Like it or not, the holidays are fast approaching. Now that I am retired and all of my children are living on their own, holidays look very different around here. For one thing, it is much more low-key and relaxed. I've streamlined my decor. My Christmas tree is much smaller. I no longer need months of time to shop, create and prepare. Menus are simpler, I have others to help and contribute to those meals and we are rotating where and how we are spending our time.
This year I am hosting Thanksgiving and I’m very excited about it. It’s my favorite holiday and I love to cook and bake so it is right up my alley. We will not be having a big turkey however. None of us are huge meal eaters anymore so it will be scaled back. Chicken will be the bird of choice as well as fresh and scratch made side dishes to go along with it. I am going to make my homemade dinner rolls and my grandmothers pumpkin pie. Any other desserts will be contributed by others.
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Christmas is going to be along similar lines. We don’t exchange gifts like we used to. Most of us are going more minimal so we appreciate and want consumable gifts. Food gifts have now become a favorite, actually they I think they always were. Gift cards are nice too. I have a few friends that I’ll be giving a hand towel that I embellished with vintage handmade trim and a soap dispenser from Bath & Body Works, a simple, yet very usable gift.
I no longer need to plan far in advance or save up for Christmas. In fact, I don’t even have a budget to set anymore. I use points I’ve earned and saved from my credit card purchases throughout the year to redeem for the gift cards I am giving. The towels I handcrafted from things I already had in my sewing room and the hand soaps were purchased last spring on sale and with coupons. All of the food gifts I am making will be made with items from my well stocked pantry and I will likely use my Fun & Leisure budget to purchase a couple bottles of wine.
As I do every year I will be sending out Christmas cards to my friends and family. This year I made all of my own greeting cards using supplies I already had on hand. Just before postage rates went up in July I happened to be in the post office to get a book of stamps and it turned out they still had some Christmas stamps so I went ahead at that time and bought what I needed to send out this year’s cards. After going over my Christmas card list I collected all of the cards from my stash that I wanted to send and I’ve even begun getting them ready to go out in the mail already.
Along with sending out Christmas cards I have plans to decorate my home, bake cookies, breads and other treats to share with others and listen to a lot of holiday music. Mostly, I am looking forward to spending time with the people I love and are the most special to me. It is going to be a lovely holiday season this year. Feel free to share in the comments some of your holiday plans.
I'm making more gifts this year. My daughter has friends she often exchanges cards with and she still sends birthday cards. She's always running to Dollar tree for a card. I have tons of scrapbooking supplies. It occurred to me recently I could make her up a supply of cards. I'm also going to make up baskets of food gifts as everyone seems to like those based on reactions I've received in the last 2 years. I sew also so I usually give the grandkids something handmade. They get so much plastic stuff from everyone else.
ReplyDeleteMy daughters and I get together to make cookies many of which are given away.
One thing I will be doing different for Thanksgiving and Christmas is preparing food in advance and freezing (cooked or uncooked depending on the food). I'm looking to stream line both holiday dinners. Even with a dishwasher the cooking & clean up is just too much for me any more. I don't enjoy it any more. I'm going to asking my daughters to bring foods too.
I'll be paring down the decorating too. I've purged some of that over the last few years but this year I'll be even more mindful of what I truly want to keep.
Sounds like you have a very solid plan Margaret.
DeleteOur holiday celebrations this year sound very similar to yours. My daughter will host Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. There are 10 of us and it will be simple, traditional menus for both occasions. I have a much smaller Christmas tree and will have minimal decorations unlike previous years. Nobody needs any more stuff so we started a food gift exchange which everyone loves. This is my first holiday season as a retiree so I am looking forward to having the time to bake lots of homemade goodies. :) Thank you for sharing your recipes, some of which I will be making this holiday season. Have a blessed week!
ReplyDeleteAngela
We just love the food exchanges. One of my friends is always happy when I give him a loaf of my whole wheat bread and a jar of apple butter.
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