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| One of the blooper outtakes from last year's holiday card! |
As you know, I am committed to living my
dream life every day. Although having a full
time assistant would be cool, I cannot afford one. Besides, I have learned
that having one is not essential for a stress free holiday season. My solution to getting
everything done is to outsource where I can. I have learned that with a little
time and the internet, you can feel like you have a personal assistant, for free.
Everybody needs help to get everything done
during the holidays. Santa has elves and you have me!
Here are five tips for feeling like you have a free personal assistant.
1. Buy Your Presents Online: Stores try to woo you with deals at this time of year, but
resist the urge to go to the mall to buy your presents. Unless you’re meeting a
girlfriend for a fun outing and some coffee, the mall is a major hassle this
time of year. And after you buy your presents you have to lug them to your car
and wrap them at home. That’s both tiring
and exhausting. Shop at night on the internet after your kids go to bed and
have your presents delivered. It’s hassle free and super easy. You can even get them delivered wrapped too. Visit this link to find a list of online stores
that ship for free: http://www.bradsdeals.com/blog/2011/09/21/stores-with-free-shipping/
2. Schedule Your Santa Photo: Unless you’re a scrooge, if you celebrate Christmas you have
to take your kid to see Santa and have a photo taken. I have not figured out
how to do this online. I tried taking the photo at home with the Santa I found
on Google, but it doesn’t work out so well… It would be great if you could
schedule an appointment with Santa, but you can’t. However, who has time to stand in a line for
an hour waiting for your turn. By the
time you get your turn you kid is likely hot, ornery, and frowning, which isn’t
so good for photos. Here’s a tip, one Wednesday,
sneak out of work early to go to a “critical meeting about that “confidential/critical/time
sensitive matter you’ve been working on.” 3:30 in the afternoon on a week day
is a great time to see Santa.
3. Mall Shopping:
If you can’t resist the urge to shop at the mall while after getting the Santa
photo taken, go to Nordstrom. They will ship the presents to your house to
free, avoiding the challenge of trying to lug bags and concomitantly stopping
your toddler from running away. Other stores may do this too, but I’ve had
great luck with Nordstrom.
4.
Get Someone Else to Send Your
Christmas Cards: If you’re tempted to skip sending
Christmas cards this year, don’t. You
may think that they’re cheesy and a waste of time, but your relatives and friends
are looking forward to receiving this year’s card. A dear friend of mine has a
book where she tracks the children in her life via their holiday cards. So, how do you satisfy them without staying
up until the wee hours of the morning addressing cards and licking
envelopes??? Have Hallmark do it for
you. I have used http://www.Hallmark.com for years for
Christmas cards and party invitations. You can save your mailing list once. After that, all you have to do is decide on
the card you want to send and Hallmark will address and mail them for you. How cool is that?! Hallmark is running a deal right now—free shipping
and 40% saving (To get free shipping use the coupon code CYBER40).
It expires on December 2—tomorrow!!! I
am sorry for sharing it so late, but I just found it. If you can’t get everything together by
tomorrow, I still recommend Hallmark. It takes the stress out of Christmas
cards!
5. Collaborate with a Friend: Who says that you have to be the one doing everything for
your family? I never said it. And Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray, and Giada all
have help. So, don’t allow them to make you feel intimidated. If your friend
has a knack for doing something like baking cookies, see if she’d be willing to
bake some for your family in exchange for you doing something for her. Even with the internet, there’s a lot of
running around for the holidays. They haven’t figured out how to ship eggs so
well yet… Divide your shopping list with a friend to minimize your trips. I’d
volunteer for the liquor run. Sometimes they give out samples at the liquor
store and that can be exactly what you need on a long shopping day…
If the above is still too much to accommodate
with your busy schedule, consider hiring a virtual assistant who can help you
manage your life for a fairly reasonable fee (check out www.elance.com) . Remember, tis the season to
be jolly not stressed out.
Here’s to a relaxed holiday season!!!
Toddler posing with Google Image Santa Claus!
Comments
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no less than a hassle.
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