I just finished reading Creating a Beautiful Christmas by Terri Ahlm. Terri is the blogger behind It's a beautiful little life. This was a fun quick read to get ready for holiday season. It was perfect for me. I love Holidays, therefore I want to do it all. I want to jam pack as much outings, traditions food and gathering together as I can. Some times I need little reminders to take a step back, relax and yes even scale back.
I love how the book was broken up into sections like Décor, Dress, Food, Entertaining, Gift giving, and more. It even helps address some of those awkward family moments like being alone, divorce and death.
Teri give lots of real examples on both sides of the spectrum. Ways to deal with family members asking awkward personal questions. She gives homemade, inexpensive and thought out gift idea's. She shows little details and adds finishing touches we tend to over look to make things more complete and thorough.
My favorite is the entertaining section. She talks about the importance of the right amount of preparation. Not over the top prep, but not winging it either. Also lots of ideas of things we forget to take care of. The best way to plan the meal with lots of yummy recipes. I already have a few picked out I am ready to try out on my family.
A lot of this book is about how Christmas is what you make it. So make the most of it in your way. Stop doing what everyone else expects and do what works for you. It's ok to scale back, or start new traditions. Stop having unrealistic expectations. For example I know my husband will not hang lights on our house. It is not exactly his cup of tea. Instead of arguing and holding that against him I can either learn to live with out or come up with an alternative my self. Maybe some light up thing in the yard, or how about just lights around the door with green and red light bulbs by the garage? I love the realistic views about not setting yourself and your loved one's up for failure.
The last chapter has great tips on how to not forget yourself in the mean time. I love the idea of a comfort kit. (You'll have to read it to know what I'm talking about ;)
If you want a fun, go to book to prep for the holidays, this is the one. It has so much wrapped up into one package. The food, décor, style and "how to deal with your family" self help book in one! Click the picture below with a link to purchase this ebook of your own.