2023 Author: Anita Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-22 03:30
Have you started your Christmas preparations yet? Do you have Advent calendars for children? Yes, we are already in preparation mode because we love this family celebration!
Where to start?
Gifts, Christmas cards, decorations (that your neighbor has set up for a month!), the menu, the outfits for the children and for yourself… Phew! That's quite a list!
Why not start with your favorite things? This way, it will be easier to find yourself in the holiday spirit. For many, this first activity is decoration since the whole family contributes to the final work. Let's put on some Christmas music and let's go!
The decoration
From the decoration of the foyer, the stair railing, to the tree, everyone finds a responsibility! Even two-year-olds have fun putting the decorations (unbreakable) at the bottom of the tree. It really is the inauguration of the holiday season festival.
You can also make your decorations with the children who will love to personalize the house. paper garlandsconstruction, wreaths with cotton balls or with popcorn! There are plenty of DIY ideas for your little ones.
Why not start a tradition that will leave traces of your Christmases? Each year, go out as a family to choose a decoration for everyone for the tree. If there is space, write the year somewhere on the decoration. And of course, everyone will be responsible for installing their decoration where they want it. The pleasure each year is to rediscover the personal decorations of past years and to add the decoration of the year. It's inexpensive (provided you set a specific budget!) and it's really an activity that allows you to forge links and keep track of them.
Gift Race
For shopping, you can think about it all year round. Not always easy, but those who prefer not to have to run the weeks before Christmas to find THE gift go into find mode all year round. Often, if you keep your eyes peeled, the gift finds you! In July, September or March. The only danger with this - and it is significant - is that sometimes we forget the purchases and we end up with too many gifts. A regularly updated list can help you avoid double and triple purchases.
Even without a reserve accumulated over the past few months, it is possible to arrive at Christmas without being too out of breath. It's time to ask for the list of children, to monitordeals advertised in flyers and online, and to buy as you go. With a list, it's easy, we tick off as the gift is found.
The menu
Ah, the menu! For people who love to cook, it's a cakewalk. For those who love less, it's torture. You have several possibilities. The fine chefs will spend weeks planning their meals by consulting books, websites, magazines, in short, everything they need to concoct meals that will impress their guests. For some, traditional meals retain a prominent place on the menu. More and more people are also choosing to entrust this task to a catering service. Often, we imagine that these services cost an arm and a leg, but if you shop around a bit, you might be pleasantly surprised!
Of course, if you cook everything yourself, the ingredients to offer fresh oysters, foie gras, a good tourtière or a stew of paws can add up to a grocery bill very quickly! But there is something for all tastes and all budgets. Did you know that several supermarkets also offer you the possibility of preparing your holiday meal? Ask the question, you might be surprised!
Before making your final choice on a menu, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- How many people will you be in total?
- Are there people who are allergic to certain foods or arevegetarian?
- What budget do you have? (don't forget to calculate the alcohol)
- Do you have enough cutlery for everyone (plates, glasses, knives, etc.)
- Do you have enough chairs? (you can also opt for a buffet-style meal)
- Do you have a tablecloth and napkins?
Don't forget to pay as much attention to the table as to the meal. The magic of good “food” also includes presentation. Without necessarily spending a fortune, take the trouble to decorate your table with care.
All-purpose gifts
The holiday season is also synonymous with cookies! Indeed, why not make Christmas cookies as a family that you can devour with relish, but that you can also give as gifts? For work colleagues who want to give a little something, a box of homemade cookies is a perfect gift! You can also offer homemade caramel or chocolate! And children are always very happy to bring their educator or teacher something they made themselves!
