5 Minutes For Books

Simplify Your Holidays

by

I LOVE the Christmas holiday season. Absolutely love it. I love driving around looking at Christmas lights, I love Starbucks eggnog chai (even though it sadly disagrees with me!), I love chocolate no-bake cookies and sitting by the Christmas tree at night. I love the stories, the songs, and the anticipation of it all. But the stress? I could do without that.

Like it or not, the holidays do come with some stress and the struggle is rising above it and enjoying the simple moments without losing perspective. Along came Marcia, author of Simplify Your Life, with a new holiday organizer entitled Simplify Your Holidays/a>. This, my friends, is an amazing three ring binder note book filled with ideas of how to keep things orderly. She gives calendars to help you keep track of what needs to be done and when. She helps you focus on what is most important and helps you to make sure you schedule those things in – whether it be coffee with a friend, a particular party you really want to attend, to your favorite Christmas cookie! (Don’t want to forget about making your favorite holiday cookie now, do you?)

I’m a planner, but not as much as Marcia Ramsland is. She’s the uber planner. A professional planner. She makes list and I tend to forget about them. But I have to say that this book is so cool and is so extremely easy to use that I’m going to follow her advice this Christmas season. Now, my husband and I are a relatively new family, having only been married for three years. We’re still wading through two sets of family traditions and trying to make decisions about what is right for us. Throw a two year old in the mix that grandparents want to visit with and, well, it’s good to stay organized. The thing I like about this planner, in particular, is that she helps you lay out a plan that is right for you. She offers ideas for a 2 week plan, a 4 week plan and an 8 week plan to help you stay on track with buying gifts, mailing them out in time, taking the family Christmas photo and on and on and on. She addresses all of those things that “must” be done. But the best thing is, she encourages you to be YOU in the midst of it all.

The question you might be asking is this – is it too early to be thinking about Christmas? I mean, we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving yet. Ramsland makes a good argument that the reason Christmas is so commercialized is precisely because people try to shove all their plans and buying and festivities into the month of December. It’s ultra hyped at that point. She argues that if you sit down and plan things out to keep you organized and busy beginning in November, you’ll have time to relax in December and just enjoy those moments that you anticipate living so much.

What about you? Do you have a need to simplify your holiday and slow things down a bit this year? Do you need help figuring out how to relax and enjoy this season instead of bustling through it? Thomas Nelson publishers have generously offered to help five of our readers figure this out. Leave a comment before November 12 in order to win a copy of Simplify Your Holidays/a>. Five winners will randomly be selected to win and will be mailed a copy in time to use this notebook throughout the 2008 holiday season. (Contest open to U.S. residents only.)

I, for one, intend to revel in this holiday season with a little help from my friend Marcia. I hope you do also!

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know.

Comments

  1. I have to say, that I am more excited about this coming holiday than I have been in a very long time. Having been ‘exiled’ to the Southern Hemisphere for 5 years, I am looking forward to a DARK and, hopefully, COLD Christmas. If I get snow, it will be the icing on the cake! But I’ll take the dark, and hopefully the cold and snow will come.

    Having said that, it is easily imaginable that I will go overboard this Christmas season. I’ve already bought a new tree and new lights.

    But I still hope to keep the simple Christmas traditions and beliefs that my family keeps: send gifts that mean something to the people you love, don’t buy too many gifts for my children, and don’t freak my family (i.e. husband) with too many rituals that must be followed.

    I’m hoping I can do it without a manual, but I’m keeping the book bookmarked in case I go overboard before Thanksgiving!

  3. I love to organize. It is one of my favorite things to do. A little OCD you could say. This Christmas will be fun because our son’s cousins are coming from Texas to have Christmas with us this year and it has been 6 years since they have been to Florida. We are excited. I would love this book. It has my name written ALL over it:)

  8. boy the help sure is needed- I have gotten into the idea when I feel like it..it will be done- I would love to have a stress free organized plan

  9. Wow, what great timing. Believe it or not, I started to really feel the crush of holiday stress YESTERDAY! Thanks for the giveaway offer!

  10. Generally, I’m an organized/less is more type person. Then we hit the Christmas season and I lose control. Would love to keep the holidays as simple!

  14. I would love a copy!
    I was just thinking this morning as I sent the children off to school in a mad rush – We.need.to.slow.down.!

    ibeeeg(at)gmail(dot)com

  15. I would love to win a copy of this! Everyone could stand to read it around the holidays!

  18. It would be great to have somewhereto write down everything.i usually put it on the computer and then have to take a piece of paper with me shopping scratching off names as I go.Usually I lose it.

  22. What a great idea! I am all about being organized and stress-free during the holidays. Thanks for giving us the chance to win this book!

  31. I would love to be less streesed with the coming holidays, It isn’t even here yet and I am already stressing.

  33. I’m looking forward to the holidays ~ I have two little granddaughters that each just turned 1 within the last 2 months and it is going to be so much fun watching them enjoy Christmas.

    I’d LOVE to win a copy of Simplify Your Holidays!

    hawkes(at)citlink.net

  36. We need all the help we can get around this house–especially during the holidays! Thank you so much for this opportunity.

  37. I consider myself a planner most of the time, but something happens at the holidays and it all falls apart. This would be a real boon. Thanks for the giveaway.

Recent Posts

Categories

Privacy Policy    |     Disclosure Policy
Terms & Conditions
© 5 Minutes for Mom