Holiday Countdown: Six Weeks to Sanity

This holiday season, keep the focus where it should be: spending time with family and friends. Organization and sticking to the time line is the key, but remember this is a tool to decrease stress not increase anxiety. So assess its priorities against your own and make adjustments according to your family's favorite traditions, your time availability, travel plans, and budget.

• Clean and inventory your holiday work spaces; make a place for gift wrapping, holiday card writing, food storage and preparation. Making space for these tasks will help you stay in control of the projects.
• Create a holiday planner using a 3-ring binder, a notebook, or a computer file. Label sections: Calendar, Budget, Holiday Card, Gift List, Recipes/Meal Plans, Decorations, and Notes/Ideas. This will be a great resource to reflect on and modify year to year.
• Finalize your budget for the holidays; include holiday cards, gifts, decorating, and entertaining.
• As you make meals through the week, make doubles of dinners that will freeze and reheat well for use during busy holiday times. See our article Freezing Foods: A Real Time-Saver for tips and ideas and find great recipes in our Make Ahead Recipes collection.
• Order your turkey and other specialty items for Thanksgiving.
• Update and finalize your holiday card list.

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