This is for all of you with adult children who have families of their own. With all the fun and excitement seems to always come extra stress this time of year. Parties, parades, cookies and photos with Santa, church Christmas programs, the list never ends. My husband's birthday happens to be December 3rd and we got married on his birthday (so he would not forget our anniversary, he says) so we have two extra events to celebrate between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hectic to say the least especially with five grandchildren in the. mix, ranging in ages from fourteen to two! We came up with a Plan this year that seems to have helped us create less stress for everyone!
We combined Thanksgiving, Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas all in to one family gathering early in the month of December. This way our kids can visit with their in-laws families on Christmas Day if they choose or host their own holiday time with their kids. We have time to enjoy festivities with friends, neighbors or even travel if we choose to.
A few years ago I decided to have a family photo every Thanksgiving. At first I had a neighbor come over who is good at photography. Now I hire a professional. Either way, this is a great tradition that I highly recommend you including. We did not do it before my Momma died, and I SURE wish we had!
Here are some Tips I found helpful for pulling this off:
Have everyone send you their Christmas Wish List by Halloween.
Set your budget amount and remember to include money for stocking stuffers and photographer
Shop early, even on Black Friday, Cyber Monday weekend!
Create menu of your favorite holiday dishes and plan which days you will cook each OR ask each family to bring a side dish!
Wrap, stuff stockings (watch for my reel for quick hacks to easy stocking stuffers ideas coming soon), cook and enjoy your family and the rest of your holidays without being stressed the whole month of December!
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