Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Robin's Holiday Survival Guide

Merry New Year!

Wow was 2007 a fun ride. It's always nice to ring in the new year with a bang but I find having all the holidays piled up at the end to be a bit stressful, like finals. So here are few things I do to get me through with all my hair still on my head.

1. Drink responsibly. Take time to sit down with a cuppa with friends and family. There's nothing more sad than having a cup of hot cocoa alone at 1 am to take the edge off.

2. Decorating is a team sport. Have the kids help out, they like it, and when you go to put everything away after the holidays they can help with that too.

3. Wrapping gifts is a team sport too. I like wrapping presents, really I do. But when you haven't gotten anything wrapped at all and it's 2 days til Christmas Eve it's time to call in the troops. Thank you Shelley!

4. It's not all about the food. I love to cook. I love to feed people. I love baking for the holidays. I had no time this year. Believe it or not this is the first year I have ever worked full time for the holidays. I didn't do any baking this year and I felt deprived until I realized I also did not gain any weight either. That's 5 less pounds to shed this year. Go me.

5. Knit responsibly. Never take on more knitting projects than you can finish.

6. Be careful what you promise to knit when giving knit certificates. On the card I said hat, mittens or a scarf. Len wants a hat, no problem. Lisa wants a Doctor Who scarf. Have you seen how long those things are? Next year it's going to be a one skein limit.

7. Pick a day to just sleep in. This one is a life saver. You will have to do some pre-planning to make sure you get your day but it's so worth it.

8. Christmas ornaments are not eternal. You are going to lose or break at least one every year. This year Jarret broke one of the good blown glass ones and the kitten got a pear, a teddy bear, a fish and an apple. At least I can fix the kitten's ornamental depredations.

9. Play games. This one is self explanatory. We really like Munchkin Blender.

And I finished Quinn's sweater in time for it to be a Christmas present. Mom's sending me a picture of it soon.