***Holiday Planning, 2014***

[blessedw2]

some GREAT ideas! Thank you book and harriet!

yes these are young women 20 and 19 and have asked already what we will be doing. (last time we had visitors we showed them all of downtown and also in florida my dmlm sent them to disney which we definitely can't do now.

I might have my older daughter take them downtown for a night - I just don't have the money they may be expecting I have.
I already booked our plays because the 2 theaters had nothing available around the holidays for all of us and I would have to get 6 tickets which is a fortune for downtown chicago plays.
I have to remember to keep it simple and cheap
thanks for the advice

[FelineFriend]

I finished 1 pair of red-white variegated origami potholders for a holiday gift and I've found a red-white snowflake potholder, for her to use as a hot pad. Her kitchen's got red & white accents, towels, dishcloths & appliances. She's from Louisiana, moved to Ashburn, VA and fell in love with snow, during her first EVER SEEN snow last winter! She can hardly wait for snow again, so I thought the snowflake hot pad would be perfect in her kitchen, because she loves snow so much! ♥ I can hardly wait for her to open the gift, but it won't be until December, when I hear back from her, about it! It's killing me to wait 2 more months!

I have a good neighbor-friend, who is the Dwife of the buddy of DH's, who gets firewood with DH every spring/summer. She has white counters in her kitchen, light grey and white walls. She loves to decorate in red & white, for her accent colors. I'm making her 1 pair of red-white origami potholders, TOO, and a larger matching hot pad, to go with the set. She loves ♥ to decorate for Valentine's Day, too. I can hardly wait until she opens her gift. She just is beside herself with joy, when she sees what I've made her. She has such wonderful praises, seems to be so touched, and loved. I love making her happy. She had shingles this year, too. And life's challenges, too, make life more difficult, so treating her brings a smile to my heart, because it puts a great big smile on her heart and soul. I guess this is what gift-giving is all about. The joy of giving is great, too!

[FelineFriend]

Blessed, I agree with Harriet & Booksaver, too! You can drive around to look at Christmas lighting displays. All your other plans sound great to me, too. Do you have a Christmas or Holiday Planner? That helps you break down the big day, into shorter more manageable steps, as you slowly plan for the big days. It helps take away stress, too.

I finished putting the insulation material onto a side of a hot pad, then single crocheted them together, adding a loop. I've found that if I take the yarn, to make a loop, add it on with a single crochet, then chain 12 stitches, then slip stitch back onto the hot pad or potholder, in the same hole as the beginning stitch, I do a nice loop, when I slip stitch into each chain of the 12-chain loop. When I come back down, to the starting point, I do another single crochet, then end off. I weave in loose ends very well, so they're not even visible. It turns out so nicely. I did a yellow one, it's thick, padded, feels very good in my hands and looks very, very pretty, too. It's a start of a Granny square, in round 1, but then you single crochet in each stitch and space around, doing 3 SC in the corners. I'm going to go look for more insulation material. (I found enough for 2 hot pads, but only need enough for 1.

Has anybody else, other than me, made out their Christmas card-giving list yet? I'm trying to hold off addressing them yet. We have some people who are getting "up there" and they may not make it until Christmas. We're playing it by ear this year, as last year, 2 or 3 cards needed to be re-addressed, and I scrambled to find envelopes that would fit the cards. So this year, I plan on making out my cards around roughly, November 15. We plan to send them & gifts in mailers on Dec. 3.

DH says we don't have the extra $$ this year, for special Christmas return address labels. We have nice American flag ones, across the entire label, which is faint where our address goes with both our names. We might not even get the Christmas or holiday postage stamps, too. I know this would horrify some people, but sometimes a person's got to make "do" with what's on hand, because of costs. Christmas or the holidays are not a contest to see who can spend the most or outdo each other or one-up the other person's envelopes. It's the gift of giving behind the message of keeping i touch, via cards, which is the important thing.

I enjoy writing brief notes in cards, by hand, too, for an added personal touch. I don't have Christmas stationery either. But I was thinking how I could take plain paper, rubber stamp on a Christmas design with my rubber stamps, write a personal note by hand. This would be personal and nice, too. OR even rubber stamp my envelopes, to add an extra zip to them. I used to decorate the edges of envelopes with artsy designs, in colored pens, too. It's very time-consuming, but it's so festive and oh, so pretty! I have a flat wooden tray that fits on the arms of my recliner in the great room. I have some permanent markers which are also archival-friendly and waterproof. It'd be nice to set up the envelopes, draw designs on them, in front of the TV, the fireplace insert fire, and just doodle on them, something festive in green and red. It's fun to think ahead, by thinking backwards, to years when I took more time to touch other people in a nice way. It's relaxing, rewarding and brings me joy, too.

[FelineFriend]

It took me 3 - 3.5 hours, to complete ONE potholder for a holiday gift today!
However, I did take turns to do housework, in between crocheting.
I have 2 afghan projects to complete.
I'm considering making this week a non-writing-stories-week, so I can do holiday crocheting instead.
Also, I've been experiencing some anxiety, due to work-life balance. Crochet helps me cope nicely.

[blessedw2]

I do understand about the balance and anxiety - your crochet sounds lovely!

I do christmas cards early only because last year I waited and didn't get them out at all.
I am starting to do a little at a time.

I haven't started my journal officially.. I have my gift list started and need to put it in my binder,

things that must be planned ahead:
free things to do with family
house painting that needs doing.
Planning for d relatives coming in... their room prep, holiday plans, tickets for florida, making sure they bring a credit card for money

[FelineFriend]

Blessed, Your planning is paying off! You're accomplishing so much!

I got my first holiday Christmas planning email from CEO yesterday, & she is telling us to put together our holiday planners. I think the program's called "Christmas Countdown."

[Nancy]

Two neighborhood towns have light displays we try to take in each year. kids do concerts I am looking forward too just reminded dd to let us know when those are.

We take in services sometimes at a diff. One than. We normally go to during the rest of the year for a change, like a candlelight service for example.

Glad I have most of the dish clothes knit up for the gift baskets so I can just put the other things and gift cards in these.

[FelineFriend]

Blessedw2 , I've P. M.'ed you twice. I thought something was wrong with my "outbox", but Harriet says my messages to you will remain in my outbox, until you pick them up. It'd be fun to email.

Nancy , I'm in AWE for your huge productiveness towards Christmas gifts! WTG, Lady!

I feel like I'm "stuck" right now. I have:
1- 1 potholder to make to = 1 pair. The 1st one took over 3 hours, but it's fancy, too.
2- 1 walker-tote, it's an easy-to-crochet pattern, only takes 8 oz., so maybe it'll go fast? Haven't made it before.
3- Need to do 13 butterflies pairs of wings w/their bodies, attach carefully to Granny squares, then join the squares together and edge the afghan.

After that, my Dfriends' gifts will be all done, but I have oodles of little things to do for the 3 youngest grands, keep thinking, when am I going to address my cards? I'm in a bit of a pickle.

I admire those of you who are doing so well with your holiday planning! WTG, ALL of you!

[Nancy]

Thanks ff!
H. Wants a cot for under the sleeping bag so that is going on the list. We need a picnic table screen cover thingie. Getting gear together for next yr. Invetory etc. Maybe building or setting up the utility trailer for camping
so clear totes might help.

[FelineFriend]

I'm addressing Christmas cards today! I posted a poem about doing it & getting them done, at PWYC, to tie in with Wednesday Wanna! I thought it was cute.

EDIT: I got Christmas cards addressed today! Yippee & Yeah! Next on my list: To add signatures to the inside of the cards. I left another poem about my Christmas cards journey today at PWYC. My mouse isn't working right, so I cannot cut and paste here at the Village. I'm hoping to get my cards done ASAP and not worry about them anymore. There are some leftovers, for stragglers, when they come in.

Also, I've ordered some Christmastime address labels for $2.99, for 48 of them, on sale, at Current on-line. They have a bunch of birds in the snow sitting on either a power line OR tree branch. It's so festive, it ties in with our street address name, too. The envelopes are light blue, edged in a white outline of snowflakes, too. The holiday birds labels will add an extra touch. Also, we'll purchase some Christmas postage stamps, to finish off the look. We've never done this before, matching labels with stamps and the envelope design. So this is a fun, little extra special treat for me this year. It's nice to be able to have nice put-together-looking holiday cards.

ALSO, last night, I ordered an e-book on how to handle holiday stress, so my holidays remain more calm, inside my mind and heart. I haven't read on it yet, because I bought it too late last night and of course, today, I'm doing my cards. I hope, by having my cards all finished, it'll take that stress off my shoulders, and not be in the back of my mind for 1.5 more months. We always mail our cards, around December 3rd, with a few pen pal mailers, too.