Have you ever seen those posts that are titled “Stress-Free Ways to Win this Christmas” or “These Holiday Tips will Change your Life”? Then when you actually read the article you say to yourself, “How does cutting ping pong balls and putting them on every one of my lights help me become less stressed? If anything, that seems more stressful.” This isn’t going to be a post about that. We promise. The ping-pong ball idea is definitely creative, but there are serious holiday hacks that will help your holiday go by smoothly and stress-free.
Gift-Wrap Station
No matter what you celebrate – be it Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Festivus –you’re probably going to be wrapping gifts. It’s a tradition at the end of the year to pick out the perfect presents for family and friends. Unless you wrap your presents in recycled chip bags (which is … definitely creative) you probably have wrapping paper, ribbons, tape, and more all strewn over your basement.
Make your house less stressful by creating a gift-wrap station. You could go all out and get a cupboard with all of your gift wrapping needs. Or, you could go a bit more simple:
Start out with a paper towel roll holder. (You probably have one lying around that you can snag for the month to organize.) Place all of your ribbon on the middle, and then put the top on. This way, you can see all of your ribbon and keep it in one place.
Gift wrap tends to unravel easily – stop this from happening with old paper towel or toilet paper tubes.
Then, place all of your gift wrap in a unused laundry basket or garbage can to keep it organized (and so you can see all of the options when wrapping.)
If you’re looking for a gift that doesn’t necessarily need to be wrapped, take a look at getting your family members who own a home a home warranty! Protect their systems and appliances starting at less than $39 a month.
Make Breakfast the Night Before
If you celebrate Christmas and have small children, you probably know how hectic Christmas morning is; seeing what Santa brought, looking at stockings, unwrapping family presents, and more. Little ones have no interest in eating breakfast when toys are ready to be unwrapped, and honestly, making it is probably last on your list of things you want to do.
Why not have it ready to eat right when you wake up by making it the night before? Using a crock-pot you can make an easy breakfast casserole. It’s something you can eat while you open presents, and if it spills, it’s easy to clean up.
If breakfast casserole isn’t something you’re interested in eating, there are literally hundreds of overnight crock-pot recipes you could make instead.
Open Gifts With Can Opener
It seems that most gifts are packaged in a plastic clamshell. When you’re trying to unwrap your gifts this year instead of trying to use a knife or kitchen shears, cut the sides open with a can opener.
Here’s a simple how to:
- Start at the edge of the clamshell. Clamp down on the plastic.
- Begin to turn the can opener.
- Cut one side off of the plastic clamshell.
- Remove the product from packaging.
Storage Tips for Easy Clean Up
Once the holidays are over, cleaning up can be a pain. These tips can help you organize yourself this year – and help you to have an easier time breaking out the decorations next year.
Wrap up strands of lights with hangers, cardboard boxes or leftover giftwrap tubes:
Stack paper cups to organize ornaments and make decorating easier next year.
Use egg cartons to organize smaller ornaments and easy of stacking in boxes.
Get a Home Warranty
One of the most stressful things you could face this holiday season is your furnace, oven, or other system or appliance breaking down. Keep warm, keep cooking, and de-stress by protecting your home with a home warranty.
With a home warranty your house’s common systems and appliances, such as your electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling systems, oven, dishwasher, garbage disposal, washer, dryer and fridge, are all protected. If they fail from normal wear and tear, you can pay $60 to have them repaired or replaced.
Isn’t that reassuring? If something fails this holiday season, your home warranty would cover it for only $60. Money is normally tight this time of year, so instead of paying hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars on repairing or replacing your furnace, oven, etc. you can breathe easily knowing you’d only have to pay a $60 service call fee.
Interested in protecting your home? Compare our plans and prices on our Landmark home warranties.
Haven’t gotten a gift yet? If the people on your list are homeowners, take a look at our practical gifts for homeowners.