As a mother I’m doing my best to prepare for the holidays, but shopping for Christmas lights and mistletoe isn’t quite so simple with my own four mischievous little elves undertow- Santa’s helpers, they’re not. Compound my family responsibilities with the fact that I run my own business, and you’ll see why it will take a Christmas miracle to get me organized this holiday season! Not only do I have to buy presents for my own husband and children, but also aunts, in-laws, uncles, grandparents, siblings, and a partridge and a pear tree. Did I mention they are also expecting me to prepare a multi-course, sit-down dinner for the whole clan?
For a season like this, you better believe Santa’s not the only one making a list and checking it twice! I will definitely be using my momAgenda day planner to stay organized this season. Here are a couple of my strategies and I hope they will work for you too!
Party Time
Thankfully, the only party we are throwing this season is the family party on Christmas Day. Let me be honest: I will likely order all the food. Listen, I love to cook and I always have, but with four kids aged two through nine, cooking a meal for 25 people is not in the christmas cards this year (or next year for that matter). Unless Santa leaves me Christmas dinner under the tree, I will be serving catered food and making no apologies for it! Planning for this meal will of course be done in my momAgenda because I carry it with me everywhere. I am a fanatical list maker and this is where I keep all my lists and make all my menus, that way I can refer to them whenever I am out shopping. I have already collected a couple of menus from various catering places so I can compare items and prices.
Hostess Gifts
We are going to a few holiday parties and hostess gifts are something I have never been good at. This year though is different because I am going to give each hostess on my list a set of momAgenda desk pads. I will tie them up with a pretty bow and be done with it. (These are inexpensive and if you order before Dec. 1 shipping is free!)
Holiday Gifts
Sometimes I think my little brood needs to watch that Charlie Brown Christmas special just one more time. Nothing puts a pall on Christmas morning more than choruses of “no fair!” when one child inadvertently receives more gifts than another. I am not proud of the fact that my children count their gifts on Christmas morning, but I suspect I’m not alone either! What I do to stay organized is to make a list for each child and every time I buy a gift I write it down under that child’s name. This helps me remember what I have already purchased and not go overboard, and it helps me keep things relatively equal. Doing this in my momAgenda means I always have it with me when I am out shopping.
Homemade Gifts
Making lists in my momAgenda helps me manage the chaos of all the other gifts I need to buy, including relatives, friends, and teachers. I have never been much of a Martha Stewart type, baking from scratch for everyone on my list, but I do appreciate the money-saving benefits of a homemade rather than store bought gift. And- much like Martha – I do appreciate a good tip, so here’s a couple for all of you: For the grandparents, aunts and uncles, original artwork from the kids, framed inexpensively, should be a hit. I will also make copies of a great photograph I have of the kids and buy a bunch of inexpensive frames and give those out as well. And for the teachers, the children can make homemade cards with their own personal greetings.
“Me” Time
In perhaps my most avant-garde move of the season, I am going to try my best to take some time just for me. I really believe what Oprah says; that you need to take care of yourself in order to do a good job taking care of others. It is not always easy to schedule in a workout when you have kids and a job, as many of you already know! But rather than wait until January 1, I am going to write it down in my momAgenda now, and try my best to honor that commitment to myself as often as I can. Maybe on January 1 I will have fewer holiday pounds to lose as a result!
Nina Restieri
President, momAgenda LLC
182 Sound Beach Avenue
Old Greenwich CT 06870
(203) 637-4463
fax (203) 637-7679
Send us the ways you use your momAgenda, and we will pass it on.