Kathi Lipp - Get Yourself Organized for Christmas: Simple Steps to Enjoying the Season

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Cover by Knail, Salem, Oregon

Cover photo Nic Taylor / Getty

Published in association with the Books & Such Management, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 122, PMB 170, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5370, www.booksandsuch.com.

GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED FOR CHRISTMAS

Copyright 2015 by Kathi Lipp

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lipp, Kathi, 1967-

Get yourself organized for Christmas / Kathi Lipp.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7369-5929-2 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-5930-8 (eBook)

1. Home economics. 2. Christmas shopping. 3. Christmas decorations. 4. Christmas cooking. 5. Time management. I. Title.

TX147.L565 2015

640dc23

2015005627

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To Cheri

Thank you for your friendship, partnership, and teaching me how to be brave. I am learning to become a better me by watching you become a better you.

Great thanks go to Erin MacPherson, Cheri Gregory, Susy Flory, Renee Swope, Michele Cushatt, and Crystal Paine. So grateful to each and every one of you who kept me together through all of this.

Thanks to Amanda and Shaun, Jeremy, Justen, and Kimberly. We love that we get to celebrate the good stuff with you.

My team: Kim Nowlin, Angela Bouma, Sherri Johnson, Brooke Martinez, and Kimber Hunter.

Rachelle Gardneryou are a gift.

Rod Morrisyou rock my world.

To our families: The Richersons, the Lipps, and the Dobsons. Thanks for giving us the best holiday stories.

And finally to Roger. Shut the door, baby.

Contents

I think there are two kinds of Christmas extremists.

First, theres your friend who has a selection of ugly Christmas sweaters to choose from for every party. Shes the one, first in line, waiting outside of Target on December 26 to stock up on all things Christmas themed. She has formal, semiformal, and casual Christmas dishes. Her husband has submitted film for The Best Christmas Display on TLC.

Second, theres your other friend who wants to huddle in the corner where the Christmas tree should have been, rocking back and forth and waiting for January 1 to come.

I hope you fall somewhere in between.

Whether you are filled with magical wonder or dread, one thing is for certain: Ready or not, Christmas is going to happen. And if youre reading this book, my guess is that the thought that Christmas is going to happen fills you with a certain amount of dread.

I doubt that Christmas is the problem. Its the expectations around Christmas that are killing you.

The shopping, hosting, wrapping, shipping, cooking, designing, decorating, mailing, entertaining, and baking may be things you enjoy. But when theres a time limit, a money limit, and, lets be honest, an energy limit, the things you love can start to turn into things you dread.

And thats why Im here to help.

You see, Ive been there. I was the woman waiting in line at Target, spending twice my annual income, to buy stocking stuffers.

I was the woman who stayed up every night until midnight for a week to bake cookies for a cookie exchange I never wanted to be a part of.

I was the woman who broke down in tears because I ran out of clear tape on Christmas Eve.

And I didnt want to be that woman anymore. In fact, I really didnt like her much.

So I went through a few years of trying to figure out exactly what I wanted my Christmas (and my familys Christmas) to look like.

I wanted to keep the annual viewing of the neighborhood lights (after driving through Starbucks for a Christmas latte,) but ditch the crumbly cookie exchange.

I wanted to read the Christmas story, but not feel obligated to tell our story in a Christmas letter every single year.

I wanted to have some time just with my husband to celebrate the holiday, instead of making him wait until December 31 to reconnect with his wife.

And I want you to have the kind of Christmas you love.

I want you to have the kind of Christmas where you celebrate the things that are truly important to you: faith, family, friends. (And, for me, throw in a little fun and food, and youve got yourself a truly magical holiday.)

I want you to put aside the expectations of what you should do and truly dig into what you want to do this Christmas season.

And lets be clear: this isnt about one day. I dont want you to just get to the day and then collapse in exhaustion. I want you to have joy, peace, and a plan for the whole holiday season.

I think having an organized Christmas is important. But what I really want for you is to have a Christmas that is clutter free. Free of emotional, physical, and relational clutter.

So as we together work our way through the 21 projects in this book, I will be giving you tips to keep down the clutter in your Christmas.

When I asked my friends what a clutter-free Christmas would look like, here is one of my favorite responses. Fellow author Jill Davis was forced to look at every area of her holiday celebration after her life took a decidedly different direction:

When I got divorced eight years ago and had to make huge changes in life with my four children, I asked them what was most important to them. We chose two traditionsthe advent calendar and sugar cookies, plus their favorite gifts of pajamas and a book on Christmas Eve. So much easier than all the shopping, baking, cleaning, and decorating I used to do. Instead of having a beautifully decorated home, fabulous things to eat, lots of Christmas presents, and a frantic mom, they now have an easygoing, low-key, lightly decorated Christmas with a very present mom. Life is better. Christmas is easier. We are all happier.

A clutter-free Christmas says that we are doing only those things that are truly important. We are not getting weighed down by unnecessary expenditures, obligations, or craziness.

Throughout the book, Im going to offer some ideas on how to make it a clutter-free Christmasone that everyone can enjoy. And maybe for the first time this December, you will truly experience a little Peace on Earth.

A Brief Word About the Projects

You may be picking this book up on October 5. Good for you. You have a head start on all the projects.

Or maybe your best friend just pressed this book into your hand on December 9. OK. Take a deep breath. You can double up on some of the projects, and then store this book with your fall decorations so youre ahead of the game for next year.

Whenever you begin (and if you have a choice, I would aim to start around the beginning or middle of November), I promise youll make it through.

If youre getting a late start, its even more important to do only the things that truly need to be done. In other words, skip the Christmas letter but save the Christmas fudge. We all must have our priorities straight.