Tis the Season: Tips for Having a Joyful and Stress-Free Christmas With Your Family

Whether snuggling up to watch a Christmas movie or watching your children open gifts, the Christmas season is full of opportunities to make happy memories that will last a lifetime. This guide will help you streamline your Christmas preparations so that you can maximize your family time and experience true joy during this special time of year.

Christmas Shopping

The Christmas holidays are the busiest shopping period of the entire year. Stores often have long lines, and popular items may sell out quickly. When you're out shopping, just keep in mind that the holiday rush can lead to injury. To minimize these risks, try to give yourself plenty of time for your shopping trips and take a list of the gifts you need to purchase. You may want to try reserving your presents online; this way, you can go to a pickup desk at the store where your purchases will be ready for you. You could also try splitting your shopping between online purchases and brick-and-mortar stores to save more time.

Decorations

Decorations help you and your family get into the holiday spirit and allow you to showcase your personal style. Inflatable snowmen, reindeer, and Santa bring a fun element to outdoor decorating that your kids will love, and wrapping clear or colored lights around outdoor trees or vines is another way to show holiday spirit. You might want to decorate an outdoor tree with oversized ornaments as well.

For indoor decorations, string your lights on your Christmas trees in a vertical direction to cut down on time. Consider having one large tree for the main room and smaller trees for your children's bedrooms. Themed trees are very popular, and you could let your kids pick out a theme for their tree. Tropical, Nordic, and red-and-green themes are some of those that you might consider.

For a twist on tradition, you could opt for a tinsel or feather tree. Kids love making their own Christmas ornaments, and they often enjoy making ribbon garlands, old-fashioned popcorn strings, gingerbread houses, and homemade cards. These activities are fun to do as a family. You can do one activity each weekend to keep things simple and enjoyable.

Food

The holidays are the perfect time to get creative with recipes in the kitchen. Whether you're updating a classic recipe or trying something entirely new, preparing ahead of time< will help keep things pleasant. Consider using weekends before the Christmas break to bake casseroles, pies, cookies, and other dishes that can be frozen in advance of the festivities. If you've got a large number of sweets to make, split the work up by inviting your kids and other family members to bake alongside you. You could even host a baking party with family and friends by putting on some Christmas carols and having some snacks. If you're pressed for time, consider purchasing some of the baked goods or main dishes that you need. These can be purchased from grocery stores and online retailers.

Christmas can seem like a stressful holiday, but luckily there are some things you can do to make it a little easier. With a little preparation and some help from others, you can have a relaxing, restful, and magical holiday season.

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