Christmas is a wonderful season.

It can also be stressful, overwhelming, and too busy!

Wondering how to simplify your Christmas so that you can actually enjoy it this year?

I’ll share the simple living ideas I follow for Christmas every year (or have used in the past) to keep Christmas simple.

I’ll hit all the hot topic areas: Decorating, baking, shopping…even Elf on the Shelf!

Decorating

1. Tree + 3 Rule

At one time there were three Christmas trees in my home. One in the big country kitchen, one in the living room, and one in the girl’s room (back in the day when they shared a room!).

Three trees do not make for a simple Christmas!

When it comes to decorating I now follow the “tree + 3” rule.

I put up the tree, of course, then I add only 3 other Christmas decorations and I am done!

My three favs are:

1. Stockings
2. Advent calendar
3. Elf on the shelf

Amazingly the tree plus these 3 little touches are all you need to make your home feel Christmassy (is that a word?).

Baking

2. One Kind Of Cookie

I do not get any Christmas joy from hanging out in the kitchen baking.

I make one kind of Christmas cookie and leave it at that.

I make shortbreads. There are no special ingredients required. Butter, sugar, flour. Even a non-baker like me keeps those items on hand.

I cut them into shapes using Christmas cookie cutters and decorate them with colored icing to add more variety.

3. Cookie Swap

If you really want an assortment of sweets, make on kind of cookie and arrange a baking swap with family or friends.

4. Seasonal Treats

Supplement your baking with seasonal treats.

Chocolates, candy canes, and eggnog are special and festive because they are only out at Christmas time.

Pick them up when you do your regular grocery shopping. It doesn’t get simpler than that!

Mom and Dad have gotten the Ganong 5-lb box of seconds and Chicken Bones every year at Christmas for as long as I can remember. (If you are not familiar Ganong is Canada’s oldest chocolate and candy company, established in 1873, located here in New Brunswick!)

In our house the only time of year I buy Toffifee, After Eight, and Ferrero Rocher chocolates is at Christmas time.

Sure you can buy them things any time of year, but we don’t.

There are as much of a Christmas tradition as the shortbreads!

The Elf

5. Stop Competing

You know the one I mean.

It seems Elf on the Shelf has moved into everyone’s home, at least for the Christmas season.

I’ll be honest. I love the elf.

My girls are now living in their own apartments and I still “hide” the elf every day and send them pictures!

The Elf, however, has become a bit of a competition. Don’t go there.

Elaborate (and costly) elf pranks and props could take over your holiday, if you let it.

Keep it simple. Use what you have on hand.

If you really are pressed for time and ideas use inexpensive printable downloads like the ones found here: ElfApprovedPrintable – Etsy Canada. Disclaimer: This link is to my shop and I will receive income from any purchases you make.

Shopping & Gifts

6. Shop once, at one store.

This is one of my favorite holiday hacks.

Does avoiding dozens of stores crowed with cranky shoppers sound too good to be true?

Pick one store and cross everyone off your list off at that one stop. Challenge yourself to find something everyone will like at only one store.

This is also ideal when you have no idea what to get someone. Your choice of store becomes your inspiration.

Need some ideas?

Chapters can be found in any city and has enough variety for men, women, and children that there is no problem to find something for everyone.

I love specialty stores. Freak Lunch Box is wall-to-wall retro candy. Endeavours & ThinkPlay is a local shop that describes itself as delivering sustainable art materials, ethical toys, and relational board games. They say “Our life work brings joy and value”. Who wouldn’t want to shop at stores like these? Seek out the specialty shops in your area!

Don’t overlook gift shops. The hospital gift shop and boutique hotel gift shops (the ones that have more than snacks and t-shirts) have unique gifts and brands that you won’t find in the department stores. Shopping here may cost you a little more, but I promise you it won’t be crowded, and you won’t leave disappointed.

7. Stockings only for the adults

The problem with shopping for adult is this; if adults really want something – they buy it.

This makes finding a good gift practically impossible.

A tradition of filling a Christmas stocking for the grown-ups (yes Santa, I’m stepping into your territory) is both fun and gives the adults something to look forward to on Christmas morning.

Get decent sized stockings and reuse them every year. Include a mix of nice gifts (i.e. more expensive) along with smaller items. Make sure you wrap every item – even the smallest and the most awkward to wrap!

I don’t usually use my last tip (shop only in one place) when I am doing stockings only because, since I am buying many things rather than one gift, I want variety in what I stuff in there!

Here’s a little cheat sheet of things you could use to stuff your stockings:

• • • Liquor. These stockings are for the adults. Craft beers, wines, and liquors are all allowed!
    • A toy. Take the grown ups back to their childhood with Lego, Play Dough, a slinky or a Rubik’s Cube.
    • Health related gift. Renew a membership (gym or golf), buy a Fitbit, or get a ski pass for your athlete at the local hill.
    • A treat. A giant jar of Nutella, pound of coffee beans, exotic tea, or beef jerky. You know what your person loves.
    • Be practical. If you must be practical skip the toothbrush, toothpaste, or deodorant and get sunglasses, permanent Sharpies, and scotch tape (or other things we all replace on the regular).
    • For the reader: A novel, magazine (roll it up and it fits nicely), comic, or puzzle book based on their interests.
    • Homemade favorites. Either made by you or picked up at a local market like maple syrup, fudge, pickles, jams and jellies.
    • A tool. Something has always gone missing or needs replacement. Spatula? Philips screw driver? Gorilla glue?
    • A joke gift. Everyone likes a good laugh. A book of dad jokes, the funny coffee mug, the earwax candle (eewww).
    • Jewelry. There’s no reason your stocking can’t contain something nice that would have stood alone as a gift.
    • Hobby props. What’s your person into? Pick them up stocking-sized props to support their hobby like golf balls, tubes of watercolor paints, or compact binoculars for travel/hunting/bird watching.
    • Self care: Bubble bath, essential oils, or the Salon shampoo everyone loves but that we never buy for ourselves.
    • Subscriptions like Peloton, the symphony, or a themed monthly subscription box are fun and unexpected!

Wrapping

8.  Keep it simple

A pile of simply wrapped gifts is just as pretty as a pile of elaborately wrapped gifts.

Both piles will be torn apart in minutes come Christmas morning!

Keep it simple. Paper and curly ribbon.

I have found rolls of inexpensive wrapping paper (usually from a dollar store) work great because you can easily adjust to get a piece of paper just the right size.

Instead of bows that never stick, I use rolls of curly ribbon. As a bonus, you can’t crush a curly ribbon, it bounces right back.

The Party Scene

9. Don’t overcommit your time.

There is a lot that happens this time of year. A. Lot.

Tree lightings, Christmas concerts, family parties, work parties, Nutcracker ballets, Christmas craft fairs, sleigh rides, photos with Santa, and more!

Think about the activities you enjoy the most ad mindfully decide ahead of time which activities you want to participate in. Say no to the rest guilt-free.

Celebrating Christmas Day

10. Stay Home For Christmas

There is irony in this suggestion for a simple Christmas because this year, for the first time ever, I am planning to go away for Christmas. We will see how that works out.

In the meantime, plan to stay home for Christmas.

As soon as I had children, I stopped the annual Christmas pilgrimage from one parent’s home to the next. Trying to open presents at every stop and co-ordinate Christmas dinners came to an end.

Packing up a young family (and all their gifts) is a lot of work.

Keeping children rested and happy when they are off-schedule, away from their own beds, and hanging out with grandparents who are not used to all the commotion can be stressful.

Instead, invite family to come to you. If you parents are unable to travel (due to age or health) plan a pre or post Christmas visit with them when the holiday hoopla is not at its peak. Everyone will enjoy the visit more.

11. Do Christmas Early

Planning family get togethers for Christmas can get fairly complicated to schedule.

You have one magical day and a lot of family to cover that doesn’t always live one place.

There are two sets of grandparents to consider, and split families might mean that there are two (or more) households to consider.

When children get older (like mine are) they have significant others and there is another set of families introduced into the scheduling dilemma.

Older children also have jobs or school exam schedules to work around and many parents work shift-work. Not everyone gets the same days off!

And finally (this may be the hardest part) it is tricky to drag little ones away from their new toys when all they want to do is play.

Due to my travel plans this year I hosted Christmas one month early on November 25 rather than December 25.

Oddly, this seems too have simplified Christmas planning.

Here’s the benefits that I encountered:

• Dates in December fill up quickly. November was still wide open and we found a weekend that worked for our gathering right away and everyone was able to come.
• As it isn’t Christmas day, you can plan a turkey dinner – or not – as suits you. I’m passed on the full dinner and prepared charcuterie boards ahead of time so I wasn’t stuck in the kitchen the day of the gathering.
• My visit to the grocery store for all the charcuterie board goodies was much less stressful on November 24th than it would have been on December 24th! I’ll be able to get the fresh fruit and cheese I want and the store won’t be cleaned out of cranberries and Christmas crackers!
• The tree is up and the gifts will be bought and wrapped early. All there will be to do in December is drink eggnog and enjoy the lights. All that last minute pressure is off!
• There is much less risk that the weather will take a turn and dump a snowstorm on us. If that does happen, we still have several weeks until Christmas so re-scheduling should be easier.
• Waiting to celebrate Christmas until after Christmas (as has happened a time or two) seems anticlimactic to me. Seeing the presents sit under the tree still waiting to be opened after December 25th has passed just seems wrong. Getting to open them early is a treat!

The Simple Summary

However you celebrate your holiday, give yourself permission to simplify your plans.

Do things a little bit differently this year. Try one (or more) of these ideas.

When I started implementing these ideas I thought the kiddos would comment, or my family would ask questions like “where are the rest of the decorations?” or “didn’t you make peanut butter balls this year?”.

Nope.

Nobody even noticed. (Or if they did, they kept it to themselves.)

I think that having Christmas traditions is important. I want my family to remember Christmas fondly and have special treats, routines, and decorations that they associate with the holiday.

Doing all-the-things is not important.

Less decorating and baking, and more time at home will have you enjoying the holiday season with your family so much more!