My Top 5 Tips For Holiday Sanity December 13, 2014
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Life Balance, Mindfulness.trackback
Janna wrote a post, Holiday Survival Discovery: They Don’t Call Me Bonnie (And I Don’t Know Clyde). After sharing her Survival Discovery, Janna asked us to share our secrets to Holiday Sanity:
Do you have any secrets (legal or not) for making it through the holidays? I love this time of year, so I don’t usually get too stressed… but it doesn’t hurt to keep ideas on hand!
Here’s my Top 5 Tips for Holiday Sanity:
1. Live where it’s WARM so you don’t have to maneuver over or around snow banks or worry about icicles lurking overhead.
2. Steer clear of the mall from Thanksgiving to Christmas . . . unless you just want to wander around and admire the decorations.
3. Buy most/all gifts at the Grocery Store . . . everyone needs to eat. Focus on the 4 main food groups ~> Salty, Crunchy, Sweet, and C~H~O~C~O~L~A~T~E!
4. Get plenty of exercise to alleviate stress and maintain balance.
5. Laugh at any insanity that slips into the mix. It will. That’s a given.
Aah . . . that’s better!
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Spirit Lights The Way 
Ha ha! Love the tree, Nancy! It’s so Florida! I’m with you, on all accounts, especially staying clear of the mall this time of the year. It’s where the crazies congregate!
I get a kick out of some of the decorations down here ~ like flamingos wearing mufflers and gators in scarves.
I’m on the fence about whether to wander around the new mall in Sarasota to see the decorations or not. We might. Or not. We’ll see.
Love it! At least I can stay warm and I avoid the mall by ordering my groceries online 🙂
Perfect, Rainee! Christmas + Food = Perfect Together!
C~H~O~C~O~L~A~T~E
and don’t forget some extra:
C~H~O~C~O~L~A~T~E
in case you run low on:
C~H~O~C~O~L~A~T~E
And next it’ll be Easter!
Yes! That’s the ticket!
and drink a Starbucks Chestnut Praline latte. That make it Christmas.
Of course! Chestnuts + Christmas = Perfect Together!
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Ha ha! Great recommendations. Seriously, every winter I ask myself why I live in this cold country! 🙂
I asked myself that question for decades before fleeing the cold and flying south 5 years ago. Aah . . . that’s better! 😎
I agree about food as gifts. There was a time when food baskets were “in”, and that’s what I bought for different family members; which they all used, and they appreciated the gifts.
Then one year I went looking for food baskets, but they were hard to find. I was told that they were now “passé”.
“Passe”? Food is never passé, until you are!
Nevertheless, I’m still getting food for friends and family members this year.
Around here, there are lots of food baskets available.
http://www.thefreshmarket.com/delivery/gift-baskets
The cost of a food delivery from Florida to New York might be unnecessarily expensive. Food baskets are still available around here, in supermarkets, where you’d expect to find them; but not in the food section of the Department Store where I used to work; and were very convenient for me to purchase, with my employee’s discount.
Another option ~ create a food basket from scratch.
“Scratch” is the word. If I created it, it would be a disorderly, jumbled mess, instead of the neat and attractive package that I’d want to present as a gift, to somebody who I cared about.
Gotcha.
love your tips. and hey chocolate? Good for anything that ails you in all circumstances. So how could that not be a great gift! hee hee.
BFF and I don’t exchange gifts anymore . . . but we both replenish our coffers of CHOCOLATE!
right on!
mmmm…those coconut patties look so good! don’t believe we have them up here… Great tips Nancy 🙂
I’ve never seen them anywhere but in Florida . . . but you can get them on line. Here’s a link:
YUM!!Thanks Nancy!
BTW: They do come in flavors ~ Key Lime, Orange, Almond, and Rum. But the best are the Classic Original.
Here’s my secret to maintaining that shred of sanity I have left – avoiding the family. We spend our holidays here and since our house is small and we live so far away, no one ever wants to come visit.
This does not mean we have a quiet holiday, as all of our friends stream in & out escaping their families at our house.
Wine is always a great gift too.
You IZ smart! Family togetherness at the holidays can present “challenges” that only trained professionals can manage. 😛
Wine is a great gift . . . and a coping mechanism.
Love the Ringling Bros – extreme exercise for an extremely trying time of the year, shopping-wise. My tips include a no-gift agreement, but if you have to, then go shopping plugged into an iPod so you don’t have to listen to all the screaming, crying, arguing and general gnashing of teeth.
When our nieces and nephews were young, we centered gift giving on them and stopped shopping for the adults except for small tokens of appreciation.
While I miss the squeals and giggles of “wee ones” tearing open packages, I don’t miss the screaming, crying, arguing, pushing, shoving, pulling, and general gnashing of teeth caused by too much shopping stress.
My husband is driving me insane because he’s been stressing about Christmas since the 24th of November. I’ll send him across to see you, Nancy 🙂
Tell him to drink 2 glasses of wine . . . and sing Silent Night every morning. 😛
Good advice Nancy! We’re also very laid back about Christmas so no stress here. That decorated palm tree is hilarious, so Florida 😀
Yay! It’s nice not to be consumed by something that’s meant to bring “peace, joy, and happiness.” Glad you got a kick out of the palm tree ~ we saw it on Bridge St. on AMI.
I think #1 is staying away from the mall! Just thinking about all that noise and clamor gives me hives. 🙂
Mall Babies are a rowdy bunch, eh? Add to that the cha-ching of the registers and it sounds like Who-ville in the weeks before Christmas.
Yes yes YES to #3! And we love those coconut patties! We have to bring 5 or 6 boxes of those for peeps back here.
A fabulous choice, Pix!
After a week in beautiful but rainy Vancouver, I arrived home to snow. Mercifully, the temps are still above freezing, so it’s actually pretty and not too cold. I did brave the malls yesterday. That was the opposite of pretty. And also hotter than Hades.
I remember bundling up to go to the mall and stripping off layers while making the rounds ~> juggling coats and scarves and packages and wallets. I do NOT miss that.
Yep, that was me yesterday.
I also remember dashing into the mall without a coat so I wouldn’t have to trundle it around for hours. Brrr . . .
LOL! Great tips!!
Thanks, Kate. Some people thrive on all the hustle and bustle, but for others it’s draining. When we look within for guidance, and keep our priorities in mind, we enjoy the holidays (and life) more. As you noted in your last post ~ comparison is the thief of joy.
There is no reason to keep up with the Jones. 😛
I’m glad you made a post out of the ideas you shared in your comment! I have to say, your rule #2 is spot on… We broke that one yesterday because my younger son needed to see Santa and already needed new shoes again. Hubby did Santa first thing before it got too nuts, but by 3pm when we finally could look at shoes, it was crazy! Had to be done now though since our small town has no selection and we won’t be back till mid-January. If you can’t avoid the mall, get someone else else to drive 🙂
Agreed! Or at least someone else to help navigate.
Glad your younger son managed to fit in a visit with Santa . . . while getting fitted for new shoes.