Save Our Xmas Sanity

Organising Christmas - Tip#1

Inventory your Xmas Supplies

As you make your shopping list, BEFORE you ever set foot outside your front door - we recommend you do an inventory of what you have on hand.

Go and rummage check in your cupboards, drawers, trunks, dungeons and attics for Christmas supplies.  What is lurking there and is it still useable/nice?

What is hiding there that you really should just throw away? 

Christmas cards - how many blank, nice ones do you have on hand as left-overs from previous years?  Is there enough, or do you need to add them to your shopping list?  And if the envelopes have yellowed with age - that means they are NOT nice, no matter how much you loved them.

Wrapping Paper - some years I havent had to buy any at all, but you don't want to be caught short like Chris was one year, when she and SweetP ran out of wrapping paper in the wee hours of Christmas morning in a frantic wrapping bout... (we'll talk about this one some more!!!) - so do check your supplies!!

Sticky tape - another must have item - you can never have too much sticky tape!  Check your supplies - it only lasts so long in captivity :)

Other wrapping supplies - ribbon, tissue paper, boxes and bags.  I always like to have on hand a few bottle bags (from the cheap shop) for last minute gifts - most time a bottle of something will go down a treat and if you put it in a bottle bag, it looks like you've planned ahead!

Posting supplies - it saves time if you pack the gifts you are sending before you get to the post office - especially as we get closer to Christmas and the lines get longer!  Check packing tape, boxes, padded bags and bubble wrap.

While you're delving into your cupboards - why not check whether you have any left over, forgotten gifts?  Or if you're one of those people that buys things whenever they see them throughout the year - go and inventory all those items BEFORE you buy anything else.  This will save you time and Money! 

Righto - now you know what you have, AND what you need - NOW you can hit the shops.

That's assuming you've planned the rest of your shopping as well.  Or is that another bit of SOXS you need to get finished?

Why wouldn't you sort Christmas early?

Well, it's time to get down to specifics of how we are going to get Christmas sorted by December 1. And for those doubters or scrooge's out there who think I have finally lost the plot (and those who think I lost it a long time ago:) I'll reiterate my reasons for throwing down the gauntlet and challenging you all to 'sort' Christmas by December 1st.

1. I don't know about you, but I'm not a good shopper when the shops are busy, when they are full of frazzled mothers and their long suffering kids, who would rather be at the pool or the beach than being dragged around the shops in December.  In fact, I detest shopping in December!  I'll go to the supermarket (really have no choice there, if we want to eat - no home delivery to this area!) but I'll go at a time of my choosing, and that is usually as the shop opens in the cool (relatively) of the early morning.  But malls, large shopping centres and the like - forget it!  And you know, even if I do decide to go the internet shopping route for most of my gifts, I still need to get in before December to guarantee delivery by Christmas!!
2. My children will be on holidays then - which means a lot more ferrying and demands from my two teenagers (youngest son being at school for a whole two weeks longer than the other two!) - one who will want to practice his driving as much as possible to boost his chances of passing the test in early January. 

BUT you do not need to accept my challenge if you a) dont have kids of a dependent age; or b) love having them shopping with you; or c) have a particular love of shopping in crowds... (and in the southern hemisphere it's also a love of shopping in the HEAT - which drives all the crowds to the airconditioned shopping centres!)

And I guess there is a third reason.

Since I am having Christmas HERE this year (and, yes, finally got the nod from my parents today that that would be LOVELY, thank you!) with inlaws and outlaws and assorted nieces and nephews... I would like to enjoy the decorating and baking and all those things that go with preparing a house for a big celebration.  And I cannot do that (enjoy it, I mean) if I'm still frazzled about shopping and planning and all that jazz.

Sooo, do you (yes - YOU!) have a good reason for getting Christmas sorted early this year? 

To post or not to post

Another 'time to talk about mail' post.  Only this time, we have a question for you, dear reader.  Yup - YOU!

Do you prefer to get Christmas cards from all and sundry in your letterbox?  Or are you quite happy with an email?

We are very aware that there are schools of thought who are polar opposites on this issue.  There are those that say it isn't Christmas without the obligatory Christmas card in the mail from every friend, aquaintance, old school chum, ex-es and great-Aunt.  Well, maybe not the ex-es.

And there are those who are quite happy knowing that someone has thought about them long enough to send a few words from their keyboard to yours - or even one of those funny e-cards.

And, as Chris told me this afternoon when we debated discussed this, she has a friend who draws up a list and calls each person by phone in the lead up to Christmas (and has done so herself!!)

The debate is fuelled by what we have 'always done', what is 'expected' of us, and also by that demon - guilt!  What would great-aunt think if I didn't send that letter???

[Side note - on a recent trip interstate, my mother visited with my great-aunt & uncle... and Auntie happened to mention that she didn't receive the usual chatty family letter with photos from Karen last Christmas, like she usually did.  Oh dear - the guilt really got to me then - it must have been really important for her to remember all these months later!  I was extremely close to my Grandmother, and this is her younger sister - the closest thing to Grandma I have left.  I know I sent a card, just ran out of time to put the letter-with-photos-chronicle together last year.  Sigh... guess what's high on the list this year?]

Where was I?

Oh yes.  What would you prefer to receive?  Does that drive what you are going to send?

I've had years where I sat with my Christmas card list, and sent cards only in reply to cards I received, except for a few special ones.  Amazingly, this cut my list down by over 50%!  Obviously Great-Aunt was still on the list :)

All those people we never see - yet they live only around the corner... maybe it's time to stop sitting on the fence and either sever the ties completely, or give them a call and invite them over for a drink one Sunday afternoon.

We'd like to hear your thoughts on this debate.  Is it a matter of pride with you that you write beautiful chatty notes in each card you send?  Do you do the family update newsletter en masse to send with each card?  Or are you a "Best Wishes, Jane" type of gal?

And then we'd like to hear how your particular take on this debate makes you feel.  Do you put yourself under immense stress to get the cards in the post?  Or do you find it an easy, even joyful task? 

International Gifts? Easy!

It's time to talk about mail. Time to think about getting those presents ready to send overseas! Depending on where you're sending them, the postage cut off dates come up way too fast at this time of year. 

And leaving it until the last day only guarantees you'll be standing in line at the post office with every other last-minuter!  Since we're all about staying sane - why not aim to have all your overseas gifts bought, wrapped and posted at least a week before the cut off date?  Go on, diarise it now!  If you're in Australia - check the Australia Post website (and in the US) for the cut-off dates for the countries you're sending to.

Just think about the relief when you can cross that task off your to-do list, and know you are that much closer to being organised and in-control this Christmas!

Oh!  And just imagine the delight of the friends and family overseas when they receive their parcel from you!

A gift from the Creators!

We've been working on our own SOXS Sanity Savers (after all, it is the BEST thing for getting organised and feeling like you're in control when it comes to Christmas :) and decided that we needed another little something more in SOXS.

And since it's Christmas (well, almost), Chris and I have decided to release it here for everyone to use as our gift to you.

It's often the mundane and little things that cause us to stumble and stress us out, isnt it?  Like the shopping??  One of my stumble areas has been going shopping and getting home hot, exhausted and foot sore, only to find that I have missed a key purchase.  Boy I hate that! 

Even worse is getting to Christmas Eve and realising you've forgotten the cranberry sauce or have run out of sticky tape with only half the presents wrapped!!

Or worse - you've got a crowd of people coming for Christmas dinner, and you've got no toilet paper left in the house!@#

So we find the most important thing to save all that stress (and the worry of wondering if you have forgotten something vital!) is to have a complete and comprehensive shopping list.  We've put together not one, but two shopping lists to go with SOXS!

The first is for groceries - to be used as you do your menu planning to write down everything you're going to need from the supermarket/ butcher/ baker/ fruit shop.  We've put a few of the staples in there to get you started.

The second list is for general shopping.  I like to use this in conjuction with my gift list - and will carry it with me constantly from now until Christmas to ensure that I can capture any ideas or needs as soon as they come to mind.  (There is nothing worse than remembering I need to buy a gift for the piano teacher, but not having the list to hand to jot it down... and then forgetting all about it.)

Of course, making the list is only half the battle - you have to remember to take it shopping with you, and to frequently stop and assess where you are at with the items on your list.  I like to cross off all purchases/ items in my trolley as I go - so I can see at a glance what is still outstanding.

Click here to Download shopping_sorted.pdf    Our gift to you.

Please tell all your friends to come and get it too - the more the merrier!!

Have Christmas sorted by December 1

It's October 15th today - half way through the month, and only 10 weeks till Christmas.  Only, I dont want to take the full 10 weeks to prepare for Christmas.  Because I remember what December is like.  Do you?

We get to December, and the rest of the universe decides to shop in exactly the same shopping centre that we go to - all on the same day! 

And then there is the running around like a chook with it's head cut off - trying to find the perfect gift when the weather is decidedly hot hot hot.  And the frantic last minute preparations with children in your ear - wanting this, wanting that.  Bored, tired, hot and unhappy.

It's really not a pretty scene is it?

So here is my plan.  I'd love for you to join with me to make Christmas and December stress-free. 

How?

Start off with SOXS - it's the BEST place to start!  If you haven't got your copy yet (or booked your Champers and SOXS party) there are only a few days left of our Early Bird 20% off special! 

And then...

Make it stress free by having all that can be done, done by December 1st.  (This is the day my two older children finish school for the year, it's totally arbitrary, but works well for me, and leaves December free for all the fun!)

Lists made.  Cards written and addressed.  Presents purchased and wrapped.  Entertaining planned. Guests invited.  Any travel arrangements made.  Non-perishable food and drink in the house or ordered.  Even decorations organised and ready to be put up that weekend.

Get ready to enjoy the wonderful feeling of being in control and sorted.  This year, you can actually feel the real spirit of the season - all that

peace, joy and goodwill to all

because you won't be a stressed-out mess!

Are you up for it?  Leave a comment on this post (just click on comment below) to let us know.  I'm intent on doing this - and would love for you to get that wonderful feeling that comes from getting to December 1st and knowing you are totally in control and prepared.

If you don't have your SOXS Sanity Saver yet - take advantage of our early bird specials TODAY!

About the Creators

Chris Owen is the proud creator of Pink Apple Connections – a business designed to help people put the zing back into their relationships (and don’t we all need that during the stresses of Christmas). 

Relationships of all kinds are the most important thing in her world and she happily admits to being lost without her husband /soulmate, her three sons, extended family, and friends.

Along her life's journey, as an "outrageous extravert", she has had some wonderful people in her world. But she is the first one to say that what she knows about relationships has also come from some fairly disastrous mistakes in relationships with friends, family, and business colleagues, over the years. There's definitely no pedestal under her feet.

Chris believes that the biggest struggle in relationships, of all kinds, is not the theory that we should nurture our relationships, but finding the answer to "How?".

Chris’ knack for writing and communication has been utilised extensively through her careers as an obstetrics nurse, an infertility nurse, and her training in education, counselling and coaching.  She has even had articles on surviving Christmas published in The Age newspaper.

Káren Wallace - is the proud owner of The Clearing Space, where she empowers women to redesign their lives to fit like a glove; and create space in their lives for new and exciting possibilities.

Her professional career has given her insight into the many challenges facing women - especially mothers - today. She has personal experience with issues such as career transitions, return to work Mums, telecommuting and working from home, balancing home and personal life with work responsibilities, the challenges of getting (and staying) organised, financial challenges, and the need to maintain relationships, community and support networks.

Káren is a self-confessed book addict, plays the piano, loves walking, sitting on rocks and watching the waves pound in to the shore, good wine, being in nature and growing a garden, spending time with family and friends and the occasional craft project when time allows.

The Clearing Space has grown out of her passion to help other women simplify their lives and create the space to find their joy.   Káren is particularly passionate about helping women to cope well in times of stress and change, and helping women stay sane at Christmas has always been high on her list!

Chris and Káren have been firm friends since being introduced by their mentor/friend Leah Maclean. 

As Australians living at opposite ends of the vast East Coast, they’ve overcome the geographical differences to work together to make a difference for others.

Both love a laugh and a good glass of wine, and admire many great qualities in each other!  In particular, they have been able to tap into each others strengths to produce the amazing Save Our Christmas Sanity - with tips, resources, workbooks and even parties that will make your Christmas easy!  In their case 1+ 1 equalled much more than the sum of the parts!