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Getting Ready For the Holidays by  JD Hoopes Do you love the holidays? Yes, you probably do. Do you suffer through the stress that usually goes with them? There's got to be a better way. Start getting organized now in order to find that better way to go through the holidays this year. You might have a handle on buying gifts for children. After all, you need to do it when they are in school or after they've settled down for the night. But there are other things that need to be attended to besides gift buying. Food: As you do your regular grocery shopping, pick up a few items that you know you'll need for holiday meals - that way you don't end up with a huge food bill right in the middle of it all, or have no food to serve when family show up unannounced. Add a few extra cans of sweetened condensed milk, a bag or two of chocolate chips, vanilla flavoring, packaged yeast, canned spaghetti sauce, pasta, soda pop, even an extra carton of ice cream. If you spread out the food buying through the weeks preceding Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, it won't make such a crunch on the budget. Wrapping supplies: Gather everything you have on hand now into one place so you can see what you have on hand and what you need to purchase. Wrapping paper, bags, tissue paper, bows, tape, scissors, gift tags could all be stowed in one main place right now so that you are ready when gift wrapping starts. Keep in mind that a book of stamps and Christmas cards will be needed if you mail those out too. House cleaning: A definite stress reliever is getting rid of the clutter that covers your dining room table and the pile of magazines and junk mail on the counter, before company comes! Just working 15 minutes a day on one special clutter-collecting spot will get your house clean before the holidays are here. You'll be able to welcome company without worrying if they're going to see where you stored that clutter at the last minute. Music: You might have a definite rule of how soon Christmas music can be played in your house, but when you're ready for it, keep in mind that music can set the mood for the whole family and keep you feeling peaceful through some stressful times. Each year, Bill Adler, the founding director of publicity for Def Jam Recordings, creates "Christmas Jollies," a unique holiday mix that he sends out to more than 300 friends and family. After a tense mall-shopping experience, Adler suggests popping Sinatra into the CD player. "It's hard to go wrong with Sinatra, and this is him in his early-years, choir-boy best. This provides the ultimate holiday relaxation," (Christmas Songs by Sinatra, by Frank Sinatra) During a car drive with the whole family, try listening to Christmas Through the Years, by Louis Armstrong." This a fantastic way to introduce the whole family to 'Pops.' It includes a lot of his hits, but you'll want it for his reading of 'The Night Before Christmas.' There's just no one who reads it and engages you like Louis." For a mellow Christmas morning, choose My Holiday, by Mindy Smith. Adler says, "Mindy's somewhat of a newcomer, and her voice evokes a Norah Jones vibe. She's charming, intimate, and soulful, but her music is really fresh. You could listen to it all morning for her magnificent takes on old classics or for her original holiday songs (like "Santa Will Find You.)" Being disorganized and unprepared for the upcoming holidays causes stress. Stress produces even more chaos and clutter. Chaos and clutter can be a thing of the past when you take a few simple steps every day and every week to prepare those holidays we all love so much. Go to sweetlyyou.com to discover premium Bath & Body products and see Unique Bath and Body Gift Sets.

 

 

 

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