Nice thread. I have scaled down quite a bit this year. I sent out the Christmas cards last week. Put up a string of red and green lights and hope to put up the tree tomorrow evening. (off starting Tuesday till this New Year’s) We really haven’t done any shopping. Whatever has been delivered has been opened. (some electric toothbrushes and house things from Macy’s) Cash is the gift of choice this year to nieces and nephews that are high schoolers and hard to shop for. We won’t have any returns so plan to shop after Christmas and maybe wrap some surprises to be opened on New Year’s day. Bought gifts for coworkers and for white elephant. (thank you trader joe’s) Those were distributed this past week. Getting rid of delivery boxes so that we have space to put up the tree tomorrow. Will bake some cookies. (small amount as I have been eating healthy the last two months) Bought groceries today so plan is to cook, clean, get rid of the old clutter before the New Year. Plan to watch some Christmas movies. We are doing a take it easy staycation and planning a going away vacation in end of January or beginning February. (hopefully to some nice and warm place)
Love the title of this thread! Right now I’m sitting in the lobby of a luxury resort that is 10% occupied (a victim of the housing crash that never recovered) having put DS21 on a plane last night to visit his dad across the country. Cheap cheap cheap on points, and they upgraded me to a Luxury Suite, so yay me! So the doggies and I are gonna CHILL at this beautiful desert oasis this week. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to do some meditation in the desert. For this week I will be doing a 3-day fast and some hiking, spa and spin classes. Joy and peace to all of you!
Tree is now decorated! Looks very lovely. I love a real tree.
Let’s just say…I have a lot to do tomorrow and Tuesday to decorate. I will definitely do what’s needed and no more.
Kid - to my big surprise - Kondo’d her condo and handed me a giant box of decorations she amassed at her previous rental. I asked if she wanted to decorate her patio… Nope. Too much work! Lol. We took the stuff home and I will sort through it to make sure only working stuff goes to Goodwill. Good job, kid. She liked to decorate but… time is better spent elsewhere. 
I baked 9 loaves of my secret pumpkin bread recipe today. With old Baking soda. They are all going into the compost. I have to have at least 4 loaves for people who are special to me by Tuesday. I hate baking but have been doing this for 27 years and in my hay day I made 27 loaves. No-one in my family is going to get any–these are for the Tree guy, the Baker, the New friend. LOL
I have only lost one gift worth $15 but it was my favorite for my D. Nothing is wrapped.
I use to be Martha Stewarts intern but no longer. All pretty and nice. I hate baking. Friend gave me cookies.
Enjoyed seeing the largest buck I have ever seen in my entire life standing above me in the neighbors yard. Just glad he did not jump down on my windshield,. I am thinking about putting the pumpkin bread on the street for him but I need to look up whether they like cinnamon :).
^^^ Bummer about your bread!
Two days left and I’ll use them both.
Been done for a while (we don’t do much). We were just waiting for our son to get here. He arrived Friday afternoon, so Christmas has already come to our house. We’re watching movies and planning who’s doing what for Christmas dinner. Cooking together on Christmas day is the highlight of our holiday.
We went pretty minimal this year. One tree (artificial) and just a bit of decorating as we are visiting in D and SIL ‘s city. Kids want mostly money and stocking stuffers were bought and brought with us. I stopped holiday baking years ago. No cards this year, I lost my mom in May and didn’t feel like it.
I’m just happy my we are here together with the kids.
It’s so heartening to hear how much you miss your parents who have passed. My mother has dementia and lives with us. I’m just hoping I’ll have good memories of her someday and not of the person she is now…
I know what you mean @Lassie3. My mom passed in February and the end of her life was very very difficult. I have finally come to terms with it. Today’s my birthday and I miss her very much. There is no one that finds your birthday as special as your mom does. A lot of the special memories of my mom and the holiday season are finally present in my heart. Big hugs to you.
Happy Birthday @ams5796. I’m glad you are finding peace within yourself.
So sorry @FlyMeToTheMoon that you DH has been so ill, but glad he is on the mend. Of course, that is all that matters!
In between, but assuming the gift I purchased for pickup is really at the store this evening and DH has done the wrapping, I would say closer to Kondo. Had to work today, but not tomorrow so will go home and clean a bit and more tomorrow morning and then run out for a couple little stocking things in our downtown.
Happy holidays to all!!
I’d say, at this point, it’s 95% Marie Kondo’s messy sister, 3% Fyre Festival, and 2% “I’m done and let’s gets Xmas over with.” Meaning that extra 5% isn’t going to be done.
Love the holidays, but it’s not relaxing, is it? Still, it’s always worth it in the end.
And merry Christmas to all!
Just got back from the local grocery store and Whole foods to pick up the perishables like veggies and fruit as well as my meat order. I was surprised that neither store was super busy. My husband was out around lunchtime and said everything was a zoo.
Still have lots to do. Tonight, I have to try to finish up with the baking.
Also, why do all the fresh green beans look like crap this year?
“Love the holidays, but it’s not relaxing, is it?”
Nope, it isn’t. I wasn’t super organized this year and got a latish start. I caught a cold right at Thanksgiving that lingered for a few weeks, making me feel run down and sluggish. Between Christmas and New Year’s I usually get a chance to relax and eat Christmas cookies and watch movies, though.
Got the house cleaned today and set the table. Only put one leaf in the table and hope it’s not too tight for the eight of us. My dining room just feels so crowded with two leafs in.
Kids get cash; prizes for my [forced family fun] games are wrapped.
Tomorrow, I bake two cream pies with meringue. I am so out of practice that I ruin nearly everything. I have a list or I would surely forget something.
I saw a meme on Facebook with a mom saying, “I decorated! I cooked! I made it nice!” Sometimes I wonder if my family would even notice if I didn’t do all of it.
I’m wasting time on CC, so I must be Marie Kondo. 
A micro-Fyre Festival of sorts! Aaack. UPS did not deliver the package that was supposed to come today. Status is listed “maybe someday” or something like that. Grrrrrrr…
I seem to be ready enough that I’m thinking about printing out faces of people in the news and gluing them on the already wrapped presents because why not? Last year I did it with adorable kittens. Worth it to hear my son-in-law say, “What ???”
We don’t take it too seriously here.
I’ve managed to put some Christmas candles on the table, gifts will be very very few this year and nothing wrapped yet. It’s all I can do to deal with DD’s wedding on 1/1/20 it’s out of town and all of our side friends and family are traveling to be there. Between wedding details (she just graduated on 12/13 so she left everythng to the very last minute!) and my family driving nuts., and my health issuess, we won’t even have a tree this year. I’m sending the boys up to the attic to dig out the stockings today. I do have food purchased for Christmas dinner but that all I can handle this year!