Simply Perfect: 43 Holiday Tips from On Simplicity Readers

It’s easy to get caught up in your own world of schedules and whirlwind this time of year. One of the most helpful things to do can be to open up to a different perspective. So much great advice has been shared in the comments lately that I wanted to highlight some of the suggestions that have been given by readers and shared around the Web. And, of course, if you have any more insights, tips, or ideas to share with the rest of us, please keep the discussion going in the comments!

And if you need more holiday goodies, check out these stocking stuffers from The Life Skills Network:

Simplify Your Holidays in 3 Easy Steps: My Dollar Plan

Crappy Economy = Best Christmas Ever!: My Super Charged Life

3 Ways to Simplify Your Christmas: The Wisdom Journal

The Top of Your Holiday To-Do List: Breathe: Simple Mom

1. Write a heartfelt letter that lets them know how much they mean to you. And send it via physical mail! –Simple Sapien
2. When we were first married before kids, we always had “tree appreciation.” I would get the tree all decked out and then we’d snuggle on the couch with all the lights off and just enjoy the festive tree lights and talk. –Anne
3. We would have a surprise “Jammie Run.” We put the little ones to bed and then come back into their room and yell “Jammie Run.” We all pile into a warm car with blankets and hot chocolate and then go drive around and see the lights. The kids always knew it would happen, but never exactly when, so it was fun to see what night it would happen. –Denise
4. Every night I read a different Christmas themed book to the kids. –Robin
5. We always reserve Christmas morning for ourselves. We get up, make waffles & coffee and watch vintage James Bond in our pj’s all day. –Susy
6. Create your own set of Angel Cards. These cards are made out of plain que cards, any size you choose. Each card has a word on it and you color and draw any way you like on each card… Love, Simplicity, Sincere, Helpful, Music, Creative, Joy, Abundance, Truth, Happiness, Honesty, Letting Go, Dance, Heaven… The beautiful part is that the person has this set of cards and they can shuffle them and pick a card and smile.  –Ocean
7. A turkey sandwich breakfast… Everyone makes food (cheese trays and stuff) the day before… and everyone nibbles all day long. –Korta
8. Shop online: I know exactly what I want and usually can get it on the internet. It may not (or may) save me any money, but it certainly saves me time and protects me from the potential of Christmas time commercial overload. –Adam Steer
9. This year we are all about sharing experiences instead of purchasing a lot of gifts. –Stacey
10. Christmas cards. As we put together our Christmas card list, it’s wonderful to think of the many people who have touched our lives this year. –Beth NC
11. I made mix CDs for all my friends and family. It was very, very cheap and ten years later my folks still whip out the CDs during the holidays. –Bellesouth
12. We count back 12 days from the Saturday before they have to fly out and start our Christmas then. One present for each day… On the last night we open anything extra and a card with money in it. The next day we all go shopping together, have a very special dinner out and enjoy each other’s company. –Dee
13. The Christmas Eve walk. Every year my wife and I go for a walk about an hour or so after dinner on Christmas Eve. The destination is not important, but the fresh crisp air, and hopefully, and open sky for stargazing is a great time to reflect on all that you’re thankful for. –Time Tracker
14. My friends and I don’t exchange gifts, instead we gather for a games night & potluck in mid-December. –Looby
15. My favorite gift for bosses, co-workers, aquaintances, etc, is cookies. I bake two or three types of cookies, which I would be making anyway, in double batches. I package up half a dozen cookies in a hand decorated paper bag. It is pretty easy to do and it makes a nice personalized treat. –Jill
16. For my out of town friends, we’ll be setting time aside to visit over the telephone and reminisce about all the great times we’ve shared. –Barbara Swafford
17. My grandmother has always gotten the grandchildren together to make pies and cookies for the holidays (sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas). –Jen E
18. My son and I make homemade ornaments together to give out to everyone. It’s inexpensive and fun for us. –Rebecca
19. One of my favourites when I was a little girl was making a string of popcorn to put on the tree. Mom would pop the popcorn and we’d take a needle and thread and string it together. –Davina
20. We don’t just rip [our presents open]; each of us has to open one present telling everybody else who it’s from then showing them what we’ve been given before choosing another gift from under the tree for the next person… That way we feel we make the present opening special, appreciating each gift and given thought to the person who it’s from. –Sharon J
21. On Christmas Eve, when everyone goes to sleep, someone will hide a pickle in the Christmas tree. In the morning, whoever finds it is supposed to have good luck in the new year. (And then the next year, they are the hider.) –Adam
22. Every day in December I put up a new decoration. –Robin
23. Since it’s often warm on Christmas day (we live in Southern California) one of our traditions is picking oranges and making fresh-squeezed orange juice. –Sparekitty
24. The youngest person in the house has to ring the Christmas bell that is on the tree to signal that everyone is going to bed, and that Santa can come now. It’s a special thing every year. –Ramona
25. A round of beer has always been a hit for me. –Viriya
26. On Christmas morning we read the story of the Real reason for Christmas out of the Bible. It’s incredibly important to recognize the Reason we celebrate Christmas anyway. –Deb
27. We also plan to start the tradition of a small tree in our son’s room for him like my Dh had as a child. –MelanieSD
28. My family has attended the movies for Christmas day openings. I never go to the movies, so it’s kinda fun getting dressed up and going to see a film with my family. –Squawkfox
29. Each year I get a new ornament that symbolizes something about our year, often from our family vacation. –Val
30. I’ve come up with the perfect gift for family and friends: Gift Certificates for 1 free tech support call. It’s been a major league hit for the past several years.–jrandom42
31. Give free babysitting for baby showers. –Katie
32. Setting up my tree the day after Thanksgiving – it keeps me away from the Black Friday insanity and makes me concentrate on what’s important at Christmas instead. –Jean
33. We then all get together around the table and sit down. One of us gets up, grabs a camera, and has to take a group shot. Next thing you know everybody’s grabbing their cameras and taking pictures. –Mark W.
34. I love Christmas music and love to play it starting right after Thanksgiving. It always puts me in the true spirit of the holiday. –Barbara Swafford
35. For a bit of a twist on giving cookies as gifts, I’ve given a coupon for “A Year of Cookies”. The recipient was entitled to a dozen cookies, each month, for a year. I included a basic checklist of flavours/types so they could narrow down their likes and dislikes. –Leslie
36. Seriously, the first thing that comes into my head when I think of Christmas traditions is bacon sandwiches, and the second thing is smoked salmon croissants…  It’s not Christmas without our bacon sandwiches for breakfast. –Scribbles [Editor's Note: Drool...]
37. The day after Thanksgiving on our way home, we stop at a tree farm, take a hay ride out to the Virginia Pine field and spend a great deal of time searching for the perfect tree, while playing hide and seek among the trees. –Sissy
38. I’ve given gift certificates for massages and facials, and those are always well-received. –Jeri Dansky
39. We made an Advent wreath which we light every night before bed. We say a reading from an Advent book and sing the refrain of O Come O Come Emmanuel. –Sarah
40. We buy each other an ornament and a set of PJ’s and do the same for our kids. Christmas Eve we all get to open our ornaments and hang them on the tree and put on our PJ’s. –Sal
41. His family always does Gingerbread houses sometime before Christmas, we have so much fun with all the boys together. –V Higgins
42. When unwrapping our under-the-tree presents, we’d take turns, starting with the youngest. We’d do lots of guessing (what is it?), peel the paper slowly to build the excitement, and do lots of oohing and aah-ing before the next person would go. It took a couple hours, and we LOVED it. –Julie
43. Throwing roasting chestnuts out into the snow. Stirring marhmallows into our hot cider. Painting sparkles onto our kitchen cabinet doors. –Jannie

photo credit: terren in Virginia

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