An Accomplished Woman: Holiday Planning Part 2 and Menu Week Ending 11.16

A few weeks ago, I shared with my new strategy about Christmas decorating. Last year, I decided to package my Christmas decorations so as to only use those items that fit with the design. This year, I am not using snow men, those pretty burgundy items that I have always used forever, no mercury or silver, no nutcrackers, no angels. I am designing a more rustic Christmas. Simpler and more elegant.

So the next step is how to decorate for Christmas.

1. Draw the rooms - I always use a blank sheet of paper and draw (and I am a terrible artist) what I want the rooms to look like when complete. Then I list the items needed for each room.

2. Set up a staging area. - My workroom is the hub of my Christmas decorating. Projects are completed, supplies are gathered and organized by room.

3. Pack up your every day items: After Thanksgiving, I spend a couple of hours packing up my every day items. This step gives me a blank slate for decorating. It also provides a wonderful opportunity to clean those items thoroughly. I pack them in tissue paper so they are ready for the big clean-up in January.

4. Decorate room by room. I do not decorate the entire house in one day. If you decorate an entire room, the house is not a complete mess. Pick a room, decorate it, put everything away and clean up.

5. Decorating outside - I have made it a tradition to pull the family together and decorate our outside Saturday after Thanksgiving. My trick is to provide them with food... Soup, salad, sandwiches, hot chocolate. Hey, I know what works with my family. For outside, I also have a plan and everyone gets an assignment. Two hours and we are done.

My strategy is time tested and works for me. Find what works for you. The holidays should be about the baby Jesus... not all the work that is associated with making the perfect holiday.

This week's menu is about getting ready for Thanksgiving. Let's not overlook my favorite holiday. I love Thanksgiving.

Monday