Ready... Set... Do We Have to Go Yet?

by Tawny

Can you believe its holiday countdown time? You know that time of year, the one where we start thinking about what gifts we'll get. If we craft, what we'll make. The Thanksgiving menu. How soon to pull out the silver for polishing. Decorating themes. Shopping. Oh man, the shopping. Shopping for food. Shopping for craft supplies. Shopping for gifts. Shopping for wrapping. Shopping for pain relievers.

It all kicks off with menu planning. What will we have for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure why I sit down to plan a menu each year, since every single year I do and then the family, upon seeing it, pouts and asks why we aren't having all their standard favorites. Then there's the baking menu. Which cookie will we make this year? Which candies? I think we've narrowed it down to gingerbread, peanut butter blossoms, fudge, caramels, almond roca and nut brittle. I think. (do you make cookies and candy? I'd love ideas!!)

And then there's the shopping!!! I'm determined - this year, I'll be through shopping by Thanksgiving. Which is a lovely idea, then leaving the entire month of December to focus on crafts and decorating and baking and candy making and Disneyland and the plethora of December birthdays we have in the family. But I didn't realize until I was jotting down the Thanskgiving menu ideas to pitch to the family (spurred by JoanieT's blog post yesterday aboutparades) that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. OMG less than 2 weeks until feasting day!!!

And less than 2 weeks to get my shopping done! I started immediately, picking up a few things to go in a luxury bath basket I'm putting together for my mom and some yarn to knit the cutest little body scrubs. I am nagging my kids daily (my nagging actually extends to my nephews, much to their chagrin) for their wish lists.

In the odd creative moments during my last deadline, I broke in my new scrapbook corner by making a dozen handmade holiday cards, but never quite finished all I needed --which means I either have to find time to make more, buy some or fall back on the usual holiday card copout and skip it this year (Actually, if I could find them, I probably have about 4 years worth of cards tucked away that I never got around to sending - oops).

And then there's the wrapping and the decorating. When we bought this new house, both my daughters and I said the same thing when we walked through the front door. Its a perfect Christmas house!!! The banister, the curved staircase, the entire scene just screams out for holly and pine boughs and twinkling lights!!! I'll be honest -most years we end up doing the minimal decorating because my husband 'claims' he can't find the decorations. Ha- got him this year, they haven't even made it up to the rafters yet!!!

Despite the craziness of the season and all the demands, I love this time of year. It all comes back to the things I love most... shopping and food. Kidding ;-) It all comes back to family and giving. I tend to float through November and December smiling, giving hugs and taking the time for the things that really matter most to me - spending time with my kids and family, making things, thinking about people I love and relaxing as I remember all the blessings in my life.


But... as much as I love it, I'm so NOT ready yet - are you? Are you one of those tidy, have-it-all-ready-early kind of people? Or are you the wrestle-through-the-crowd last minute kind? I'm plopped firmly in between the two *g* And if you're an early-bird, are you already getting set for the holiday fun? And how about those candy and cookie making ideas... what are YOUR faves?