
Those little guys work wonders at the North Pole! All year long, they are busy creating and bustling about in a timely, organized fashion to get Christmas off to a Magical and Festive start! So we are going to take some tips from the little fellas up North and create our holiday magic in Elfin fashion!
We’ve got our lists, we know what we are going to do, and now we just need to break stuff down into mini-bites! Scrumptious morsels, that will get the job done, and not over load or add unwanted stress to our already chaotic lives. It’s possible again with a little time (about an hour), a 1/2″ binder, some colored pens, and a good cup of hot cocoa! The cocoa is for the mood, relaxing, and energizing all at the same time…:)
Within your 1/2″ binder, you are going to divide it up into 6 sections. The first 3 will be the you must have in your holidays, the next 2 will be the would like to have, and the last 1 is your “I’m trying something new” section. I like to create a quick design on the front of each divider, a picture, title or something that jumps out at you, as to give you a quick visual of what you are wanting to accomplish for each section. Below is an example of how my 1st divider would be:
My first section is Thanksgiving Dinner:
On the divider, I taped a photo of a simple, and elegant style that I am trying to mimic for my holiday dinner, and below it I wrote in: Add Home made Chutney, and Cranberry sauce (I like canning, and creating my own sauces)

This photo gives me an awesome visual idea of what I am including in my meal, how I would like to decorate, as well as color schemes, settings and overall presentation. I have a tendency to lean towards simple so this photo resonated well with me. The next page was What the dinner will include. After that page, the grocery list I need to make all of these tasty plates. Then I went onto creating a list of items needed for presentation. Such as gourds, pumpkins, water goblets, Indian corn, a fall color table runner, as well as napkins. Most of these items can be found reasonable priced at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, even Family Dollar has many holiday decors for less money. Trying to achieve your desired results doesn’t have to mean going broke on the first section of your holiday binder!! Be creative and check out places you normally wouldn’t go.
By the time you are done with your first section, it should include grocery lists, decorations, recipes should be taped into the section, so you will not lose them, and I always have a random page where I jot stuff done as they come to mind.
Continue going through your next 5 sections, putting in photos and then breaking down the photo to lists and ideas, recipes etc. You are going to keep this list with you, pretty much every time you leave the house. You never know when you may stop at a store and see something you love! If it’s a great deal, grab it, and cross it off your list as you go along. That way you won’t be saying 2 weeks from now, did I buy that already? As the holidays grow closer, our minds real with a million things to do, it’s easy to get scattered and forget what we have gotten and what we may still need. Keeping our little holiday binder near, keeps us less likely to go off track, keeps the spending within your budget, and maintains the look and feel of what you are trying to achieve for the holidays!
I hope this article helps keep your holidays exciting, festive, and best of all stress free!!
Please feel free to write me with any comments, ideas, or other thoughts you may have!
Till next week…. Happy Friday Everyone!!