**Try The Online Budgeting Software That We Use -- Mvelopes**

We used to use Quicken, but for the last couple years, we've worked
with Mvelopes.com.  It's an online budgeting system that's basically
"envelope budgeting" made easy.

You can read my personal review of Mvelopes.com at my budgeting
site:  

http://www.home-budget-help.com/mvelopes-review.html

Try it free for 30 days and see if doesn't help you stick to your
budget--not to mention bring a little peace of mind!

This is a "happy letter" today!  The baby has arrived! 

BUT for those who don't have the booklet, here are some tips based on what I'm planning this year.  I'm also going to include tips on keeping your sanity, and staying organized.  I hope you find them helpful!

 

~~Create a holiday planner.  I have a binder with master forms I copy and fill out each year.  I got mine from http://www.organizedchristmas.com .  I'm going on my 6th year with it, and I don't know how I could live without it.  I fill out a holiday budget with my husband, then gift ideas for each person on our list.  From there, I create a master gift list, and hit the internet to start shopping.  I have an internet shopping tracker to make sure I receive all the items I ordered.  I also use the master gift list when I hit the stores to get any remaining items I can't order online.  My binder also includes:  a family wardrobe checklist, household spruce-ups, gift closet inventory, baking planner, menu planner and more!  Use the forms

that apply to you.  Not all of them will be helpful.  Print out master copies to keep in your binder--that way, ifthe site should cease to exist, you still have blank forms you can use year after year.

 

~~Have a master shopping list on you at all times.  It should include gifts, small items such as wrapping supplies, any holiday movies or CD's you plan to buy, and food items.  Anything you need to buy, add to the list.  When you're out and about you'll find it incredibly handy!  Write it down, and then you don't have to trust your memory.

 

~~Plan your baking.  I pull out cookbooks with Christmas treat recipes, as well as my clip file of holiday recipes I've gathered over the last year.  (I get them from magazines like Kraft's Food & Family, Family Circle, etc.)  I make a list of all the treats I want to make.  I usually stick to just 5-6 varieties, and I try to make sure they're all capable of being stored and transported easily.  I also try to make a mix of traditional family favorites and new recipes.

-----Once you have your list, write down all the ingredients you'll need, including amounts (don't forget to triple and quadruple recipes, if necessary).  Now, go through your pantry and compare to your list.  Anything that isn't fresh, toss.  What's left can come off your ingredient list.  What's still needed stays on the list, which you bring with you the next time you go grocery shopping. 

-----Make treats relatively inaccessible.  If you have a problem with excessive splurging, put your treats away in jars or containers up high and out of sight.  Set a certain time of day to enjoy them.  No unlimited snacking!  But when it's time to enjoy them, let yourself go...savor every bite.  No guilt.

 

~~Whenever you fill up a plate, be it with appetizers or dinner, try to fill three-quarters of your plate with veggies and meat, and the rest with those yummy starches like mashed potatoes.  You can go back and have seconds, but stick to those proportions, and you'll go a long way towards preventing weight creep.

 

--Alcohol, eggnog and sodas can really pack on the pounds.  If you want to enjoy some cocktails, try to space them out, or limit yourself to just one or two.  Enjoy them with lower-fat or lower-carb food items.  Try spiced cider instead of eggnog and seltzer instead of soda.  If you don't like flavored seltzer, try adding regular seltzer to a fruit juice for a spritzer.

 

~~Eat big breakfasts.  You won't be as hungry for dinner!

 

~~Decorate in one day.  Make it a day off.  No housework, just fun.  Finish with an easy dinner like take-out or crock-pot basics.

 

~~Borrow, borrow, borrow.  Borrow ideas.  Borrow recipes.  Borrow

traditions!  If someone you know has an easier way to do something, ask if

you can copy it.  Why re-invent the wheel?

 

~~Always aim to simplify.  Do you really need to go overboard?  The house doesn't need to be perfect.  Some yummy candles and Christmas lights are enough to make any room festive.  

 

~~Re-use everything.  Those boughs you trimmed off your Christmas tree?  They look great on your mantel with some Christmas ornaments strategically placed on throughout.  Add pine cones from the backyard.  Put cranberries in a pretty bowl, or place a pillar candle on a serving dish and surround it with berries left over from your baking.  Last year's wrapping paper works just fine this year.  Use last year's gift bags to give this year's baked goods.  Just line with tissue and put the treats in plastic bags.

 

~~Establish a casual wardrobe tradition.  Instead of dresses and patent leather, opt for festive sweaters and shirts atop blue jeans or corduroys.  Everyone will be more comfortable and you'll only have to purchase a top or two for the family members that tend to grow.  :-)

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If you just can't find yourself getting into the holiday spirit, try some music!  I listen to a great local radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7 this time of year, and you can listen online if you don't have such an option where you are.

 

Just go to:  http://www.wtry.com and click on "listen online".