October | 2012 | Like a Saturday - DIY, Crafts, Recipes, Shenanigans

October 31, 2012
by likeasaturday 1 Comment

31 Days to a Stress-Free Holiday : Wrap and Ship Gifts

We’re nearing the end of the 31 day challenge! I have to say I’m a little excited, because I have a bunch of projects that I can’t wait to show you!

Once you have bought all of your gifts, get the wrapped! I talked about budget friendly wrapping options a while back. Put one of your favorite Christmas movies in and get to wrapping. If you get everything taken care of in one sitting, that’s one less thing on your to-do list, plus you can put the Christmas wrapping away and not have to worry about a mess all month long.

If you have gifts that need to be shipped, you will need to pay close attention to shipping deadlines to ensure your gifts reach their destination in time. You can check the website for USPS, FedEx and UPS for their deadlines. Dates will very based on where your gifts are being shipped and shipping method. If you’re shipping to anyone in the military or overseas, you’ll want to get those out by mid-November.

Double check the shipping addresses and pack gifts well. Postal delivery guys (and ladies) aren’t exactly known for being extremely gentle with packages, especially during this busy season. Shake the package around a little bit to make sure the gifts aren’t moving around too much.

I hope you all have a great Wednesday and a happy, fun, SAFE Halloween!

October 30, 2012
by likeasaturday 2 Comments

31 Days to a Stress-Free Holiday : Decorate the Outside of the House

Decorating the outside of your house, like all of these tasks, can be as simple or complex as you would like. I love to string lights around our house, decorate the porch, put wreaths on the windows, and set out our Nativity silhouette. Last year, I was so sick and so stressed with my job, I was doing good to get a wreath on the door. I just had to give myself some grace and be ok with that.

When I do decorate the outside of the house, I usually save it for the next weekend after Thanksgiving so I don’t overdo it. However you choose to decorate outdoors, be smart! Double check that all of the extension cords you are using are safe for outdoor use. Don’t go climbing on the roof if you’re home alone. Sometimes, simple is the most beautiful and economical option. We don’t all need to be Griswolds.

How do you decorate the outside of your home? Do you go all out with the lights, or just a simple porch decoration? What about you apartment dwellers? Do you decorate outdoors, or stick to just decorating inside?

October 30, 2012
by likeasaturday 1 Comment

31 Days to a Stress-Free Holiday : Decorate Inside of the House

Our first married Christmas, I got a little bit…um…Holiday happy. I was determined to do it all, Energizer Bunny style. I was coming off a very fun round of the stomach flu, and still insisted on hosting Thanksgiving for both of our families. The next morning, I was up EARLY for some Black Friday shopping. I came home, took a power nap, and I was ready to roll with putting up the tree and decorating the whole house. That was insane. It was dumb. I was so exhausted, and all that did for me was send me to tears over something I’m sure wasn’t even a big deal. It’s kinda like when kids are incredibly exhausted and fussy, but they want to stay awake to play…you ask them if they’re tired and they just burst into sobs and thrashing about insisting that they’re not tired. It was pretty much that ugly.

I’ve learned from that, though! Christmas is meant to be savored and enjoyed…not rushed and stressful. The Friday after Thanksgiving is now reserved for shopping, napping, football, leftover eating, and general laziness. Saturday is tree day. I’ll usually spread out the indoor decorating over the whole weekend, giving myself some grace and time to rest and enjoy my loved ones.

I love…I mean LOVE decorating the house for Christmas. I was that kid who would go find the hodge podge of unused Christmas decorations to stick in my bedroom. I totally spent my allowance on some blinking Christmas lights to hang around my room and my very own mini tree. Now I’m that crazy lady with at least one tree in every room (maybe even the bathroom…). I just can’t quit the decorating. It brings me too much joy!

I’m already planning out this year’s decorations! I pretty much stick to what I have in my stash, but I can’t help but change it up just a bit every year by adding a little handmade love. My Christmas decorating style is a mix of traditional, rustic, and vintage. You saw a little sneak peek of what I’m working on so far the other day.

I’ve gone to Pinterest (of course) for a little bit of inspiration. (Clicking on the images below will take you to their blogs).

For more Christmas inspiration, hop on over to my Christmas Pinterest board!

Have a beautiful day!

October 29, 2012
by likeasaturday 3 Comments

31 Days to a Stress-Free Holiday : Decorate the Tree

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is decorating the tree. I have so many fun memories growing up of decorating our family tree with my mom and dad and my sisters. We all had our favorite ornaments that we liked to place on the tree. It was just a great time of family and getting into the Christmas spirit.

One of the things I was looking forward to the most once Tim and I were married and moved into our home was having our own tree together and making our own Christmas memories. I’m all about savoring the moment when it comes to decorating the tree. I love to make a good hot drink – coffee, cocoa, or cider – dim the lights, and turn on the Christmas music.

We’ve made it fairly easy on ourselves by purchasing a fake tree that is already pre-lit. I think untangling and then stringing the lights is the part that people don’t enjoy. Our tree comes in three pieces, so we just snap it all together, plug in the lights, and voila! Christmas! We bought ours on sale at Home Depot during our first Christmas and I LOVE it. It’s a Paley Pine that looks very similar to the photo below. It has different textured needles, twigs, and red berries, so it has a more real life look to it. I don’t think ours was Martha Stewart brand, though.

I start by jerry rigging our tree topper to the top. (Why do those never want to stand up straight?). We have a star topper that I bought from Target that is made of twigs and red berries. We kinda have a rustic theme going with our tree and other greenery. I usually end up using some floral wire to make it stand up straight. Then I move on to placing the ribbon. I think this year I would like to find some burlap ribbon with the red ticking stripe on it, like this ribbon from Pottery Barn. Does anyone know of anywhere else I could find some?

Once all of the base decorating is done, we get to do the fun part together…hanging the ornaments. This is my favorite! There are so many memories tied to each of these ornaments! We have a few from our childhood, the ones that were given as wedding gifts, the ones we went shopping for during our first Christmas together, and our vacation ornaments. We’ve bought a souvenir ornament at every place we visited, the first being on our honeymoon.

Decorating the tree is such an enjoyable, relaxing past time for me. Take a couple of hours one evening when you have the whole family together. Make some warm drinks and goodies and turn on your favorite Christmas music. Take the time to look at each ornament and remember. Retell the stories behind them, even if you’ve all heard them 100 times. This is the perfect way to kick of the Christmas season!

Do you have any traditions surrounding your Christmas tree? Do you go faux or the real deal? Do you stick to a theme when it comes to decorating your tree, or do you have a hodge podge of ornaments? I’m ready to put ours up now!

October 29, 2012
by likeasaturday 2 Comments

31 Days to a Stress-Free Holiday : Food Prep

Making the Thanksgiving or Christmas meal can seem like a huge undertaking. A little planning ahead and spreading tasks out over several days can really help keep stress to a minimum and you can avoid over booking your oven.

I’ve out together a little countdown full of tips to assist you with your own planning. I hope it is helpful, and let me know if you have any questions!

Do most of your shopping by one week before hand (aside from anything that will spoil before the day, like fresh produce). Get your final head count so that you can be sure to have enough food for everyone. As for the size of the turkey, plan about 1 pound per person. This will also leave you plenty for leftovers (hooray for not cooking after Thanksgiving!).

Make any freezer-friendly sides, roll, and desserts that you can just warm up in the oven on the day of. Be sure to store in an airtight container. This can actually be done up to three months in advance.

Put your frozen turkey into the refrigerator breast side down to start thawing. Allow about a day of thawing for every 4 pounds (so you may need to start this earlier if you have a gargantuan bird). Set it in a pan or on top of paper towels in case there is any drippage. That is not a fun mess to have to clean up. Toast any nuts that you are planning to use in the salad or desserts.

Shop for any other ingredients you need, like your fresh produce. Make your cranberry sauce and any dressings or dips. Cover those items and stick in the fridge.

Start chopping ingredients, like celery, carrots, and onions, that are needed for different dishes. Measure the correct amount for each recipe and put them in separate ziplock bags. Label each bag with the amount and which dish it is for. Move dishes that were made in advance from the freezer to fridge to thaw. Put together any other side dishes that can be refrigerated until the day of.

Finish making any pies or desserts that couldn’t be made ahead of time. Pull out platters, serving dishes and utensils. Set them out where they will need to be for the meal and mark what each of them are for. Write out a plan for the day. Make an oven schedule for any remaining items that need to be made. Allow for extra time.

Stuff and roast the turkey. Prep the sale and dressings. Start any stove-top vegetables, like potatoes or corn. When the turkey is fully cooked, cover with foil and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes. While the turkey is sitting, bake or reheat and side dishes and rolls. Delegate any duties you need help with. Don’t worry about everything being perfect! Enjoy the time with your family and friends and think about all you have the be thankful for!