Stress Free Holiday Tips

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of AMP AGENCY. The opinions and text are mine alone.

This is the time of year when I feel like time accelerates so that it’s moving at hyper speed. With so many things to do (shopping, decorating, mailing cards and packages, attending holiday parties, hosting parties, travel, etc.), the last month of the year comes and goes in the blink of an eye. “So much to do, so little time!” is the mantra of the season. That means the holidays, though full of fun, warmth, and excitement, are also the most stressful time of year for many of us. I’d rather you spent more time enjoying yourself this holiday season than stressing yourself out so here are several stress free holiday tips to help you stress less and have more fun this year.

Plan Ahead

Planning ahead is critical at this time of year. In the midst of the holiday season, there’s little time to be adding in last-minute errands for things you’ve forgotten so advance preparation is essential if you want to keep stress at bay.

Some things I do at the start of the season to save me stress as our days get busier are to:

• Pick up extra all-purpose gifts to keep on hand (for the party you get invited to attend on short notice or the teacher’s aide you forgot about when shopping for teacher gifts)
• Order extra holiday cards (or purchase an inexpensive non-personalized pack) for the people you add at the last minute to your holiday greeting card list
• Buy gift bags, boxes, wrapping paper, gift tags and tape early in the month during sales to have all the gift wrapping supplies you’ll need for the entire season
• Stock the kitchen with go-to party food and supplies

   

  • Party snacks – Items you can buy in bulk and keep for weeks in the pantry or freezer are: nuts, assorted crackers, ingredients for appetizer meatballs (frozen meatballs and BBQ sauce), ingredients for spinach artichoke dip (cream cheese, mozzarella, mayonnaise, frozen spinach, canned artichoke hearts), bags of tortilla chips, salsa, assorted cookies and chocolates.
  • Party supplies – It’s horrible to miss half your party because you are stuck in the kitchen doing dishes for the last half of it, or worse, staying up until the middle of the night because you wait until the guests leave to do the dishes. Give yourself some time to enjoy your get-togethers by stocking up on disposable plates, cups, and cutlery.
  • A wide variety of wine – You’ll go through several bottles if you’re hosting holiday events and you can always grab a bottle from your stock to bring as a hostess gift if you’ve forgotten to buy one.
  • Soda and juice – These are the most popular non-alcoholic beverage options at parties so get all your heavy lifting over at once and buy enough for multiple parties in one trip. To keep your holiday budget under control, opt for 2-liters of soda in lieu of cans and large containers of juice instead of individual boxes or pouches. Have on one or two non-alcoholic holiday punch recipes that combine the two as a festive alternative (my favorite recipe is below).

Festive Berry Non-Alcoholic Holiday Punch Recipe

• Make time to relax and slow the pace down. The holiday season is a time to appreciate what you have and enjoy the company of your friends and family which is easier to do if you stop rushing around and actually SIT DOWN. My family has family movie and game night every Friday night. After dinner we play a board game and then watch a movie together. It’s a great way to enjoy each other’s company and take a mental and emotional breath at the end of each busy week.

This month, as I gear up for the holidays, I’m taking advantage of a special VUDU promotion. During the month of December, you get a $5 VUDU credit for every ten 2-liter bottles or five 0.5L 6-packs of select sodas that you purchase. I’ve already gone to Walmart and stocked up on the 2-liters of our party favorites (Canada Dry® Ginger Ale, A&W® Root Beer, 7UP®, and Sunkist®) for our holiday parties and I’m using the VUDU credit for one of our family movie night.

So this holiday season, fend off stress by stocking up on everything you need at the start of the month and taking time throughout the month to slow down and enjoy your family. Save a few bucks in the process by shopping at Walmart for your soda stash and score the $5 VUDU credit to fund a family movie night. Look for a display similar to the one below to find the participating products. In addition to the ones pictured below, you can also purchase SUN DROP®, RC Cola® and Squirt®.

What do you do to get through the holidays with less stress? Do you have a favorite go-to party recipe? Please share your ideas and thoughts in the comments.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of AMP Agency. The opinions and text are all mine.