throughout the year will give you a lot better chance of getting it done on time rather than waiting until November to get started.

Plan holiday meals. Holiday meal planning is another one of those things that seem to suck all the life out of Christmas for me. Planning in advance would definitely remove another burden.

DECIDE WHAT TO DELETE. See how this one is emphasized? There are definitely obligations that give me absolutely no enjoyment. It's figuring out how to bow out gracefully that is the trick.

The only part of the book that I wasn't so sure about was the topic of gift giving. The author suggested yard sales and flea markets as possible locations for gifts. Now, I'm all for having pleasant holidays, but I'm just not so sure something used from someone else's garage is going to fly. On the other hand, people have been known to find some great antiques, etc. from those places.

This book is a great read if you're interested in putting some sanity back into your holidays. Even if you only implement one or two of the ideas, heck, you're further along than you were before.

Purchase "Celebrate Simply: Your Guide to Simpler, More Meaningful Holidays and Special Occasions"

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