The Holidays are here!  Today I’m sharing my top 5 tips to make the holidays less stressful!

This shop, 5 tips to make the holidays less stressful, has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions are mine alone. #SavorTheMemory #CollectiveBias

I was looking at the calendar the other night and trying to figure out my schedule for the next few weeks and realized, there are less than three weeks until Christmas!  As usual, we’ve got a jam-packed schedule, and I can already feel myself getting stressed out over work deadlines, parties, gifts, and hosting duties (and I know that I’m not the only one feeling this way).  I took some time yesterday morning to go through the sale catalogs and weekly fliers to make myself a few lists to help me get organized for the rest of the holiday season.  I love making lists, don’t you?  Grocery lists, gift lists, to-do lists, inspiration lists (and the lists just keep coming, lol!)

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I found a great deal from Shutterfly to share as well: buy 4 participating Coca-Cola products and enjoy $20 off at Shutterfly.com – (after I made that photo book a few months back, Shutterfly in my new favorite site!)  You can find the offer details are at the bottom of the post.

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I’m definitely ready to slow down, relax and enjoy the holiday season with my family and I’ve got a few shortcuts and tips to share that will hopefully help keep you from becoming too stressed too!

5 Tips for Making the Holidays Less Stressful

Christmas may be the most wonderful time of year, but it’s no secret that Christmas brings on a load of stress for so many people.  From figuring out presents to buy, sending cards to all your loved ones, to entertaining, decorating, cooking, etc. There’s no need to curl up in a ball or pull your hair out just yet. I’ve got a few tips for making Christmas less stressful so you can get back into the spirit of Christmas!

Don’t Over-do it

You don’t need to be Martha Stewert and go above and beyond for Christmas to be fun.  Instead, take it slowly, your decorations don’t have to go up right after Thanksgiving. If the decor is a must, make it easier on yourself by cutting down on the amount of decor with just a few favorites cute Christmas nicknacks. Definitely keep it simple.

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Stock up on Pre-made Favorites for Get-togethers and Entertaining

We have a new Randall’s supermarket right down the street, and it makes it easy to get stocked up on my favorite drinks and pre-made snacks.  I like to keep a few containers of the Minute Maid Frozen Orange Juice on hand for to have around for breakfast when we have overnight guests.

And of course, I like to keep a few bottles Gold Peak Tea on hand for holiday meals or impromptu neighbor visits  (Nothing worse than only being able to offer your guests the choice of water or water, lol)

Focus on fun and activities.

Make the focus of your holiday parties on family, friendships and activities. Schedule a party or get-together around an activity. (Bowling, skating, jewelry making, classes at a pottery shop, outlet mall shopping- think of all that walking!)  Host a craft or movie night: make gift tags, calendars, decorate wine glasses- just about anything!)

Don’t forget the food and drinks.  Ask your guests to bring a dish to share, while you provide the paper products and drinks.  Stock up on favorites like Sprite, Sprite Cranberry, Gold Peak Tea and Coca-Cola.  (Especially the Coca-Cola’s in the 8oz glass bottles – they are so cute, almost like a decorative item in themselves!)

Don’t Panic About Presents

When it comes to gifts for friends and family; baked goods and gift cards are alway a good choice, though an even better gift would be something personalized. Something as simple as a personalized mug or keepsake ornament with a family photo makes a great gift, I know I always enjoy receiving something personalized.  (This is where that $20 offer from Shutterfly would be really handy, lol.) Finding the right gift doesn’t have to be as stressful as it’s made to seem if you just take a minute to make a list and sort it all out.

Celebrate at Home

You may have a lot going on like a job deadline or something else, whatever it may be surely the last thing you want to deal with is making travel plans. Especially considering this is the busiest time of the year! Just explain to your family/friends that you’d love to make it for the holidays, but it’d just be too much with everything else that’s going on. Being honest with them will make it easier for them to understand and be less disappointed. That way you won’t have to deal with all that extra stress, and you can just enjoy Christmas at home.

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Stay active.

The weather is colder, and it’s much more difficult to stick to the exercise routines! My advice: exercise in the morning. Even a quick, 10 or 15-minute exercise video or walk will make a huge difference in your energy levels for the day.

Hopefully, these few tips for making Christmas less stressful will help you have a great time this Christmas and all the others to come. It doesn’t take much to take the stress out of the holidays.

Do you know of any other tips that are helpful at making Christmas less stressful? If so, share in the comments!

Don’t forget about the special holiday offer from Coca-Cola, Shutterfly, Albertsons, Safeway and their banner stores.  Buy 4 participating Coca-Cola products and enjoy $20 off at Shutterfly.com!  You’ll receive a print-out coupon at the register with unique pin code to redeem online at www.shutterfly.com/cocacola.  Shutterfly offer is valid 11/25/16 – 12/28/16.

And of course, you can find all of these Coca-cola products in the drink aisle. (Except for the refrigerated juice which will be in the freezer section!)