Now that American Thanksgiving is over, the winter holidays are just around the corner. Gift giving is probably on your mind, as it is on mine, but…I am almost done! Why? Because I try to keep my gift giving very basic. I want to share some of the ways that have helped me to keep things from getting out of control, as well as some of the gifts I will be giving this year.

My focus is on the kids in the family. I am speaking about my own kids and relatives’ kids.  My kids get one nice gift each.  It is never too expensive, but it is practical and always the best quality I can afford.  What I also mean by focusing on the kids is that some adult relative might get nothing because our policy is to gift to the kids.  If you think this might stir some controversy in your family, you might want to share your new plan with family in advance.

J. Crew city dizzy dress & converse metallic sneakers

Buy multiples of the gift that you think is terrific. If you run into something that is the right price, practical, and will appeal to a lot of different people, buy multiples.  This year, at a family Hanukkah gathering, all adults will get the gift of a Seda candle and a box of custom matches.

Seda candles bought for a bargain on One King’s Lane coupled with custom-made matches by DippyLulu

When in doubt, give gelt (money). I come from a culture where it is customary to give money and it never makes people uncomfortable.  When money is beautifully presented and given with grace and respect, it could absolutely be among your gift considerations.  So, before you give another sweater to your teenage niece, ask yourself “will she appreciate this sweater?” or “would she appreciate having a ‘money gift’ instead?”

Revolutionary MyDrap cloth napkins on a roll

Establish traditions that will help focus on creating memories. A couple of years ago, at the suggestion of my aunt, we established a “Secret Santa” or, as we call it, the “Secret Maccabee” gift-giving method for one side of the family.  Prior to the start of Hanukkah, we put our names in a hat and each member of the family picks a name that only he or she will know.  Well…some kids have a hard time keeping it to themselves, but it is OK . After we get our name, we are responsible for shopping for a gift for that family member on a strict $15 budget.  This is very simple and practical, but also fun and memorable.  Another tradition I have with my two older nieces is that every holiday, they get a couple of books that I have read during the year that I think they will love as well.   I hope they look forward to receiving some interesting reading material again from me this year!

One of my favorite expressions is: “LESS IS MORE!”  This year, focus on simplifying when it comes to gift-giving.

What is your family’s gift-giving tradition?  Is there anything you wish you could change, do differently or simplify?

When the holiday season arrives and we encounter beautiful holiday-related merchandise, including a plethora of gift wrapping options, it is tempting to purchase new items instead of turning to what we already have in our supply.  I like to take inventory early on in my prep for the holidays to ensure that I avoid making unnecessary purchases.  So, this weekend, I reviewed what I have and organized my wrapping paper and ribbon.

I keep my gift wrap in a vertical organizer I acquired several years ago.

My ribbon is organized in a rubbermaid box with a small internal container for shorter ribbon pieces and other accessories.

I am happy to report that I will not require any wrapping supplies this year as I plan to be creative with what I’ve got.  I came up with a couple of ideas for embellishing my humble gift wrapping options with a few items I found around the house.  I call this double-duty gift wrap because not only am I dipping into my existing supply, but I am also looking for things that I no longer use or need in order to re-purpose them.  I used an old pin to add a bit of “wow” to a simple blue ribbon.

I found this hair accessory, which I have had for a good 20 years.  I no longer wear it.  I think it will make a package for someone special a little more unique.

Buttons, which most of us have for some reason or the other, can also be put to work.  You can glue gun or sew them on to the ribbon.

I am rethinking the use of gift bags for wine.  (If you already have those bags in your supply, by all means use them!)  Those bags serve a very narrow purpose and many, I am certain, end up in landfills.  What about using practical reusable materials such as kitchen towels to wrap the wine.  You can often find towels at a great sale price or might have some new ones on hand.  I tied a pretty ribbon around my experiment and ta-da!

I came across some other double-duty-worthy gift wrapping options in the blogosphere.  Here are some of my faves:

Make ribbon out of fabric or yarn scraps.

Image source: fabric ribbon; yarn ribbon

Newspaper!

Image source

No-longer-needed puzzle pieces could make a beautiful adornment to a package as well.

Image source

Have you organized your gift wrapping supplies already?  Are there interesting ways in which your gift wrapping does double-duty?

Will you be opening your doors to overnight guests this holiday season?  Hosting family and friends can be fun, but stressful as well.  See the first picture below?  It is a photo of my mother’s guest room in our home.  Talk about stressful !  Nevertheless, I believe that hosting is a great motivator for getting organized and my mother’s visits always motivate me.  All of the photos in this post tell the story of how I prepare for my guests’ visits.  I highly recommend pre-hosting organizing for you as well!

Russians joke that even before a cleaning lady comes into our homes, we clean.  Maybe it is due to a fear of embarassment, but that is not the point here.  Coming from a culture that considers hosting as an honour and a responsibility, I try to anticipate the needs of my guests and invite them into a space that is organized, clean, comfortable, and cozy.  Ask yourself the following questions to get your act together before your guests’ next check-in:

1.  Prior to the guests’ arrival, have you inquired about their food allergies and dietary needs?  What do they like to eat for breakfast? Visits begin even PRIOR to the arrival.  It shows you care and look forward to spending time with your guests.  If you are expecting “kid” visitors, prepare some toys, games, kid-friendly snacks, and/or videos that they will enjoy. 

2.  If you have pets, have you disclosed that fact to your guests? Some might have allergies to certain animals.

3.  Have you offered to pick up your guests from the airport? If no pick-up is needed, have you arranged for someone to be home to properly greet your visitors?

4. What will your guests see when they arrive at the door? A clean, well-lit, and seasonally appropriately decorated exterior is inviting.  Think “CURB APPEAL” If applicable, walkways should be shovelled or raked and the grass mowed.

5.  Is your entryway clear of clutter?  What will your guests smell when entering your home?  Does the coat closet have enough room to hang a few more coats? Continue with the good first impression.  Have room for your guests to come in, put down their luggage, hang their coats, and put away their shoes.

6.  Where will your guests sleep?  Are the bed linens clean, ironed, and smelling fresh?  Will the blankets provide sufficient warmth?   Can you provide a couple of pillows of varied firmness? Use your very best for your guests!

7.  Is there a closet for your guests to hang their clothes and/or a drawer in a dresser to arrange some of their smaller items? If there are no dedicated closet and dresser, make sure to make some room for your guests in other areas of your home and notify them of the plans you have made.

8.  Is the bathroom your guests will be using thoroughly cleaned and de-cluttered? Have you provided bathroom linens for your guests?  Are the towels in good shape, clean, and smelling fresh?

9.  Is the bathroom stocked with extra toilet paper and spare toiletries that your guests might require during their stay? Supplying a small kit with the basics would be very thoughtful.

10.  Would your guests appreciate some reading material? Magazines, newspapers, or a good book?

11.  What is the condition of the common areas in your home? Will your guests feel comfortable?

12.  Does your fridge need a good cleaning? Trust me, if you are going to have guests in your home, at some point, they will open your fridge.  Clear it out, stock it with healthy snacks and drinks that your guests will appreciate.

13.  Should your guests be supplied with a set of keys to your home?

14.  Are there particulars about the workings of your home that might be worth sharing with your guests? A lock they should not lock or a TV button they should not push? Do not overwhelm them with too many details, but important ones should be passed along.

15.  What else should you organize or prepare in advance to make people feel welcome?

I hope these questions will help you to take small advance steps to prepare for visitors and, thus, alleviate some of the pressure.  Most importantly, they may help you and your guests enjoy each other’s company a bit more this holiday season.

Can you believe it is already November?  Holidays will soon be upon us.  I love holidays, but it is easy to get overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done.  The way I maintain my festive spirit is through extensive planning.  In fact, I am sure I am not alone at starting my planning way in advance, like last month.  Call me crazy.  I call it SANITY-FYING.

Over the next few weeks, I will share my ideas for organizing the various steps of holiday preparations.  Hope you will be able to find some sanity-fying tips here at Order Matters.

One thing that I recommend doing at least 6 weeks prior to the beginning of the holidays is taking care of your greeting cards.  I am not a crafter and, if I was, I would probably start getting the card concept ready even a little earlier, purchasing the necessary art supplies, and scheduling myself to work on the cards.  I like it simple!  Most of my holiday cards will be e-mailed this year, as this format is free and environmentally friendly.  However, for a handful of relatives, who do not believe in the power of cyber communication, I will be ordering personalized greeting cards and sending them by snail mail.  Here is the method to my madness:

1.  Mailing list. Do this once and do it right to save time in the future.  Create an Excel spreadsheet with the addresses that you can then use for doing a mail merge. You can also save your addresses in mailing label format in a Word document.  Review and edit the addresses annually.  Since I prefer to e-mail most of my greeting cards, I created an e-mail distribution list to make my life a little simpler.

2. Card concept. Make it simple.  Less is more.  There is nothing wrong with packaged holiday cards you can buy pretty much anywhere this time of year.  Hand write a few lines about your family and you are almost done!

If you have a photographer take your picture for the holiday card, schedule your photo session ASAP and do something fun.  If you use your own photos, take pics often and always think of a fun pose that might make the cut for your holiday card.  If you are lacking creativity, Pinterest is full of amazing ideas for photo poses and crafty card ideas too.

I like to use Shutterfly for the personalized holiday photo cards.  Having some great pics of my own family in mind helps make the process of designing a card as simple as 1-2-3.

3.  Find a deal! There are some great deals on greeting cards out there right now.  Every year, I score some cards for free from Shutterfly.  Love it.  Just got this great deal via e-mail:

There are some other terrific deals available at MINTED and TINY PRINTS.

4.  Sooner rather than later. Get your kids involved in stuffing envelopes, putting on postage, and sending your greetings on their way to friends and loved ones.  If you plan to mail your greeting cards by snail mail, aim to do so by the end of the 2nd week of December.  Postal services throughout the world get overloaded; mail is more likely to get lost or ruined in late December.

I started working on my card and here is one option.  What do ya think?

All mugs, T-shirts, mouse pads proclaiming “Best Mother Ever” or other chatchkas of similar nature make me cringe.   Do other mothers find such gifts meaningful?  What do you want for Mother’s Day?  What I want for Mother’s Day is:

some peace and quiet, a bunch of pink peonies, and a refreshing bellini!  (Note to my husband and children: any one of the three will do.  Thank you.)

I bet most mothers would join me in a campaign for clutter-free gifts this Mother’s Day.  If it has not been your tradition, then start this year by giving your mom a gift of time or extra sleep, a thoughtful note or a phone call, an iPod playlist or a Kindle gift certificate, a breakfast in bed or a lunch outing, a spa appointment or a cooking class, a portrait session…

Happy Clutter-Free Mother’s Day!