A Stress-Free Holiday in Ladera Ranch
The holidays are a time to bring everyone together. But when you get family and friends together under one roof, things can get chaotic, in a good way. There’s all kinds of commotion all the time, from the days leading up to the gathering to hosting the actual holiday festivities. With so much to do, it’s easy to get stressed out. But don’t worry. Here are some tips to help get your home ready for a stress-free holiday so you can enjoy your time with family and friends.
4 Tips to Prepare for a Stress-free Holiday Season
Plan ahead
They say the key to success is planning ahead, and this couldn’t be more true when it comes to the holidays. If you want to have as close to a stress-free holiday as possible, planning out what you want to accomplish during this time is a great place to start. Are you going to host for Thanksgiving? Christmas? Both? Are you cooking dinner? Brunch? A roast? A turkey? The possibilities are endless. But if you plan ahead, you can accomplish your holiday vision. Go grocery shopping ahead of time. Clean your home before the big day. Do what you need to do to get organized. And because you’re organized, you’ll know what you need to get done and you can ask for help accordingly.
Use seasonal scents
Have you ever walked in to a room, smelled the scent of your childhood or another fond memory of yours, and it immediately calmed you down? Most people associate the holidays with certain smells like pumpkin, cinnamon, pine, peppermint and spruce, to name a few. Lighting a candle or two to fill your home with the scents of the holidays can help to create that stress-free ambiance you’re looking for.
Clean your fridge and oven
Usually, cooking is a huge part of the holidays. Most of the holiday celebrations I attend are centered around food or breaking bread. That means that your oven and your fridge are going to be on double duty. When you cook a lot of food, there are leftovers. If your home is anything like mine, I can fill the fridge with leftovers for a week or more! One way to alleviate your own stress is to clean your fridge and oven ahead of time. Empty out all of the old food in your fridge to prepare for the stream of holiday leftovers. As for the oven, put some elbow grease into it and degrease and clean the inside of your oven. That way you won’t fill your home with the smells of burnt food bits, unless your food is actually burning.
Enjoy your time with family and friends
During the holidays, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of cleaning, cooking and preparing for what’s to come, that we forget to enjoy the time we get to spend with those that are closest to us. The holidays are supposed to be a time to bring everyone together, both family and friends. But if you’re too busy running around like a chicken with your head cut off, you won’t get to enjoy the presence of your guests. Take time to smell the pumpkin spice and cinnamon. Breathe. Have a glass of wine to reward yourself. Remember that the gift of face-to-face interactions and time can be the greatest gift of all around this time of year, and that your efforts will be met with gratitude.