christmas rehab....

A few years ago I admitted myself to Christmas "rehab". Yes...I needed some work because the season was no longer enjoyable to me.....I was leaving everything to the last minute and having meltdowns because of the pressure. Something had to change......so I decided to do a complete rehaul of my Christmas habits. Number one on the list was dealing with the shopping...I would no longer leave my shopping to the week prior to Christmas. Full parking lots, empty shelves and long lineups be gone.....my new plan involved completing my shopping by December 1st...and NOT only would the shopping be done...but the WRAPPING as well. The decorating...well this too was to be done sometime between the day after Remembrance Day and December 1st.The baking projects....I plan those in November and compile a list of old favorites and new recipes to try and add whatever pantry items I need to my grocery list. The Christmas cards.....the photo would be taken in November and the cards mailed out in the first week of December. There are hidden benefits to this plan....if you stay out of the stores in December...you avoid impulse buys and items not in the budget. Plus, you really think twice about taking something home that must be wrapped when the wrapping is all done. So far, my Christmas rehab has worked well.....only a few slip ups here and there...but nothing a martini and a little chocolate can't fix. Our first little snow this year found me dragging barely out of the pyjamas kids to the backyard for some shots. Now off to cross some more projects off my list...