Holiday Grand Plan Week 10

Family Room

Boy am I in trouble! I'm away from home right now and I have been since last Friday. I'm dealing with a big family emergency and it's pretty emotionally draining, I don't know how the situation will work out.

The family room is going to be a hard one for me because I will only have a few days in there and for me there is actually two rooms to clean, the living room and florida room. I have ten venetian blinds to clean and my carpet in there is a mess! I'm going to have to steam clean it.
I still have the coat closet and the kitchen floor to clean from previous weeks.
Also I will have to clean the downstairs bath, guest bath and clean the office again as it's gotten pretty bad. It feels like crunch time!

Oh well, at least my husband prepares for and cooks the ENTIRE Thanksgiving dinner (that's an inside joke for MIL by the way and so completetly not true).

Do you carve a pumpkin? Check out this experiment on preserving carved pumpkins

Holiday Grand Plan Week 9

Closet/Pantry Week

I'm putting up the next HGP installment early because I will be out of town for the next several days.

When I said this was a busy season for me, I probably should have kept my mouth shut. It just keeps getting busier and busier, I don't know how much more I can squeeze in!

I'm travelling to three different cities in Virginia and North Carolina over the next 6 days which of course means time that I won't get to spend working on the house.
The good news is that I've made great headway in the kitchen this week. All that's left to do is clean out the fridge, clean the eat in part of the kitchen, sweep and hand mop the floors (which is no easy task here).

With next week being Closet/Pantry week I'll be able to afford a little time off. The pantry is in very good shape because I clean it out once a month or so. The only closet in my house that needs help is the coat closet and I can take care of that in an afternoon.

The week after next is the week to work in the Family Room and I have my concerns. I will once again be out of town until possibly Nov. 6 which leaves me with zero time for that weeks plans and cleaning. And let me tell you the family room is going to be a pretty large chore. Ah well, I'll just do what I can and it will all work out just like this week has!

Can you believe we are heading into the last days of October already? The leaves are turning and falling, I'm going to have to get outside and rake!

Now is the time to think about sending packages or at least getting your mailing supplies together.

Holiday Grand Plan Week 8

Kitchen Week

Can you believe we've been working on the HGP for two months now? Hopefully you're a little closer to having a peaceful, organized and clean holiday season!

We're in the Kitchen this week and let me share with you - this could not have come at a worse time and here's why...

1. My mom's in the hospital and she really needs me however I live 3 hours away, my car is in the shop, the doctors aren't sure if she's contagious and so I would not be able to take my toddler but my husband has to go to work so he wouldn't be able to stay home with him.

2. I have a very important doctor appt. tomorrow that will take up a great deal of time.

3. I didn't finish the guest room from last week.

4. I have to pack for a big trip next week.

My kitchen is pretty big and it needs a very thorough cleaning. I just don't feel like I have it in me this week to complete. So here is what I'll do.
I'm going to take each day as it comes and do what I can.
The stove and countertops need the most attention. Then the appliances, then the floor. My cupboards are in pretty good shape so I won't worry about that.

Whew, wish me well this week as I try to get everything checked off my list!

Children Of Destruction

Just look at what my son did to his mattress during what was supposed to be his naptime the other day.
This was a "Wait until your Father sees this" moment!

Holiday Grand Plan Week 7

Guest Room

Now be honest, did you finish up in the kids room last week? Did you really finish up? I didn't! In fact I had to leave a lot of my deep cleaning for today.
Here's what's been left undone:
1. Venetian Blinds
2. Try on all clothes for inventory
3. Put away all old clothes and toys

Even though I have a few things left unfinished, I did accomplish a lot in the nursery. I am one step closer to a great holiday season. Every item you cross off your list now is one thing you won't have to do during what can be a hectic December. If you don't finish, it's ok, you'll probably never finish!

So tomorrow I will jump head first into cleaning the guest room. I have a little organizing to do in there too but not much. I'll clean the sheets and quilt, flip the mattress clean the blinds, organize the closet and drawers. Then I'll do some deep cleaning. My aim is to make the room cozy for my guests. It's also where I keep extra blankets, and some extra craft supplies. I'm going to make up a basket for my guests with towels and washcloths, perfume, deodorant, and soaps. I'll take a picture of it to post once I do.

Have you gotten your christmas cards together yet? How is your address book looking, do you need to update some addresses? This week I'll be working on computerizing my address list so that I can print out address labels in a pretty red font for the envelopes.

Get inspired with 103 ways to get ready for Christmas: Schedule Your Guests!

Christmas Gift Ideas

Bethany asks if I have some ideas for Christmas gifts.
I, like you am always looking for new and creative gifts to give to my family and friends. I have no ordinary family...they are extremely intelligent, creative and sometimes a bit off the wall. So gift giving can be a challenge for me. No ordinary pair of socks will do. And if you are giving socks, make sure you buy about twelve pair and wrap each pair separately just as the matriarch of our family would do.

With my ecclectic family in mind I've set out to finding unique gifts and over the past two years I've upped my game and here are some of my ideas:

Replacements, LTD
Two years ago I gave each of the ladies in the family a cup and saucer from this company. Each china piece had the name of the lady as the china pattern. Does anyone in your family have an uncommon name? Search anyway, you never know what you'll find!
Example: My name is Amanda and here are a couple of different china patterns in my name:
http://www.replacements.com/webquote/GRIAMA.htm
http://www.replacements.com/webquote/L__AMA.htm

The website is a bit difficult to navigate and understand but customer service is top notch. I bought a teacup for my mother-in-law when it arrived I knew right away that it just wouldn't do. So I sent it back for a full refund and purchased another pattern instead.

Catalog Shopping
I do a lot of my shopping in the comfort of my own home early in the year from catalogs and the internet. Sign up for their newsletters or free catalog and they'll send you notices about free shipping, money off coupons and new products. I find something I like and I wait until there's a big sale. That's what shopping early will afford you.
Some of my favorite catalogs are:
The Lakeside Collection
Personal Creations
Betty's Attic
The Lighter Side
Restoration Hardware

What's Cookin'?
I think it's a good idea to give some kitchen gifts, usually people need a tool or new pot holders or bakeware for their kitchen. I like to visit Williams Sonoma. Even though it is expensive I will maybe only get one thing and they do have such unique items like wonderful spices and mixes that you can't find in a grocery store. During the holidays they also usually have samples to try and hot chocolate to drink if you go to the actual store.

Get Crafty
Yes, we do a lot of buying in our family but the way I was raised if you made something that came from the heart it was the most special and so growing up we mostly gave handmade gifts. Painting and decorating wood pieces used to be my favorite thing to do. Now, I enjoy knitting mostly. I have many people to knit for so I choose something I can make in just a few days and mass produce it. This year I'll be knitting these wonderfully warm and soft wool hats. I have several different colors and have made four hats already and I'm working on my 5th.

I will also be making my son a quilt, even though I have zero quilting skills. I purchased a quilt kit from Walmart made by O'Lipfa. I tried finding this online to link to but I couldn't find it. I found it in the craft section of Walmart where they have the latch hook kits. Just a few quick stitches on my sewing machine and I'm done!
I also suggest giving something made from the kitchen as well. Do you make a fabulous chocolate chip cookie? Or perhaps you make your own butters and jams. A container of your homemade preserves is a great gift.

Checking The List
As it gets closer to Christmas my family begins making it known what they'd like to receive or what they need. So I make sure to get a couple of things from their list as well. My family is pretty web savvy and we utilize online forums on our family website to put up a list. We also link to pictures so that we can see the item and purchase the correct one. Sort of like a gift registry.

So I've bought from catalogs and online and got some great deals, I've given some handmade gifts, and I've given a couple of things off their Christmas list which makes for some well rounded gift giving.

Holiday Grand Plan Week 6

Kids Room

Ah, the children's room. Up until last year I denoted this week as make-up week. I did not have any children and so I would focus on another room or finish up things in other areas I couldn't get to in weeks past.

But not this year. I have my work cut out for me but the good news is I've been keeping up pretty well in this area. Since we moved I've been slowly putting away clothes that no longer fit my son and storing them in plastic tubs that I get for cheap at Walmart. I pick the clothes that are in the best shape and store them in our walk up attic for future children or donation. I've also begun going through toys and some of them will meet the same end by the time I'm finished this week. For some of you this is going to be a big week, you may have toys everywhere and when you go through the back of the closet you'll be amazed at what you'll find. Let's clear out the old to make way for the new that will arrive at Christmas.

This week in addition to the deep cleaning and organizing I'll be going over his clothes, toys and I'll also make a list of the new clothes he'll need for the fall and winter. I don't think he'll need much thanks to RaRa who buys him practically everything he needs.

If you take your children trick or treating or to a harvest party, have you thought about their costumes yet?