Holidays - 10 Steps To A Relaxing Thanksgiving

10 Steps To A Relaxing Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! Family, friends, good food ? and no presents to buy. To make it your best holiday ever, consider these organizing tips:

? Choose your preferred style: formal with everyone dressed up and using their best manners ? or a more informal relaxed style. If you've invited more people than your dining table will seat, decide whether to add extra tables or a set up a buffet and use couches and occasional chairs for seating. Arrange for extra chairs if necessary.

? Keep in mind the ages of the people involved ? and choose a time for the meal that will fit their needs ? young children may get too tired if you wait to sit down at 1:00 pm. Consider seating for children based on ages. Teenagers might enjoy the day more seated together.

? Ask guests to identify their favorite dish ? include as many of them as possible. (If someone wants a pecan pie, and you don't like to bake them, check out your local restaurant or bakery.) Don't assume you have to do everything ? why not invite guests to bring a favorite dish? (Or ask them to bring a table centerpiece or bottle of wine.)

? Plan your menu well in advance, make a shopping list, and purchase non-perishables at the same time you do your regular shopping. If you're planning to use a fresh turkey, place your order early.

? Get out the table linens before Thanksgiving morning ? make sure you have the sizes you need, and check to see if they need to be laundered, or ironed.

? Select table decorations. If you have children, involve them in the planning and execution of the celebration. (My children loved to make turkey cookies!) Consider disposable Thanksgiving napkins.

? To save clean-up time, or if the family china is insufficient to accommodate the guest list, attractive holiday disposable tableware is a viable option. Be sure you have enough serving dishes and utensils for the quantities you will be serving.

? If you're having a sit-down dinner, consider setting your table the day before to minimize last-minute stress. Make a checklist of things to be done on Thanksgiving day in order or priority.

? Determine your clean-up strategy prior to dinner. Do you want everyone to chip in and help ? or would you prefer to spend the time with the family ? and clean it up when they're gone?

? When the day is over, make notes about anything you wish you had done differently ? file your notes away for next year, and give Thanksgiving for another special day.

© Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com

Car Insurance | Car Rentals | Health Insurance | Weight Loss | Life Insurance

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

Vastu Tips To Reduce Holiday Stress
Fun, though they are intended to be, The Holidays can be a time of stress for many. Vastu can help you experience a peaceful, prosperous, and harmonious holiday season.How the science of Vastu affects the quality of your life can be compared to how an antenna affects the quality of your television reception. Vastu is like the antenna for the quality of your life. If you have poor reception due to ineffectual antennae, your picture will be distorted or come in unclear. Having good reception is like having good Vastu.Your connection to the supportive, life-enhancing energy will be strong and benefit you if the five elements in your home are balanced.When you balance your home with the forces of nature (the five elements being earth, water, fire, air, and space) through Vastu, you receive the best po...(related: Holidays)

Celebrate The 4th And Help A Soldier
My good friend, Rae, just called and suggested having a Fourth of July cookout that supports our troops in Iraq. "How?" I asked, feeling somewhat guilty that we can drink margaritas and play lawn games with our families on Independence Day, while our troops in Iraq are risking life and limb. Always upbeat, Rae chirped, "By having everyone bring a gift that we'll collect and send to the troops. You know useful things like CDs, books, underwear?"Underwear? Well, they were called "unmentionabl...(related: Holidays)

2 Inexpensive Halloween Costume Ideas
Did you know that you can make your own Halloween costumes without spending lots of money? You many already have many of the supplies needed to put these together. Here are 2 neat Halloween costumes that you can make yourself:SkeletonAll you need to make a skeleton costume is a black sweat suit or a black turtle neck and pants, a piece of chalk, white fabric paint (preferably glow-in-the dark, or uv reactive), and an image of a skeleton. Find a graphic; something used to create simple children's halloween crafts, or black and white clip art will work well.Lay out the sweat suit, with the skeleton image along side it, for reference. Use the chalk to draw a simple skeleton on the front,...(related: Holidays)

Spooky Halloween Party Ideas
Are you looking for special Halloween party ideas that will give your guests a very memorable night? The easiest way to design and plan a Halloween party is to come up with a party theme. This makes it easier to chose decorations, and supplies for the party.Start by making a list of themes that appeal to you, and come up with corresponding Halloween party ideas for each theme. This will give you a better feel for what would be required for each theme idea, costumes, what the cost might be, how much space would be need, and so on.Here are some fun theme ideas to stimulate your imaginations:...(related: Holidays)

Incredibles Kid Birthday Party Idea
Mr. Incredible and Elastiwoman to the Rescue.The Incredibles based on the hit Disney movie has become a favorite fun kid birthday party theme. The Incredibles Invitations Have fun creating a "top secret" message as your Incredibles child birthday party theme invitation. You might say something like this. "Calling all superheros... The Incredibles nee...(related: Holidays)

Some Valuable Steps On Applying Clown Makeup! Seriously, Were Not Clowning Around Here
Who doesn't love being a clown? It's a great costume idea for both adults and children. It looks like a lot of work to doclown makeup, but it's actually quite easy. Here are the steps to create that classic whiteface clown:First of al...(related: Holidays)

Event Planning 101
One of the tools I use as a professional organizer are countdowns.What exactly is a countdown? To put it simply, anytime a special event, party, or holiday is anticipated (okay maybe dreaded :), create a MASTER list of EVERYTHING you need to do.For example, during the winter holidays, tasks such as- setting your table, gift buying, cooking, decorating, may be floating around in your head. "Oh yes, I can't forget to do x,y,z", sound f...(related: Holidays)

10 Reasons Santas Broke This Year
1. Santa Spends More Than He MakesSanta's paychecks are nothing to sneeze at, but he stays focused on his next raise. (Yes, of course Santa gets a raise each year!) He has no idea what it costs him to live the Santa life. He doesn't track his earnings nor his spending. Santa's got to provide for his reindeer, his horse and his North Pole home - just like the rest of us.2. Santa Has No Emergency Acco...(related: Holidays)