The Holiday Season can be the most memorable time and also the most stressed out time. Don’t let the pressure of the past put you in debt, keep you broke, stressed or busy. Plan you time ahead and put these 8 Tips to the Test for a more memorable Holiday Season.

1. Be a good example. Thanksgiving is a time to rejoice in the bounty of the harvest season, but, we don’t have to eat until we become “food stupid” – irritable, groggy, sending a loud message to our children that Thanksgiving is the season to be a glutton;
2. Avoid carting your children around the malls shopping for gifts – they don’t like it and neither do you (be honest);
3. Do not take your children to the grocery store (infants exempt). They will want to buy all the wrong foods for the right reasons – they heard about it on TV and it must be good for you;
4. Remember that children have short attention spans. By the time you have dragged out the Christmas lights and unwound the tangles, they are no longer interested in stringing 1000 lights around the roof of the house;
5. Children remember experiences and tend to forget ‘things”. There is no earthly reason to go into debt to buy numerous gifts for kids that are either broken by the end of Christmas day or ignored in the excess of present overload. Find ½ hour to bake healthy cookies with your children. Teach them how to make warm apple cider in a mug with a cinnamon stick. Carve out 15 minutes each evening to read and plan for the next day. Decorate the family Christmas tree with craft items your children bring home from school and forget about perfection;
6. Turn off the TV. At this time of year, retail merchants are invading our homes with endless radio and television commercials aimed at children. These ads signal children to ask for toys that they do not really want and certainly do not need. We wind up wasting time and energy in endless negotiations over topics such as “the real meaning of the Holidays”, “you already have 50 action figurines, that’s enough”, “mommy already changes lots of diapers and doesn’t want to change your baby doll’s diapers, too”, etc;
7. Concentrate as much as possible upon the changing of the seasons, try all the different vegetables and fruits that are available in the autumn and winter months, make soup (it’s healthy, nutritious and warming), cut down on as many social engagements as possible and spend time with your family and close friends;
8. Chill out and keep warm.

For more tips visit BetterLifeInstitute

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.

Meaningful gift giving doesn’t have to be expensive. Some of the most memorable gifts cost very little but take up time. Becuase of the effort of the gift, it becomes more meaningful to the recipient.
Below you will find a list of gift ideas that are low-cost but high value. Rather than a large chunk of change, these gift ideas require you to invest your creativity and time with only a little of your hard-earned cash.
1. Make a scrapbook of the history of your relationship with the recipient. Fill it with pictures, mementos and memories from the past. Include your own heartfelt note thanking the recipient for the value and warmth they add to your life.

2.Put your artistic abilities to work and create a piece of art in honor of the recipient. Write a personalized song, do a painting or sketch, or write a poem.

3.Use your computer to make a family cookbook with a variety of recipes contributed by different family members. Or make a cookbook of all of your own special recipes to share with the recipient.

4.If you have artistic flair, purchase blank note cards with envelopes. Decorate the cards with your own drawings to make personalized note cards for your loved one.

5.If you can knit or crochet, make the honoree a new scarf, hat, afghan or pair of mittens. If you sew, create a new apron, fleece throw or keepsake pillow.

6.Make an “I Love You because…” or “You’re Special because…” jar. On individual slips of paper, write something you love and appreciate about the honoree. Place the slips of paper in a decorative jar. You can also make an “I Love You” book by writing each thought on a different page of a blank journal.

7.Use a desktop publishing program or your calligraphy skills to create a wall-hanging featuring a inspirational quote. If you are handy with a needle and embroidery floss, do the same thing using your needlework skills. Display the finished product in an inexpensive, yet attractive frame.

8.For the chocolate lover on your list, fill a gift basket with several varieties of homemade chocolate cookies, candy, and brownies. If the recipient loves sweets but is concerned about weight gain, use recipes for goodies that are low in fat and calories.

9.Make a keepsake video containing something that would be special to the recipient: children singing songs, friends telling why they love them, or you recounting funny stories of times you’ve shared together.

10.Cook a meal for the recipient and/or put meal(s) in their freezer that can easily be heated and served rather than having to cook.

American Red Cross
redcross.org

Goodwill Industries
goodwill.org

Ronald McDonald House
www.rmhcnc.org

Easter Seals
easterseals.com

Make a Wish Foundation
www.wish.org

Salvation Army
www.salvationarmyusa.org

National Breast Cancer Foundation
www.nationalbreastcancer.org

American Cancer Society, CA Div.
www.cancer.org

Habitat for Humanity
www.habitat.org

National Aids Foundation
www.nationalAIDSfoundation.org

Feed the Children
www.feedthechildren.org

Hospice Foundation of American
www.hospicefoundation.org

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.