Lets talk about.....

**homesteadmamma** · 10-13-2004, 10:22 AM

Slowing down for the next few months

First Halloween, then thanksgiving (for our American friends), then Christmas. Its become such a busy season, where everyone is rushing around to make things, do things, buy things, visit, etc. etc.

Lets talk about ways you plan on slowing down over the coming season.

A few I do (I'll add more later)

~we have a pioneer Christmas, where both dh and myself make most of our Christmas gifts.
~we don't do Halloween at all.
~our thanksgiving is over. We had a very simple meal with friends.
~I don't do a lot of Christmas baking. I buy a few Christmas cookies from the bakery in the next town over.
~we don't do a lot of decorating, in otherwards we don't go overboard on the decorations in our home. We have minaiture lights that are already strung up outside. We put them up early so dh isn't outside in the freezing temps trying to put lights up.
~we have a simple Turkey meal for Christmas day.
~we don't hit the malls or stores after Dec. 1st. as it is nuts!!!!! The only store we will visit is the grocery stores.
~I don't do after Christmas sales or what are known here has Boxing day sales. I refuse to buy just because its an extremely good sale.

How about you?

**Ellise** · 10-13-2004, 10:28 AM

~ We don't do a lot of decorating either
~ Simple Thanksgiving meal for us this year.
~ We don't do Halloween either ds has never liked it.
~ I rarely go to the After anything sales, (I never find anything I like anyway)
~ One holiday trip this year to Texas, the others won't see us until after the New Year
~

I'm sure I'll think of more later

**KKCondrey** · 10-13-2004, 10:44 AM

~Halloween, we haven't done it since we've been together (we were either both working, out on our own or lived away from any kids.
Once we have our baby and she is old enough we will take her, but I'm sure that will still be a few years (Next year, I just can't see taking an eight month old out, its not like she can eat the candy anyway's, and I'm not one on strangers wanting to oh and ah and grab at my child......family and friends are okey, but virtual strangers aren't getting near my baby anytime soon)

~Thanksgiving, Joe is required to work and when I was in resturants so was I. Lately my mom has been having it the Sunday before. If she does that this year, I may go since it will probably be the last time the family is able to get together this year since we most likely won't make it home at Christmas and then won't travel to much after the first of the year until after the baby comes. Other than that, all I will probably do is bake a pumpkin pie for us to munch on at home and I will go eat with DH at work since he will be there all day.

~Christmas....I'll have to work Christmas Eve and Joe will most like have to go back on the 26 and so we will probably spend a quite holiday alone. (The last one just us, before the baby)
As far as decorating, I love having a tree but as of right now all our ornaments as well as our tree are in his parents basement so we probably won't do much decorating either.

**kimmee** · 10-13-2004, 11:04 AM

I will not shop in malls - I get panicky in crowds. When we lived in town I only did Christmas shopping at 24 hour stores after midnite - same with fresh produce for THanksgiving. Now that we live in the country I just start early and go at a slow pace. I use layaway for bigger items. I use our little town market for produce. Not as much selection as Kroger but all nice quality. We try to make most things to do with the holidays a family activity which really takes the pressure off - music, chatter, yummy Apple cider and homemade eggnog. Alot of what we do for Christmas is just plain fun - the kids love to make candy, or make fancy shaped butters for thanksgiving (in the candy tray shapes). They enjoy decorating the cookies and cookie house - so it is fun and traditional rather then hectic.
I don't like Halloween but I love making costumes which I start pretty early. Bob does the actual going out with the kids on halloween - he has them every year.

**QuilterMom** · 10-13-2004, 12:13 PM

~ Halloween... We will take ds to our former church's fall family fun festival. It's set up with handmade carnival type games, a cake walk, a huge blow up jumping thing for the kids, a hayride, etc. The kids play the games and get tickets to turn in at the end of the evening for prizes like silly sunglasses, pencils, etc. They used to give out the candy also when you played the games, but now they do what they call 'trunk or treat'. I'm not too thrilled with that because it's too much like trick or treating in my opinion which is the whole point of dh and I not doing that with ds and taking him to the festival instead. Oh well.

~ Thanksgiving... We don't travel to be with family nor do they travel to be with us (thank goodness!). We fix a meal and the 3 of us share the day as a family.

~ Christmas... Once again we don't travel to be with family nor do they travel to be with us (thank goodness again!). I LOVE Christmas so I try to make it very festive. I love the decorations, the music, the smells, etc. I do a lot of baking during December, but I include ds in the process so it's good bonding time, good learning time, etc. The smile on his face makes it all worthwhile. I personally avoid the stores after Thanksgiving, but do hit after Christmas sales when things get to 75% and 90% off. I don't buy a ton of stuff though. Dh always waits until the last minute to do his shopping though.

Dh just gets one day off for both Thanksgiving and Christmas (just the actual day of the holiday). I wish he got more so we could have more family time together, but I should just be thankful that he at least has a job when so many here now don't.

**Michele Annette** · 10-13-2004, 02:41 PM

Halloween- We don't really do Halloween. We are invited to a party by my dear friend and we may try to make it, but not sure yet. Even though our apartment is in the suburbs and there are a million kids, we usually don't give out candy because of the cost and because there is so many others giving out candy in our neighborhood! Oh and like I need more candy around!

Thanksgiving- every year we have what's called a "misfit" Thanksgiving. Not that any of us or our friend are misfits

, but because our families live far away, as well as some of our friends families, or they don't get along with their families...for whatever reason...and they all get invited to our place for a huge turkey dinner. Now you may think that this is stressful,but it isn't for us. We love to cook and we love the company. Since our families live so far, we don't stress about holidays because we don't have to travel for them and I believe that there is something more stressful about entertaining for family than entertaining for friends. That's how it is with our families anyway.

Christmas- Christmas is almost always just the two of us! We love it! We hope to have a tree in our new house this year. We don't go overboard on decorating. We don't have much. Aaron's Mom doesn't ever come for Christmas becuase she works at a store that demands her to work every single stinkin' day after Christmas (No thanks!). I would hate a job like that! my parents haven't visited in four years! I am very close with my parents, but for some reason I have to always go see them. Not this year, I'm making them come see me, but not for Christmas. So Christmas we will make a small turkey and just enjoy the day.

**forestdale** · 10-13-2004, 03:30 PM

Good idea for this thread, CJ.

I really like the idea of slowing down at this time of year. Summer is starting, school holdays begin mid-December and go until the end of January, so where I live, this time is full of holidaying tourists, Christmas shoppers and frazzled nerves.

We don't have Thanksgiving in Australia, so I'll just silenting give thanks that during this year I found Frugal Village.

I'm not putting up a Christmas tree this year. I'm doing 2 fresh pine wreaths (made from trees near my home) - one for the front door, one for the dining room. We'll have the smell of a tree without the trouble or buying one, decorating it and dealing with the corpse later.

We usually have a house full of friends and family. This year, it's just family. There'll be myself, DH, my sons, step son and dil and I've invited my sister to come up from sydney but I doubt she will. My sons are chefs and they are doing the cooking, but it will be all salads, seafood and organic hams.

I'm cutting down the amount I spend on Christmas gifts. I'm making many of the gifts I'm giving this year.

I'll be gift shopping in late Novemeber and grocery shopping early December, apart from fresh vegetables, milk etc. I won't be going back to the shops until well after the holidays.

But my main activity is to slow down and enjoy what in recent years had become just a brief period where I stopped working for a couple of days. This year I'm going to enjoy Christmas.

**MMP** · 10-13-2004, 04:03 PM

Halloween is done at home. I am making all the goodies, except some of the candy. We are renting some movies. that will be our halloween.

just discovered my shift key dont work.

thanksgiving, i am not sure about yet, as i am on the outs with the inlaws right now. told dh that he can invite them and if they dont want to come. ohwell. personally i just want to stay home with the kids.

christmas is the same as with thanksgiving. to tell the truth, we are hoping for a white christmas so we have a reason why no one can come over. lol. i have most of my shopping done and will try to have most of it done by mid december.

i am trying to do most of my 'baking' done early. cookie doughs in the freezer so they are just defrosted and baked. also any quick breads. if it ends up just being us for the holidays i might not go all out with the dinners.

**DaisyLady** · 10-13-2004, 06:45 PM

Halloween ~ not big on Halloween around here. We used to have a bit of candy for the neighbours kids but our area has grown by leaps and bounds the last two years. I will buy just enough for the young ones that come early. After that we are going out... somewhere. Halloween is a Sunday this year so we might go to my parents. Problem is that if we go out we have to take the dogs. They go crazy with the door bell ringing constantly.

Thanksgiving is over here. Even though I had to spend half the day in the car at least I didn't have the hassle of cooking and cleaning for a crowd. Hmmmm I'll have to remember that for next year.

Christmas ~ I make most of our gifts and what we do buy I keep very simple. DH does all the holiday decorating. He loves it! I don't! so it works for us. Christmas is mostly a celebration of the birth of Christ for us so we don't have the added pressure of "commercialism" We are at church Christmas Eve. DH has to work Boxing day. We also established early on with our extended families that we were going to start our own tradition and stay home for Christmas. If they want to spend it with us that's great but we are at home. And it's potluck