Feeling pretty good about where I am. Finished gift buying today (this is minimal, we do books with the kids and secret santa with extended family, and stockings for all). Tree is bought, up and lit, waiting to decorate until all kids are here (late tonight D arrives).
This is the last Christmas in this house, I’m giving it up Feb 1 to nomad full time, so it is bittersweet, but I am super grateful that both kids will be here, with their friends and SOs.
I felt like Marie Kondo until I read this thread. No wreaths, no outdoor lights, no cards, no cookies … and yet, I still feel like Marie Kondo!
I think Marie Kondo would be in the camp of a pared back Christmas.
Exciting, @OHMomof2! I want you to start a nomad instagram account and I want to follow it. 
It’s as good as it’s going to get!
The bar is set very low.
Little bitty fake tree’s been up for a couple of weeks. Lights are on. Gifts are very low-key, tokens so the “kids” have something to open. Kids and DIL’s parents came / coming in today.
I blitzed through final decorations this afternoon, including our Wandering Wise Men. It’s an old kids’ block Nativity set and the Three Kings spend from now to January 6th being moved around the house and getting their picture taken with dorky captions about being lost.
@HouseChatte - I love your Wandering Wise Men! Mine usually start well away from everything else, but on the same shelf. They meander closer each day starting on the 25th (the back one goes ahead of the other two) until they crowd around on the Epiphany.
I am almost there - some house cleaning and picking up last minute food items tomorrow and Monday.
I minimized the decorating (but did continue the tradition of going with DS to pick out a tree) and postponed (more likely, nixed) the cards. I have done anticipatory food prep for the extended family 3-4 day visit so there are 3 frozen meals ready so I can enjoy the visiting.
My baking is done. Glad that DD2 came by to bake today - she likes my oven better.
DD1, SIL and 16 month old GS arrive from the opposite coast on Monday!
Somewhere in between, closer to Fyre Festival. We have a decorated tree since last week, but that’s it. First time i didn’t do any other decorations. Well, we did get a wreath when we got the tree, so there’s that.
Most presents are bought. None wrapped. I need something besides cash and gloves for my son-in-law and can’t think of anything. Seeing them Christmas Eve, so…eek.
No baking done, no cards yet–I refuse to give them up! But they will not be there by Christmas, lol.
I’m mired in end of the semester grading, sadly. So, so many written things to evaluate.
Also, we’re hosting a major family reunion next weekend in our second (eventual-retirement) home and totally unprepared for that. Well, we bought a small fake tree and decorated it–funny story: neither of us has ever had a fake tree, and we kept looking at how spindly it seemed, before we realized that all the branches were bunched up and needed to be bent apart. Picturesquely. so now we have that going for us.
If it was just one meal, it wouldn’t be so bad, right? But it’s feeding family and guests for many meals for days that makes it much more work.
Husband and I often eat pretty casually these days. Definitely not 3 meals a day and sometimes just snacking with a sandwich for dinner or fruit, cheese and crackers.
That’s a lot back to back but I’m sure it will be a blast. Delegate the work! Funny story about the fake tree.
It was supposed to be that everyone other than my kids and grandchild would be staying nearby and using our place as ground zero for meeting up, but mission creep has set in and now more family are staying with us, and I dunno where they’re all gonna sleep, but we’ll squeeze in somehow.
Best laid plans to try and be Kondo, more realistic current evaluation, somewhere mid-way.
Baking nearly done. Gifts all bought except a couple gift cards - maybe a 1/3 of the way wrapped. Lots of menu planning and grocery buying still needs to happen for guests tomorrow, Monday and then for Christmas Day food.
Decorating…CHECK! 
You know, my mom said to me today, “are you ready?” - those three words sort of urked me. Ready for what? I feel like that is what the holiday sometimes boils down to - Did “I” get it ready??? I sort of would like to shout - “ready is relative! I don’t want to worry about ready! Whereever we are, whatever we have good to go Christmas Day, that will work!” Too much emphasis on the THINGS!!
I just spent the last 4 hours rescuing my brother and his family who were driving from NYC to Michigan today for the holiday. Luckily the issues started on the Ohio Turnpike and 1/2 mile from a huge rest stop so they were able to putter the car safely there. LUCKILY, this was only about 35 minutes from my house. I happily dropped my plans to wrap, bake, menu plan to go rescue them. After a partial tow, we got them to my house and I happily turned over my car to them to make the rest of the trip to my mom’s in Michigan. The wrapping can wait, the menu will come together. Better to not worry “are you ready” but to instead say, “we are here for you”.
Tomorrow morning I’ll get up a little earlier and tackle that menu planning and hope to wrap. One way or another, Christmas will take place - “ready” or not.
I have 4 presents that sounded like great ideas that have turned into big projects with constant brickwalls. The grocery stopped selling the main ingredient in my roll I’ve made for 35 years. I thought my oven has been dying, but the newly purchased thermometer confirmed it after reaching 200 (barely) while set to 425 for two hours…
Still, the last two Christmas have been very stressful due to a move and medical crises, so I’m determined this one will be great! I have 4 little Santa believers in the family and that alone makes it more fun.
Traditionalist. I shop on the 24th. Tree’s up and decorated though.
I am almost ready.
Waiting for one more present which might not arrive in time, but no problem, my D has a January birthday.
Have to decorate the tree yet, I don’t do any other decorating.
Simplifying a lot this year. Now that the kids are older and two of them in college, focusing on people (presence) more than presents.
Time goes by so quickly, D is in her 5 th year of college out of 6, and S in his second year.
Soon they won’t be home that often anymore.
We had a lot of expenses this year, college, car and other repairs, higher than usual health expenses.
So I am keeping it simple. Kids get a few small gifts to open and then oldest gets some money (other two spent most of it on things they wanted during the year).
I just want everyone to be together.
I’m fairly well set. Just need a couple of small gifts. I usually wrap most of the gifts on Christmas Eve after everyone goes to bed. Sort of my annual ritual with a glass of wine, A Christmas Story playing on tv, and a fire in the fireplace.
I got my outdoor decorations up a couple of weeks ago. I did my indoor decorations a week ago. Dh was gone for two weeks right after Thanksgiving. I kept hearing rumors of a tree shortage so decided to get our tree while he was gone which is way earlier than usual. Normally we go together but since I’m the anal one about getting just the right tree, I didn’t really need his help. I left it in a bucket of water outside, then had him bring it in last weekend when he got home. I strung the lights but it sat undecorated all week. My kids put most of their ornaments on yesterday then I finished today.
I used to bake a variety of cookies as that was a neighborhood tradition when I was growing up. Nowadays, not really a thing anymore. Dh makes 50 loaves of pumpkin chocolate chip bread that we give out, so that relieves me of some stress. (SOME stress, b/c the fact that my kitchen is a disaster for an entire week while he makes batch after batch makes me crazy-hate cluttered kitchen!)
The one thing I gave up for the first time since we’ve been married - Christmas cards. We sent out 125 cards every year but with the price of postage these days, it’s gotten really expensive. When I couldn’t find a single decent family photo this year, I just decided not to do one.
All in all, in good shape and not feeling stressed at all. The only thing weighing on my mind is that SIL is coming with her toddler. This has been planned for months, but sadly, her 40-something husband died suddenly in November from a hemorrhagic stroke. Their plane tickets were already purchased, and obviously she doesn’t want to be alone for Christmas so she’s still coming, which I’m glad about, but it will obviously be a sad one for all of us.
Somewhere in the middle. It would be Fyre Festival all the way since I’m taking care of dad (sharing duties with sis) but I decided to Kondo it and threw out all tasks about decorating except for the tree. No energy to pull anything out. First year ever for a pre-lit fake tree. Highly recommend. Not as satisfying but a lot less work. Need some pine scent though.
Did a marathon gift wrap though watching the Hallmark channel so there’s that. No bows. I was about to chuck the Christmas cards but H did them (yea!).
The Christmas wreaths are on the floor where I left them two weeks ago. Havent decided to hang them up or just put them away. I do need to dig out the stockings though. That’s a gotta.
Also somewhere in the middle, but trending toward Kondo!
Decorations in and out are done…mainly taken care of by DH.
All the grocery shopping is done. Out of 9 treats, I just finished the 7th. Two more to go. On the 24th I’ll cook the two turkeys, make the stuffing (dressing lol), and veggies.
All the gift shopping is done, I still need to pick up the mashed potatoes I ordered from Costco and some dollar store containers to send leftovers home with youngest step-son.
Nothing is wrapped yet. I have a huge pile since we have 6 grand-kids, plus son. Adult step-kids get cash - still have to do the money cards. I only send out 3 greeting cards now, and those have been sent.
Still need to wash all the Christmas dishes, gather linens, table and chairs and crockpots up from the basement. And clean. But DS and DH with help with those tasks once all the baking and wrapping is done.
I feel about one day behind.
Somewhere in the middle.
H and I got home from our trip through Christmas markets of Europe on Thursday. I was not feeling well the day before, had a cough on the plane, and then full-blown cold or mild flu by Friday pm. I’ve moved from bed to sofa and back, and that’s it.
I have no idea what presents have been bought. No wrapping done.
I really want it to all go away.
Our Christmas is Dec. 29th so I’m coasting. LOL. Grandson age 3 is due here in a bit and he’ll help me put ornaments on the tree. Pizza and salad today. Wed. we’ll get together with middle son’s family but it’ll be the 29th till we all come together for a holiday meal and gift exchange.
@FlyMeToTheMoon – echoing the sentiments above. My ex was going through radiation treatment for cancer over the holidays, years ago, and the only day off he got was Xmas Day. It was a very tough time. Hugs.
I am doing less and less and having mixed luck being ok with it. No baking cookies (first time in years); sent out one card (DH did the rest); stepD offered to wrap the gifts I’m taking to my moms and they look way better than if I’d done them. I ordered a Gregorian chant CD of Christmas songs; returned it (the cheesiest recording ever). We have an artificial tree. I got my “tree smell” fix walking by the tree stands on Second Avenue.
I have a wonderful pine scented room.spray, use it on the artificial tree.