For those who celebrated Christmas, hope your holiday was lovely and that you enjoyed celebrations with your loved ones thoroughly! We had a wonderful Christmas here. The actual Christmas morning event seemed to last all of about 10 minutes with lots of packages and wrapping paper flying as two little ones tore into every present. It was a bit of a shock to see all the work that had gone into Christmas devoured so quickly but a good reminder to keep detailed Christmas preparations in perspective too.

We still have a ton of cleaning up to do around the house but decided to take a few days just to relax and take it easy. We needed some down time just to be slothful, indulge ourselves in whatever time-wasting guilty pleasure we wanted and let the brain relax. I hope that all of you schedule at least one “lazy” day before the New Year begins.

Sometimes a lazy day is a bit boring. Sometimes you feel loathsome at the end of it, thinking of all the productive things you could have done instead; but generally you will wake up the next morning fully refreshed and newly energized. Your “to do” list doesn’t seem quite so overwhelming and you might actually be excited to get started on it.

Now is also a good time to take a moment to reflect on how your holiday celebrations went this year and think about what you might do differently next year. Last year, I posted my wish list for 2010 wanting to reduce the amount of time spent on holiday card photography, card mailing and cleaning the house. I am two for three on these goals. There was more time for holiday card-related activities this year because of the shopping truces. I don’t know that the holiday card took any less time this year but it was far less stressful.

Unlike the vast majority of bloggers on the Internet bemoaning the lack of holiday cards sent this year, we received a bumper crop of holiday cards. We received truly adorable cards from so many family and friends! It was one of the best parts of our holiday, getting all these little “hugs” in the mail. Although many are predicting the extinction of the mailed holiday card, it is something I would miss and I truly appreciate everyone who took the time to mail them to us!

What would I like to see happen next year?

1. The shopping truce saved so much time (not to mention money) that that idea might be a keeper. Donating to charity in lieu of gifts might be another option or reinstituting drawing names for presents.
2. Taking my oldest daughter to the Nutcracker ballet was a great mother-daughter holiday experience. Next year perhaps my youngest daughter can join us too.
3. Holiday house cleaning needs to get easier somehow. I will continue my efforts to develop more efficient cleaning and organizing routines for our household as well as our decluttering efforts throughout the year.
4. Putting some handmade twists on décor and ornaments is something I enjoy doing and will try to plan ahead for some small projects that will add to our holiday joy and not to our stress.

What were your highlights? What would you do differently next year? Please share in the comments.