Save Our Xmas Sanity

What we want for You!

May Peace be your gift at Christmas
and your blessing all year through!

      ~Author Unknown

Peace - our wish for you.

The reason we write Save Our Sanity: The Christmas Calm Manual.

We want for you a stress-free festive season.

We want for you to find gift giving a joy. Not a chore.

We want for you to enjoy time spent with friends and loved-ones.

We want for you laughter-filled days, and the excitement of a young child's Christmas (whether or not there are young children in your life right now).

We want for you the meaning of the season - Peace. Joy. Goodwill to All.

You deserve it.

 

The countdown to Christmas 2008 has officially begun!

Can you believe that in less than 100 days it will be Christmas?

Apparently we crossed the 100-day line earlier this week...

How does that make you feel? We're no longer talking months to go, we're talking in days. Scary stuff for those who stress about Christmas.

Of course, that's not us. We're not stressed or scared by the approach of the silly season. Nah.

We're in total. denial.

Chris and I were talking earlier today, and as we made plans for SOS and counted up the days left in 2008,  we both recognised those physical changes that indicate a rise in stress levels - a faster heartbeat being the main indicator (without any strenuous housekeeping or dog walking as an excuse).

Of course, recognising that the mere mention of the approaching imminence of that day in December causes us stress is the very first step in healing and changing the outcome this year.

We want to be calm, in control and organised.

And it IS do-able.

Our Challenge to You

Set your intentions now.

How do you want to be for the next ninety-something days?

We're sure that you aren't putting your hand up and saying you want to be stressed... so what is it you DO want?

Peace, love and goodwill to all?

Calm and organised and feeling like you're in control, like us?

Joyful?

Relaxed?

Determined to have a simple, stress-free, laughter filled Christmas - and that means the whole lead up to it, as well as the day?

Please leave us a comment and let us know what your intention is. Write it down. Post it prominently. Say it aloud to yourself every day.

And don't forget to subscribe to our 'feed' to get all our hints and tips for a calm Christmas direct to your inbox or feedreader (that's it - up there in the top left hand corner of this page).

Save Our Sanity: The Christmas Calm Manual - designed specifically to help you sail into Christmas, stressless and chaos-free - buy now and get a head start on a Calm Christmas 2008!

Christmas Shopping Online

Last year, I did about a third of my Christmas gift shopping online. And it was so successful that this year I'm planning on doing way closer to all of it online. I really, really dislike crowds. And I hate the way people get when they are frazzled, stressed and strung out about getting their shopping done. The shopping malls become the things nightmares are made of.

So imagine my delight when I found a blog site dedicated to online Christmas shopping! It hasn't been going very long, but already I like what I am reading - this ones bookmarked for regular reading in the next couple of months. 

The Online Christmas Shopping Guide.

"Let’s face it. The holiday season can be riddled with stress and worry, especially when you haven’t properly alloted time for it. There’s the dilemma of having to attend too many office parties, the dread of in-laws showing up on your doorstep, or just a general worry over what must be prepared at home (to let your friends know your not Ebeneezer Scrooge). The one thing you can do to avoid adding to stress is online Christmas shopping because at least knowing your shopping is taken care of will free up enough time to prepare for the other items on your Xmas agenda!"

We like where they are coming from, don't you?

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Related posts:

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens... A few of our favourite things

When Santa gets stuck for ideas

Here's a quick way to get your Christmas gift giving handled

It's here! Have a look at our new book...

We almost turned blue from holding our breath in anticipation, but the colour has returned to our cheeks aplenty!

Save Our Sanity: The Christmas Calm Manual has arrived from the printer and we're thrilled with it!  We hope you will be too...

It's A5 size, spiral bound and the perfect size to pop into your handbag (with a pen attached to the spine). Take with you to easily access anytime you have a thought or want to cross something off one of your lists!

You know what the arrival of the manuals from the printer means, don't you?  The end of our 'At The Printer' special... sorry!

It also means that if you have already placed your order your book will be in the post to you early this week - we'll dispatch in the order in which they were received; and hopefully clear the backlog by weeks end if not sooner!

Deadline for Special Extended!

You know, we're sooo excited, and it IS the weekend here now...(and really, we need to wait for our online business manager to do the techo stuff for us:) so we're extending the 'no postage and handling costs' until midnight on Tuesday 6th (Melbourne Cup Day).

Come Wednesday November 7th, you will still pay the low price of $39, but we'll be adding postage and handling costs (dependent upon where it's being sent).

Do you want your best Christmas Ever?

Many of the women who went through the SOS programme last year have told us they saved many times the cost of the manual over the Christmas period.

And because we're so dedicated to ensuring you have a calm, stress-free festive season, we will gladly refund the purchase price (excluding p&h) if you don't save at least twice the cost of the manual!

What have you got to lose? (well, except for stress and anxiety, that is;-)

Buy the manual today, and we'll post it to you at our cost!

Shopping for, and Giving, the Perfect Present

Are you a perfectionist, even just a wee bit?

I am a confessed, reformist perfectionist (sounds a bit like one of those weird religions, doesn't it?)

In my last article, Getting the Gift Shopping Sorted, the subject of buying the perfect gift came up - and I promised to talk more about it.

Perfectionism is a blessing and a curse. In the case of Christmas shopping - it's a curse to us buyers-of-gifts who endlessly walk the malls seeking the perfect gift for each friend and loved one. It's a blessing for those on the receiving ends of those gifts. No inappropriate, cheap, insensitive or unwanted presents from us!

Shopping for the 'perfect present' comes in three distinct parts. There is the idea of what to get. There is the actually purchase of the gift. In between those two steps is what I like to call 'perfectionists-shopping-nightmare'.

The nightmare can consist of any, or all, of these:

• finding the ideal gift in the right colour, shape, design and brand
• comparison shopping the best price
• thinking that this would be OK, but we might find better in that other shop down the street
• fearing that we will be thought of as 'cheap' if we don't buy an expensive brand
• wondering whether it may come up on sale next week
• second guessing the appropriateness of the gift as we stand in the queue to buy it
• getting heart palpitations as we hand over our credit card - what if it isn't perfect?
• wrapping the gift and then running out an getting something else to go with it/instead of it just in case we change our minds at the last minute
• delaying the purchase until they have all sold out, and having to find an alternative

It can be a very expensive and VERY time consuming process. And the shopping doesn't get done.

(and I won't go into our state of mind as Christmas creeps closer - you perfectionists will know exactly what that is like, and no-one else needs to know)

I'm here to tell you, as a reformed you-know-what, that once you have a vague idea of the gift and you see something that is 'good enough' in a shop - (even when you still have plenty of shopping days to Christmas) - Buy. It. Immediately.

If at all possible, have it gift wrapped on the spot. Don't forget to label it as soon as you get home so you remember who it is for. And most importantly of all - don't forget to cross that person off your list. They are DONE!!!

I'm willing to guarantee the gift recipient will appreciate the thoughtful gift just as much. After all, they don't KNOW whether you spent 10 minutes or 10 hours shopping for their gift.  And it is highly likely that if they care about you at all, they would prefer the 10 minutes to the 10 hours!!!

After all, which would you prefer?

In the coming weeks, we'll be talking more about sorting the shopping before Christmas. Please subscribe (pop your email address up there in the top left corner) and you'll receive the articles as they are written.

If you really need help in this area - don't forget to snag your copy of Save Our Sanity: The Christmas Calm Manual today (free postage until midnight October 31st - so hurry!)

Getting the Gift Shopping Sorted

We are still in October (yes, I heard your reaction to that title) and there are still two months left to Christmas.

That's right - two whole months. My countdown calendar now says 58 days...

And so, there is plenty of time to write our list and shop for it all, isn't there?

Is there?

Remember what happens as we get closer to December. Go on, think about it.

1.    It gets real hot (or real cold, for our northern friends)
2.    The shops get BUSY!
3.    The kids finish school and all seem to think shopping centres are the best place to hang out (see #1)
4.    Prices go up
5.    Tempers wear thin
6.    Goods sell out, with no more supplies before 2008
7.    You get more and more stressed at the thought of buying the perfect gift for all on your list

HOLD IT!

Did you say 'perfect gift'???

PERFECT? Hmmm... that's fodder for a whole other article.

So, what's stopping YOU from getting a head start on your Christmas shopping? 

Save Our Sanity: The Christmas Calm Manual has many hints and tips for easing the shopping burden - order YOUR copy today!

Our commitment to saving your festive sanity - 2007 and beyond

It's July, and here in Australia we often celebrate "Christmas in July" to get the whole feeling of celebrating, with a huge hot roast turkey dinner and all the trimmings, when it's cool enough to enjoy it.

And with that reminder of Christmas, we start the countdown to December 25th 2007 - now less than 5 months away. We've climbed up the ladder for the first six months of the year, and now we're definitely on the downward slide, seemingly gaining momentum as the end of year races up to meet us.

What does that mean?

If you've stumbled onto this Save Our Christmas Sanity website, then maybe you're already starting to think about Christmas this year.  For you, we'd like to give a quick update - so you know what's in store this year.

Chris and I are committed to helping save the sanity of the thousands of people who dread the thought of the approaching festive season. We'll do this in a number of ways this year - some similar to previous years, but also some innovative new ways for you to inject a touch of sanity into your noel.

As we're working on this, we'd love to hear from you - let us know if you visit here by leaving a comment below, or sending an email to savexmas @ gmail. com (without the spaces, obviously:). We'll respond - promise. 

Instant sanity at your fingertips!

And if you're really eager to get started on saving your sanity - then you can purchase the SOXS workbook at last year's prices - full details here.

End of Festive Season Wrap-Up

The last of the tinsel has been tucked safely away for another year.  The cake has been eaten, the champagne all downed... and all through the house, not a wrapped present to be found. 

New Year has rung her bell... we've reviewed, and we're happy with Christmas 2006.  Well, mostly.

For those special people who purchased SOXS (or won it!), we'd like to say a huge thanks & we sincerely hope your festive season was Joyous and Sane and Saved...

For those in our community who supported us, and helped to promote SOXS, we'd like to again express our neverending thanks.  You've helped make it a success!

Now - here's our challenge.  We're reviewing SOXS, the good, the bad AND the ugly, this week and we'd love your input.  PLEASE either leave a comment here, or email us at SaveXmas@gmail.com - and let us know:

• what worked for you, what didn't
• what you found most valuable
• what you REALLY wanted to see more of
• why you purchased SOXS (and whether it lived up to your expectations)
• OR, why you did not purchase SOXS
• what you feel we could do differently next time

Please, we beg of you.... we're down on our knees asking for your input.  (And with Chris' dodgy, bionic knee, we're talking major strain!!)  Let us know.  Now?

We will be putting this blog and website into hiatus, like the Christmas decorations, until September 2007.  If you'd like to know when we're back on air, please hit the subscribe buttom up the top of this page, and you'll automatically be sent all updates to this page later in the year.

Wishing you a fabulous 2007!  Full of energy and excitement.

Saving MY Sanity At Christmas - Karen's Post Christmas Review

It's all over for another year. December 25th came upon us, and, just as fast, left! 

How did YOUR Christmas go?

I catered for 14 people for Christmas Lunch, and it all went smoothly - there was plenty of food, praise abounded (yes, I loooove praise for a job well done...:), gifts were all opened and well received, Santa was good to us all, and there is still turkey and ham left overs for the post-Christmas meals...

On Boxing Day, we slept in (an unheard of luxury), and then G and I spent the early part of the day in discussions about my new project looming large to replace Sanctuary - a lot of clarity came out of that.  Then the afternoon was spent watching Ice Age 2 and playing Cluedo with the kids, assembling a telescope, and enjoying the rain (yay!!!  Rain! the BEST Christmas present of all in our drought stricken area!!)... a nice relaxing day.

So today, I have taken a little time to do a review of my own on Christmas, on what worked, what I'd do differently next year, and what I wouldn't do at all. For there is no time like the days following Christmas to plan the next one.

If we leave it until October to start planning Christmas 2007, that amnesia of time will have set in.  You're likely to forget the things you really wanted to remember.  And to blow out of proportion some other memories...

There is nothing like doing a review of this Christmas, and planning next Christmas RIGHT NOW! Grab a pen and your copy of SOXS, and start writing a letter to yourself NOW.  TODAY.  Don't put it off...  When you're done, file it in your SOXS Sanity Saver so that you have a great reference tool for next year. You'll be so glad you did when October rolls around...

In my review, the main thing I want to remember for next year is that there were things on my list that I didn't do. For each thing I didn't do - I chose consciously NOT to do it... not to spend my valuable time and energy on that rather than on something else.  I determined my priorities and decided that these things weren't worth the time and certainly weren't worth me getting all hot and bothered over.

In years past, I was very perfectionistic about Christmas. I have always loved Christmas, but this has led to an unhealthy tendency to get it right at any cost.  And usually that cost has been my cool.  It goes out the window somewhere in the lead up... and isn't found again until it's all over.   Not good.

This year, I remained cool, calm and in control the whole time. Lunch at my house for 14 people went off without a hitch. No-one lost their cool, including (most importantly) me. And no-one missed the things I didn't do.  No-one but me even realised they weren't done.

So, in my letter to myself for Christmas 2007, first on my list is - Don't be a perfectionist.  Remember what you didn't do last year, and how good it felt to be calm, and not lose your cool. By not aiming for the 'perfect' Christmas experience, it was somehow more relaxed, and a happier time for everyone.

What do you want to remind yourself of, in about 10 months time?  Write it down today!

Oh, and while you're thinking about it, please pop over and read what Rosa Say had to say over a Joyful, Jubilant Learning about her post-Christmas Review - Dear Me, from Me... she's leaving a reminder for herself in Outlook with a link to her review, so she remembers to read it.  Great tip - Rosa, I'm going to do that too!

A time of peace

Out of the strain of the doing, into the peace of the done.

- Julia Louis Woodruff

I received an email today, from David Allen the GTD guru - with that quote in it.  I loved it so much, I just had to share it with you.

It's Saturday, which means it's nine days till Christmas, and I am feeling quite productive!

I have organised a couple of last-minute gifts - by buying gift memberships to Slim Ink.

I have written the last of the Christmas cards.

I have baked a double batch of my great-grandmother's divine shortbread (she was Scottish), yes - it's in my blood even though I wasn't born a Wallace. I think I was meant to marry a man with a Scot name!!!

I have even wrapped a few more presents, including the very last one I need to post.

I am feeling that peace that only comes when things are DONE.

[PS That is a photo of our tree - the one Gorgeous Girl put up and decorated on December 1.]

How're YOU doing?

Are you calm and peaceful and enjoying the season?

What's got to change so you can feel the 'peace of the done'?