HELP!!!! Are any of you feeling overwhelmed with the silly season upon us?

I see so many people saying how awful the holiday season is because they feel they don't have the time or energy to accomplish what they want to.

As someone who suffers with chronic pain this is a real biggy..but for everyone I think the following will help.

Spontaneity is not something I can do anymore, everything has to be planned to the last degree. Although not everyone is like this it does help to break the holidays down into smaller portions.

1. Write a list of who you need presents for & if possible email them for ideas.
 If you have a large family a "secret Santa" is a great idea. This is where everyone's name is put in a hat and then everyone pulls one out & that is the person you buy for. Everyone gets a present and it doesn't break the bank. (if you pull out your own name, put it back and draw another). It is best to do this after you have given out the gifts for the year so you have a whole year to keep an eye out for something that might suit the person you are buying for.

2. Shop as much online as you can. You can still buy local and support your local shops, most of them have websites, so you can see if they have what you want and how much and a lot of them will even deliver. If they don't then use the phone and give them a call.
Don't forget gift vouchers are a great idea & don't need wrapping.
If you have a credit card that is part of a rewards program, check out what rewards are available to you, you may be able to get lots of your gifts this way.

3. Wrap one or two presents a day, then it's not a huge chore.

4. Putting up your decorations for Christmas, don't leave it till the 1st Dec and then try to put them all up. Start a week or two before and put up one or two decorations a day.

5. Work out where the celebrations are going to be held. If it's not at your house offer to bring something, make it something that is easy and stress free for you. If it's at your place then ask everyone to bring something so it's not all on you.

6. Try not to do too much on one day, if you have lots of friends and family to visit then make it over a couple of days, some on Christmas Day and some on Boxing Day or even have one side the family for Christmas a week earlier, a lot of people prefer this as they don't have to race from one place to the next all in one day & this is especially good if you have family that live a distance away, you can meet half way and have a celebration.

7. Don't make it complicated. If it is getting stressful and becoming too hard work out ways you can simplify it.

Remember the holidays are about spending time together, relaxing and having fun.

And I would encourage you all to remember the reason for the season.

http://juliakharwood.redbubble.com

Where has Christmas gone

This came through my facebook page, so I felt I needed to share it.I don't know who wrote it, but it is very true


Twas the Month before Christmas 

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.

See the PC Police had taken away
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
and we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday !

Please, all Christians join together and wish everyone you meet
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christ is The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!

If you agree please forward

Surviving Christmas

Hi,

I wanted to introduce you all to Kimberley.
She runs the Centre for Authentic Self Development.

If you are like me, you would like to be your authentic self always, but often spending time with family over the holiday season makes that seem impossible. So often we try to be who our families want us to be, or what we percieve they want us to be, or we fall into the age old patterns that were part of our growing up.

These are some of the tips Kimberley emailed me to coping with the holiday season.
1. Take time to remember why your celebrating in the first place. (It would be very lonely if family weren't there)

Christmas gifts for all ages

Christmas is nearly here and people are finishing their Christmas shp. Ususaly it's the hard to buy for that are left till last. I was listening to a programme on the radio the other day and they had a young man, 25, on and he was saying that as he lived in a unit, he didn't have room for lots of stuff and it was difficult to know what to do with things people gave him. I was interested to hear this as it was also a comment I had heard from a lot of people in the older demographic who had downsized, so what do you get them????
Some ideas that came out of the discussion were

• Art - it could be hung on the wall and was something good to remember people by.
• Experiences - Something that they could do that they might not otherwise think of or have the funds for.
• Dining out vouchers - giving them time they could spend with their loved one.

One thing that a couple had received was a weekend away, nice gift, but out of the price range of a lot of people. He said it was great to get in touch with nature and have some time to de-stress, which is fantastic if you can manage the time off. But what do you do for those you know can't get time off or can't leave the kids, how can you give them a gift that will help them?

One answer is "Healing Art". Art that goes on the wall, so doesn't take up floor space and that gives them the healing gift of nature without them having to even leave home.

Studies have shown that spending time looking at images of nature helps you to de-stress and gives you a greater sense of community, so you are then more likely to make time for your family and friends whereas otherwise it may not have been a priority.

So if you are interested in experiences I would recommend Red Balloon or if you would like Healing Art then check out Red Bubble.

My site on Red Bubble is http://juliakharwood.redbubble.com so you can check out my healing art, but there are also lots of other great artists on there too. They also sell gift vouchers.

Remember at the end of it all if you are feeling stressed and worn out, give yourself a gift by allowing yourself some time out in nature, even if its sitting outside with a cuppa or if your stuck in the office, have a look at some nature images on your computer and allow nature to work her magic!!!

Great tips for looking good in family photos

"Knowing how to take a fabulous photo will be the difference between great memories and memories where you wish you were cropped out of the frame," says image consultant and author Clare Maxfield ( www.claremaxfield.com.au). Put her tips into action this Christmas.

For the face:

• Stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth as you smile. It reduces the double-chin effect.

• Keep your chin down for a flattering line. Tilting your head up in excitement puts you at risk of nostril-cam.

• Say cheese! This is not as silly as it sounds. It opens your mouth into a natural smile. If you don’t want to be in the photo, get out!

There are lots more tips in the full article.
To read more click on the link in the article header.

Enjoy:)