these are great idea.. I try to do that but generally cant follow my own advice and over do it.. right now I am doing laundry cleaning the bathroom..and planning to clean kitchen wrap presents and do cards.. just had to sit a minute cause I got another dizzy spell..
I would add one more thing..I did MOSt of my shopping on line.. so much easier to get sizes and colors you want..no crownds to fight..most sites have free shipping if you know the codes..also coupon codes for discounts galore..I got a bunch of stuff from target and Kohls that was cheaper than it would have been in the store...
we did take my granddaughter to see santa in the mall but that was not a shopping rushing day..just santa pictures..casual lunch then home!
I have to make reindeer cookies for my granddaughters school party next week..but I have cut way back on my baking...
also use bags for gifts instead of wrapping paper..and alot of people really do prefer giftcards,..you can get what you want when the after Christmas sales are going on..
I would love to hear more hints.

I print out all my labels...including our names/signature for my cards. I simply cannot write that much anymore but can still type. All my relatives/friends know why and I do add a little personal message in writing too.

For my cards, I have everyone's addresses on label paper. I print them out on regular paper, then as I do a card, I'll cross their name off. It keeps me organized.

I have an organizational binder with notes, calendars, maps, medical stuff etc. Any work calendars, doctors papers etc. get put in there.

We decided we don't need much baking so cut back on that. We much prefer to set out some meat, cheese, crackers, pickles, etc. In the past though, I've made homemade green tomato mincemeat, scotch shortbread, buttertarts, meat and cheese tarts, sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, chicken philo wraps with black bean dip, smoked salmon logs, mini pizzas and more!

Decorating is set to a minimum and I got hubby to help bring the totes up from downstairs. I try to get it done before we decorate at work, otherwise I'm sick to death of it! LOL

Everyone pitches in and helps clean here. I got 2 freebies, scrubbing bubbles toilet brush and free heavy duty pads, so going to try those today. :)

Hubby helped shop with me yesterday...we got our son a weight bench and a cool set of weights. The weights go in a plastic case. It was soooooo heavy so really glad hubby was there! LOL

We got daughter a digital camera from us and she'll get some specialty paper from Nathan and a new printer from her grandparents (they send us a cheque to use for them).

I start buying my stocking stuffers throughout the year...some go in the Samaritan's purse shoeboxes and the rest go in their socks.

Scratch and win lottery tickets for out of town people which cuts back on time and shipping fees.

Large white board by the back door. I put my work times on there for the family to see as well as little messages.

Sorry this is so long. :)

not long ..very helpful..I have to learn how to do labels on this computer..would make my life so much easier..

i schedule my nervous break down for the week before..lol
no seriously my nervous get real bad so i just do a little each day .. baking early and such...**hugs**

I try to figure out what will give me the most pleasure with the least amount of stress and strain on my body. For me, that means letting go of things without being hard on myself. At the same time, it also means doing those things which over the years have the most meaning to me, like going to church, listening to my holiday music, and going to holiday parties. A wise lady once pointed out that we who suffer with chronic illness sometimes have to push beyond our limits in exchange for an experience which will significantly enrich us. The light and joy and energy (not to mention the endorphins) from these experiences actually help our healing journey in the long run, even if they stress our bodies temporarily.

Thats what I did little by little all year long and now I am finished. Merry Christmas. Hope you are ghaving a good day.

I still have to get gifts for my mother, father, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, niece-in-law, three great nephews - ages 3, 1 and a half, 6 months, niece and nephew. At least I got my two friends presents this year - will go to a Christmas party in the a.m. and will get two gifts from that.

I am a total control freak, especially about my holiday decorating. The hardest holiday thing I've every done is survive this weekend - sitting on the couch with the remote control while I watch my 11 year old daughter decorate. My house looks like a Christmas store exploded. I actually called my son and told him to be careful coming through the front door when he gets off work tonight. The fact is, she is having a blast! No more Christmas cards for me. I started sending New Year's cards about 3 years ago. I can knock them out pretty quickly after the holidays are over. This year, I think I'll do it while my daughter UNdecorates :)

I stay home, all of the time, always.

I never celebrate holidays. Too much stress on an already overloaded mind.

My parents go out places and celebrate, while I stay here and lay down.

It's ridiculous that I'm over 40 years younger than them, yet they are capable of moving around more than me.

I still shop and just barely get my cards out. But what I loved best was decorating. This will be my second year with no tree up. Just too hard and don't have the energy. I live alone so no strong hubby to help me. My life has shrunk considerably. I miss it.

My kids are now old enough to decorate the tree and stuff, I only have to do the lights, and I must say I just haven't been bothered this year apart from the tree. My family are all overseas so it forces me to get their pressies organised early and get them shipped off in early December - so that is all done.

I actually have only bought the Christmas cards so far. I usually type out a long letter outlining what we have all done for the year, then I only have to write a small sentence in each card. This has really saved me a lot of handwriting, which I can't do. Don't bake, just buy food these days - I hate cooking during the whole year, so there is no point getting stressed out at Christmas time. The timetable is getting very busy with our work parties etc, so I am trying to pace as best I can. We do a lot of Christmas decorations at school so I get pretty decorated out by the end of the year, lol.

I'm bad, I go visit friends on the holidays.

I still don't have the snoopy tree up either...