Tis the Season - December 1

WHAT'S HAPPENING: I am happy to say my son and his family will be flying in from Dallas the day after Christmas, and we will have family Christmas with ALL the grandchildren on the 27th! I am so excited, and, of course, I want to make this an extra special Christmas, because we aren't always together.

I'm a little reluctant to admit that I'm done with my Christmas shopping, with the exception of my husband's stocking - which I like shopping for just a week or so before Christmas simply to take in the Christmas shopping ambience. I do a lot of my shopping online, but also hit some local artisan stores for gifts.

So while the shopping is done, that still leaves so much to do!! For some strange reason, I have decided now is a good time to completely re-arrange our downstairs. I don't just mean move Chair A to the left of the sofa, I mean we are switching entire rooms around! What is now our dining room -  previously the formal living room - and the adjoining room that we now call "The Den" -  will all become one big living room. What was our family room - adjacent to the kitchen - will become the new dining room, complete with cozy fireplace and built in cupboards and shelves for dish storage. Switching these rooms will give us so much more room when all the family is here, plus it just makes sense to have the dining room closer to the kitchen.  I'll take some before and after photos to post once we're done.

And yes, I want to paint all the rooms while we're at it. I'm not sure that's going to happen, but it needs to be done desperately!

And then there's the wrapping and baking and cooking and decorating inside and out to be done.

So... it's time for a plan! (betcha didn't see that one coming)

WHAT'S THE PLAN: Here it is - My Plan for the month of December.

Mondays - Big Cleaning Day (as always)
Tuesdays - Sewing days (I have some small gifts and decorations to sew)
Wednesdays - Baking and cooking for the week and for the freezer
Thursdays - Shopping - grocery and gifts, as needed. Also Errand Day (post office, bank, etc.)
Fridays - Minor cleaning, wrapping gifts
Saturdays - Put up tree, decorating inside and out (a little at a time is fine!)
Sundays - OFF - That's right. A day off. No cooking, cleaning, baking, wrapping or stressing. Everyone needs a day off each week.

The exception to the above is THIS weekend, when we will be moving all the furniture around. Hopefully, we can do it in one day, but we do have a lot to move.

And of course, it being the busiest season of the year, my husband will be going back to work for the next two weeks. (He's retired, but works for the same company in the same job when they need him.)

The Wednesday baking will include Christmas cookies and bars that I can freeze, extra bread for the freezer, and some freezer meals for easy dinners on the busiest of days. I will also be making a few quiches and lasagnas for the freezer, to feed us during the actual holiday when we have family here.

If I stick to the plan, everything will get done and there will be no reason to get stressed. I probably will stress out anyway, but there's no reason for it!

THINGS I LOVE:

This little frame sits in my kitchen near my phone. It reminds me of every one of my grandchildren.