Monday, December 29, 2008

A Magical Christmas, Then PHD

Post Holiday Depression. I get it. A mild case but it's still there. After 5 days of being home, I teared up this morning saying goodbye to Tristan. And he cried when I dropped him off at school. Neither of us wanted to let go. My caffeinated Christmas Blend intravenous has been depleted & it's time to get back to reality. Well, a different kind of reality.

My Dad says to revel in the celebration I shared with my family & what a truly wonderful Christmas we had. So today I post what may be a silly pic but this captures an hour I spent on Christmas morning, preparing for dinner for 11, specifically breading zucchini, when I was extremely happy & feeling blessed by everything around me. I need this right now as I am sitting here at my desk back.at.work.



I don't want to forget how I felt when I took this pic. Instead of my usual - rushing through the process while standing on already tired legs - I sat myself in a chair & SLOWED DOWN. I reveled in the reason I was doing it in the first place & I thought about all my blessings, big & small. I turned on the Christmas music, shouted out to Tristan how much I loved him & enjoyed a mimosa. I also thanked myself for the things I did differently this year in my planning which helped alleviate a lot of stress. See tips below.

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TIPS FOR LESS STRESS WHEN ENTERTAINING
  • Clear off anything on your kitchen counters you will not need i.e. toaster, bread basket, cannisters. Even the coffee pot since you can bring it back later for dessert time. Use one cleared space for the bar area. Another cleared space will be your general prepping & cleanup area.
  • Make a promise with your spouse to only be helpful with one another, especially during the high peak prepping moments. If either asks the other for help, there should be only 1 of 2 answers i.e. "Give me 5 minutes honey & I am all yours" or "Sure thing." The thing not to say is "Okaaaaaayyyyy, after I finish ALL the other things you asked me to do."
  • For any prep work that takes more than 15 minutes, line up everything you need on the counter & then SIT down to do it. Your legs & feet will be happier for it & so will you!
  • Take 20 minutes for yourself to re-group & create a timeline for all of your prepping i.e. pre-heat oven times as well as durations. This way, you don't have recipe books or papers lying around.
  • Budget an hour into your timeline for yourself, to shower & dress without rushing.
Tips on How to Beat Post Holiday Depression, Visit here.

32 comments:

Kacey said...

I am sending you {{{{BIG HUGS}}}} today! I think this is a great picture and I am so happy to hear you kept your promise to yourself and really ENJOYED doing everything. I'm sure you rocked everyone's world with that awesome menu of yours!

Christmas was awesome here as well. Now we get to look forward to the New Year and all of the excitement that brings too!

Danyele Easterhaus said...

oh dear...here's a fun little cyber smile... :)
and i'm with you a little on the let down. there's little to look forward to in the next weeks. hubs got to go back into the real world, i'm still at home with a house that needs cleaned and kids that are still fighting. booo.

but, i am soooo blessed. i'm gonna focus on that!

Brenda said...

I had a stress free holiday this year too. My husband likes to entertain as much as I do and is very helpful.

Do we get the recipe for the breaded zucchini? Is it already somewhere on your blog?

FROGGITY! said...

hello friend! so glad you had a lovely holiday. sorry for your blues, though! i know whatcha mean about that. when LL woke up today she said 'where's daddy??' he had a whole glorious 9 days off... and now it's back to the ol' grind.

so, i guess i will start looking forward to the next cool thing...we are so blessed and that's a WONDERFUL thing!!

Anonymous said...

THat is a great picture and post! I am glad you had a WONDERFUL Christmas! And thanks for the tips! I hope your day at work rushes by!

Kristina P. said...

Great tips! I think it's definitely easy to get stressed during the holidays.

Of course, I wouldn't know about that this year, since I did nothing except sit around and be pampered.

Anonymous said...

i love your tips...I also had a less-stress holiday. I almost called it stress-free, but that wouldn't be ANY fun! I especially think the last tip about budgeting time to get yourself ready is most important. I remembered that this year and it made a HUGE difference in my enjoyment of my own parties!

Yellow Beads said...

oh, sorry you are blue today. I hate the post-Holiday let down. There is such a build up, and then BOOM, all done in a few hours :(

Pam said...

It's hard getting back to normal life after the holidays.

Great tips for less stress - I'll remember them for next year. Hope you day gets brighter.

Jen said...

I am glad that you had a great Christmas. But I am sorry that you are now feeling sad. I hope it passes soon. Much love to you! (hug)

michelle matthews said...

Awwwwe! What a wonderful post! I am so sorry about your morning. That makes me sad. The day is almost over and you'll see your family soon!
These are great tips - thank you!
I bet you guys had an awesome day! It sounds wonderful! Way to go on all that cooking!

The Rockin' Wife said...

I know, it is kind of a let down after the holidays.....I wish it was Christmas all year long. (well except for the clean-up part)

But remembering the good times and knowing that you made it stress free, is a great thing!

Jenni said...

I have a bit of PHD myself! It will come to a head on the day I have to put the tree away...

I am glad you had such a nice stress-free Christmas!

Erin said...

Glad to see your holiday was successful! Ours was as well!
Thanks for the b-day wishes!
And yes, I am a true Christmas baby!

Unknown said...

I'll remember those tips when I get something in the kitchen to move around.

Casey's trio said...

Ughhh the post holiday blues. I will be feeling that way next Monday:( You must be more than half way through your work day though so that's a plus. Hugs to you!

Life, Love And Lola said...

Here's my idea...Start a cooking show. That stove WILL be your desk. I would totally watch. You are SOOO Food Network material!

P.S. Kahlua Recipe:
2 cups hot water
2 cups sugar
1 tblsp instant coffee
1 tblsp vanilla flavoring (NOT EXTRACT)
2 1/4 cups vodka

Combine sugar, coffee, vanilla & hot water. Stir until disolved. Allow to cool, otherwise you will evaporate the alcohol (we certainly don't want that to happen)! Add alcohol and mix. Pour into bottles...Gets better with age! Cheers!

Deanna said...

Me too! The title to my family blog post was "Holiday Hangover". I just didn't want Christmas to be over!

Baby Favorite said...

I've got some of that PHD going on, too. I love that you really let the holidays "soak in" and that you enjoyed every moment. So few people seem to be able to do that!

(((HUGS)))

tiarastantrums said...

I like your hints - but no depression here - I am SO HAPPY the holidays are over! My tree and every single Christmas item was packed up by 2 pm on Dec 26th!

Happy New Year

The Blonde Duck said...

PHD! That's what I was feeling! Wow. You explained it so well!

Michelle said...

You are sad to see it end and I can't wait for it to be over!!! Wanna trade places?

Unknown said...

I wish I would have seen your list on Christmas Eve. I had a bit of a freak out! It just always seems SO overwhelming....but everything worked out perfectly and the food turned out delish!

Cheeky Kitchen said...

A genuinely tender post. I adore your willingness to slow down and enjoy. That didn't come for me until late Christmas eve. But, it did come (and is still here. Ahhhh.)

May you continue into the New Year with great joy!

On The Wings Of Love said...

I soooo understand how you feel !! I'm lucky I've still got one more week to pretend that I actually don't work for a living.

It really is a little anticlimatic after Christmas when it's back to reality.

I always found it so hard dropping off my kids at daycare when they were young. I would arrive at my school crying (yup), walk by my secretary, who would wipe my eyes with a kleenex and I'd off to class I'd go.

Sounds like you did enjoy the little moments at Christmas which is so important. But I think you'll just have to spoil yourself and your son (husband too) with somthing special - maybe an outing or movie night mid week to get over the first week.

Cheers, and take care,

Bre

Ritch in Love said...

PHD, I feel ya there girl! Our's hasn't quite settled in because we don't go back to work until the holiday rush is over (thank goodness because one cranky passenger would cause me to break at this point) and the 6th of Jan is my first day back. That being said, I sure did enjoy our Christmas with my family. And just as I much I loved "Christmas Day" with our kids. I decompressed on Sunday as I was plastered to the couch with what I think has turned in to Bronchitis and watched the HOUSE marathon. I've not watched that much t.v. in one day for years....

Mary said...

Glad you were able to find the joy in all the work...it always means more when you can!!!

Have fun at work...even if it is work ;o)
Great tips!

Life, Love And Lola said...

You're welcome! Does not need to be refrigerated as long as it is in a bottle with a cork or cap.

Lump said...

oh wow ELEVEN PEOPLE?

I know they all enjoyed your hard (and tasty) work.

hope you're feeling better. ;)

Coco said...

I totally have PHD. Didn't realize what it was but I for sure have it. Boo hoo.

Great ideas for being stressfree. Like you, I take all of the small appliance out of the kitchen during the holidays. So simple but helps so much.

Making bacon wrapped japs for the New Years party we are going to tomorrow. I can eat those every day.

Carrie and Jim said...

What a great post! I've missed so much but this was so helpful. I felt very stressed making the meal this year and I kept telling myself that things can be better. Awesome stuff!

Angela said...

I love that it looks like you had a mimosa while you cooked. And I love your timeline. I have to do that too, else I would lose my mind trying to remember what needs to be done, when. Looks like some wonderful zucchini too!