Notes and Planning for Next Year's Holidays

[Harriet]

Here is a thread for making notes to ourselves about this year's holidays, to help plan next year's holidays!

What went well and deserves to be remembered for next year?

What idea needs tweaking?

Did we start early enough for some projects but need earlier scheduling for others?

Was the Thanksgiving meal well planned? Did others need more input about what foods to bring? Should we remember to tell others earlier what we will be bringing?

Did our gift closets serve us well? How can we make them more helpful next year?

Was anything forgotten?

[Nancy]

Christmas tea by Twining was a disappointment so I'll not be buying it next year it just tasted like regular tea I could not taste the spices at all.

Get dson's family stuff done by early Dec. for their Hanukkah celebration or at least ask if they are going to do that again this year.

I waited on the gifts and this year it's okay as dgd will be in town on Sat. so will have a chance
to see them and bring gifts over then.

Grilled turkey was awesome such a hit none left - over every one raved about that! Have to get more and do that again. Brownies were gone by the end of the night too.

Saw dson after all at dd last night [Christmas eve] hubby read the Christmas story after the meal worked out great. Forgot one gift so dgd will have an extended Christmas this is fine as she was ill anyway. The hoodies I made were a hit dd wants one too and I have a couple more so will be doing up a few more of those for the rest of the family.

So things worked out.

[Harriet]

Idea - schedule early November declutter of gift closet and stationary cabinet.

I found a forgotten gift and have to laugh because I found it right on the shelf below the gift closet shelf. I don't really have a gift closet but call it that - it is a gift shelf and by Christmas spills over onto the shelf below. They are deep and long, though. Not well lighted. I need to be sure to have a before-season "gift closet declutter" and physically take everything off, put only gift-related things back and from then on know EXACTLY what is going on there. What happens is that I do need the space through the year and so other things become clutter.

Cards going out early was smart. Worked out great. Finding uses for old cards was also smart. Very glad I organized the stationary cabinet in November. Next year I'll buy all new cards (just ONE kind) and send all the same, yay! Next year is a potential year for photos inside. Consider a group photo at Thanksgiving and also remember to ask dd30 in advance if she is having formal photo taken of little family.

Not so sure - The "Grandmother's China" Thanksgiving was somewhat meaningful. I'm glad I used it once and that I included a note about using for the first time the replacement gravy ladle bought by my dear late aunt. It is far from who we are, though. I really can't hand wash precious china while enjoying a bustling family gathering. I had the feeling dstepson and ddil were bewildered and ds and ddil were saying they were happy just for my sake. I know that it will be years before dd30's family will be comfortable with using it, and by then ds may have babies.

Finally DO this! - For the (how many?) year, I think the Rudolph Club or any other craft-through-the-year-for-Christmas plan is just BRILLIANT and wish I'd done more of it in 2010. There is NO TIME to wait around for s for handmade gifts. I should use the ideas I already have and just start in, deciding who gets them later! This will also be HEALTHY for my WIP (works in progress) stack LisaB talks about in Art, Craft and Needlework thread. (Unfinished Fabric Objects UFOs exist in my quiltmaking studio in several gift-like starts )

[BookSaver]

Make sure car maintenance is dealt with either before Thanksgiving or in early December, rather than waiting late enough to mess up Christmas prep.

(Simple oil change & new tires turned into unexpected factory recalls to check passenger airbag and rebuild the rusted subframe! Expected <2 hours waiting turned into stranded a whole day , plus a loaner car for the next 3 days because of delay for parts order over the weekend.)

[Indiana]

Before making cookies I will practice math skills. I will practice math skills. I will practice math skills.

I needed to take 3 dozen for the exchange and some extra. Some extra doesn't mean 2 dozen.

Do you know if a pan makes 24 cookies that is 2 dozen and not 1 dozen cookies? I discovered that when I was trying to figure out why there were so many left. Dniece#1 took them to her inlaws today.

There are other things - as I think of them I will post.

[Lisa B.]

My DH and I had a discussion, we are purchasing 1 gift a month from end January 2011 (one on each pay day), wrapping it, labelling it and all will be ready for next christmas. This way we won't have most of the expense in November and December next year.

[Nancy]

Next year I will continue to focus on the positive aspects of the holidays.
Realize how important this is after talking to some one after that isn't and after 40 yrs. seems like it would be time to change their tune!

I like to think ahead to Christmas in July de-clutter things that are not working out or that I don’t have time for Replacing them with new ideas and more current projects, it might be even better to do this seasonally. I also go through holiday decorating items then too. And try out new recipes then too as garden goods come in.

A couple of things that worked for us was the grilled turkey breast and that is definitely some thing to keep doing if weather is warm enough!

[Harmony]

Much to think about.

Smaller tree was fine. Pretty. Easier.

I made too many cookies. I made an assortment to take to DH's father, some for his brother and son. DH didn't make any effort to go see them. Going to not do that again. There were too many left here for us. Not doing them all in one day was a good idea.

DH can get cards for his family as he wants next year. This year I got my feelings hurt because I spent a bunch of time picking out ones, and a family member told me we put the wrong last name on one (she took her maiden name again, and we didn't know). Next year I'm not going to get involved.

Found out DD2, while planning her trip away on Christmas Day was afraid to tell me about it. Eye-opening to me. I thought it was a nutty idea, a whole lot of work and expense for them, but it was their Christmas and they had the right to decide that for them. All I wanted was some time with them. Must make sure she understands this.

This year I appreciated the cards I received more than usual. Going to put more thought into the ones I send out.

Next year, I will try to get house together before Thanksgiving, but not all in one week like this year. Even if I do not host, the house will be ready for Christmas, it will not be wasted effort.

Sure I will think of other stuff. Must write this down to remember.

[blessedw2]

what doesn't work for me: if you go by the big list of cleaning the weeks before Christmas as listed in holiday grand plan you would go crazy...but the focus is good. what does work is following dindiana's and dharriets focus during the year.

need to work on
plan to do my bills 2 weeks before Christmas and stick to it. keep to my paperwork daily like I have in the past year.
keep my receipts listed in christmas binder each day as I have them in one big bag and now it's work.
I got my sweater sets from cleaners: didn't check... they forgot the inside of sweater sets on both sweaters so had to come up with another outfit.
my plans for after christmas. I had ideas but nothing set. next time go away the week after christmas
plan on making food for Christmas day to bring...we always use the extras from Christmas eve but this year it all went.
don't buy so much chocolate/candy. make the gingerbread houses a head of time because I found it took too much time away from us just decorating it and talking.
laundry: we didn't keep up with daily laundry and put away.
expect the two days after christmas the dkids would need time to relax instead of wanting to go out.

what worked:
everytime I cashed a check I took the extra and threw it in a jar. so when we needed extra money like a nice dinner etc. we went into that.
asking and expecting a huge list of ideas from what people wanted by thanksgiving or that week. dkids had lost of great ideas to choose from and it kept it a suprise as they didn't know what they would get.
expecting that things might change and having fun things to do instead.
keeping my tank full. everytime it reached 1/4 down i got gas for the car. (around the christmas week
thinking ahead.

[Lynlee]

book`ddog`into`kennels.then`I`have`options`to`reduce`his`stay`or`cancel.
I`need`do`this`by`Easter.

Puttingup`a`few`decorations`was`fun.

Doing`Kellys`missions`and`whb`will`help`if`followed`year`round.
As`will`hotspot`taming/declutter`something`daily.