Untangling Christmas: Your Go-To Guide for a Hassle-Free Holiday

by Karen Ehman, LeAnn Rice

Does the very thought of Christmas invoke a severe case of the “Yuletide Yikes!”? Do you long for a cozy, reflective time centered on Christ, instead of a frenzied blur of holiday activities? Armed with strategies to simplify and de-stress, as well as tons of doable ideas and delicious recipes, Karen and LeAnn have put together a wonderful resource to help you feel blessed, not stressed!
This practical go-to guide will empower you
Evaluate your current seasonal strategies (or lack there-of!) and identify re-occurring holiday hassles.
Set up a simple Christmas Planner (including templates for forms to help you get more organized!) designed to enable you to be on top of the holidays, rather than the other way around!
Acquire fast and frugal decorating tips and creative, but simple, gift-giving ideas.
Whip up delicious holiday foods – both the “from scratch” sort dear Grandma would have made and other simple, short-cut recipes for when time is tight.

Chapters

1. Have Yourself a Stress-free Little Christmas (Whoa, Nellie! Back Up the re-evaluating your current Christmas habits)

2. To Face Unafraid the Plans that We've Made (finding your plan of attack; taking a close look at the demands of the season; how to decide, defer and NOT feel guilty)

3. Seeking the Savior (and an Occasional Silent Night) (focusing on Jesus in the midst of the flurry; carving out time for quiet and for yourself)

4. Santa, Can you Spare and Elf or Two? (gift shopping, making, wrapping and presentation)

5. Deck the Halls, Trim the Tree (cleaning and de-cluttering; storage solutions, decorating, and crafty stuff)

6. Simple Short-Cuts to Festive Food (make-ahead menus, company dishes; hosting parties; holiday baking ideas; and a few kid-friendly recipes)

7. Beyond Aunt Frieda's Fruitcake (forging family traditions, new and old; ideas for outreach)

8. A Christmas Potpourri (helpful links, resources, printables, and recipes)

As a special gift, a special Thanksgiving menu, complete with all the recipes, is free for purchases made before November 15th. You must download the free document before November 15th as it will expire on that date. The password to download is included in the book!

Genres: Christmas

Nook

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

Karen Ehman is a speaker, a New York Times bestselling author, a contributing writer for Proverbs 31 Ministries Encouragement for Today online devotions and a teacher in the First 5 Bible study app. She has written 21 books and Bible studies including Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All and the 2020 ECPA devotional book of the year Settle My Soul. She is a graduate of Spring Arbor University and serves as President-Elect of their Alumni Board of Directors. She has been featured on TODAY Parenting, Redbook.com, Foxnews.com, Crosswalk.com, YouVersion.com, and is a monthly columnist for HomeLife Magazine. Her passion is to help women live their priorities as they reflect the gospel to a watching world. Karen is married to her college sweetheart, Todd, and is the mother of six children: three biological and three in-laws by marriage—although she forgets which ones are which. She enjoys collecting vintage Pyrex kitchenware, cheering for the Detroit Tigers, and spending her days feeding the many people who gather around her mid-century dining table to process life and enjoy her county fair blue-ribbon winning cooking.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read, some good reminders and tips on how to make Christmas about celebrating Christ, giving,and enjoying family!! The family meeting to make a plan for traditions and activities has been awesome - all of our kids loved it and have looked forward to each event even more because we all planned together!! Christmas Shoe Boxes, volunteering, more giving,and playing together in the snow were some of their priorities,along with a list of favorite Christmas foods like grandpa's snow ice cream and grandma's peppermint pinkies! Thanks Ladies for this fun and practical tool!

[Katie Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of common sense, but some good ideas on ways to get organized for the holidays to reduce stress. Fun, easy to read writing style makes me feel like the authors are close friends.

[Christy Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fun guide to holiday planning. I got a lot of new ideas and even some projects I may do at other times of the year :)