On NOT Doing It All ... The Holiday ReMix

 2011 - holiday card photo shoot, out take #1,002
The four who keep me from taking myself too seriously

This post originally appeared in October 2010, but this busy week seemed like a good time to dust it off, add a few updates, and remind myself not to take things so seriously.  Perhaps some of you need that reminder, too?  Peace, not perfection.

I have told you before that I'm no Mary Poppins.  I'm not Mrs. Claus either.  True, my approach to holiday preparation is to do a little bit at a time ahead of time.  Doing that relaxes me and helps me to feel more on top of things and less stressed.  However, everyone's temperament and situation are different.

Be gentle on yourselves, okay? 

So, along those lines, and because I really enjoyed the list my friend Mandi posted on her blog a few weeks ago (How I Do It All ... Secrets from a Perfect Wife and Mother) here are some holiday confessions ...

How I Do It All ... Secrets of a Perfect Holiday Planner!

(I can't even type that with a straight face)

I Do ...
Knit.

I Do NOT ...
Have a single handknit stocking in my home.  They were all purchased.

I Do ...
Make detailed lists of what I would like to accomplish.

I Do NOT ...
Ever, ever, ever get every single thing on my list finished.  I'm pretty good at planning things and having good intentions, but I sometimes get overwhelmed and end up crossing things off of my To Do list.  And that is perfectly okay.

I Do ...
Hope that making ahead and freezing some meals will help us to avoid busy night drive-thru runs during the holidays.

I Do NOT ...
Plan on beating myself up if I see the pizza guy during the month of December.

I Do ...
Get to take a nap on Christmas day.  It is becoming a tradition that Mom gets to take a nap during the afternoon.  I love this!


I Do NOT ...
Get to bed early enough on Christmas Eve. There are always a few last minute things I'm finishing up - wrapping, preparations for breakfast, something always keeps me up past my bedtime every year.

I Do ...
Make many of the gifts we give.

I Do NOT ...
Ever, ever, ever finish making everything on my list.  If a project isn't done by December 1st, I abandon it and start surfing etsy.  There is always next year  :-)

I Also Do NOT ...
Make gifts for anyone who has ever sneered or turned up their nose at one of our handmade gifts.  One snarky comment and it is gift card city from now on, and I think we're both happier for it.

I Do ...
In general feel pretty good about the quality and the quantity of the gifts our kids receive.

I Do NOT ...
Think a single year has gone by where I haven't had that moment on Christmas Eve where I look at the presents under our tree and worry if they will be enough.  

I Do ...
Make a holiday budget every year.


I Do NOT ...
Ever have the amount of money to spend that I wish I did.

I Do ...
Know what and who the holidays are really all about.


I Do NOT ...
Have fully have the ability to resist the all of the temptation and consumerism that runs rampant this time of year.  I'm working on it, but I am certainly not there yet.


I Do ...
Plan that the weekend before and the weekend after Christmas will be spent with family.  We happily travel all over the state during the month of December.  I actually enjoy those trips, looking at the lights, listening to music, talking with my husband, seeing family and friends.

I Do NOT ...
Travel on Christmas Day.  I stay home in my pajamas with my kids and we love it, even though I know it hurts some people's feelings and they don't understand why we choose to stay home.  Our door is open and friends and family are welcome, but we stay home.

I Do ...
Quite a bit of holiday baking with the kids.  We have a messy, sugary, good time.


I Do NOT ...
Enjoy the clean up afterward.

I Do ...
Admit that I may have an unnatural love of sequins when it comes to the holidays


I Do NOT ...
Care if my husband is too embarrassed to be seen with me in public when I'm wearing my sequined Santa hat.  Oh, yeah, I'm the lady at the grocery in the sequin Santa hat.  Let your holiday freak flag fly, baby!


I Do ...
Try every year to take a photo of the kids for our holiday card.


I Do NOT ...
Think I've ever been entirely successful. (But I have a lot of fun trying)  I'll share a few, just for your enjoyment:

2011  - sometimes the outtakes are the best part
This is what happens when my eyes on Pinterest are bigger than my photography abilities
Look at Mia, she'd love to be eating one of those light bulbs, I think.
Max is smiling, but his eyes say, "Mom has clearly lost her mind. Why are we doing this?"
Lucy looks like she is being cooperative, but trust me, 
in about three seconds she's going to start whipping that string of lights around,
smacking her siblings.
Thank goodness for Jillian's giggle! 
I look at this picture and I can still hear it.

Last weekend, December 2011 
 Notice one of my kids wanted nothing at all to do with Santa.
Which is fine.  We don't force Santa visits.
(picture Lucy in a heap on the floor at my feet about six feet away).  
I think baby Mia's face here sums it up the experience perfectly.

This holiday picture thing has been going on for years ... one year I just went with it and we made the outtakes into the card we sent out to friends and family, figuring if they know us well enough to be on our card list, then they know us well enough to understand the photos.

 Christmas 2007

You've got to know when to hold'em
know when to fold 'em
know when to walk away
.... and know when to just call the whole thing "done" 

and make a humorous card out of your "outtakes"

 Feel better now?

Do you have any holiday planning confessions?