When I turned 50, I asked everyone in my family who was accustomed to giving gifts to me at Christmas not to give me anything. I requested that they each write down on a C'mas card a way they would like to spend time with me in the following year and I would do the same for them. Some people got pretty creative and I was able to have my "gift" of time and experience with them to look forward in the coming weeks. Within five years, everyone had come around to my way of thinking and no longer my family no longer exchanges physical gifts but the promises of having a good time together. Only the young children get traditional gifts. I cannot tell you how much this has relieved the stress and tension of the season, and I can highly recommend it.
I was really ill on xmas day last year, ended up in urgent care. Fortunately nothing serious but it really did for me 'spoil the day'. But my kids were amazing. We had xmas lunch in the evening, watched films etc.
Does Jovi like opening presents? My dog gets so excited. When she was a puppy she opened some of my daughters. 😂 But she takes turns with the kids and is so intentional at opening it. It's cute.
One of my fondest memories of Christmas here in Ireland was the Christmas Eve storm in 1997 when the electricity went off. Our extended family of about 15 people (and that was before children started to arrive) always go to my unmarried aunts house (a very conscientious retired teacher). It's an old house with open fires that smoke badly for the first hour they're lit, creating a wonderful smoky aroma in each room. I was only married a year and living in a mobile home. My aunt awoke early Christmas morning to the sound of her burgler alarm screeching. She refused to call the repair man out on Christmas Day (even though she was covered for it). My father threatened to shoot it off the wall if she didn't (in fairness we couldnt sit through that noise all day 😅. Eventually the man had to come begrudgingly and fix it. We then had the problem of dinner so we rounded up anyone who had a gas cooker and cooked dinner everywhere and brought it to her house. We had a brilliant day of talk and laughter (my aunt and father were civil to each other) and all the young people got drunk by candlelight on my homemade Baileys. A perfectly imperfect Christmas 🎄🌟⛄⭐
Great video. I find in the UK that there’s too much emphasis on the perfect Christmas dinner. I hate it when some people brag on Facebook about making everything from scratch. There’s nothing wrong with shop bought pigs in blankets or Oxo cubes etc. I buy myself a frozen chicken dinner & have it either Christmas or Boxing Day.
To hell with what everyone else says - do what you and your immediate family want for the holidays. Everyone has permission to celebrate (or not, even) the way they chose.
I usually spend Christmas Day with family. Great. BUT I literally only see that family once a year, so I have very little idea of their tastes. For the first few years I struggled, then I hit on a similar idea to the tip above. I found a good quality brand of food and started buying little items to fill a gift basket...nice tea, coffee, hot chocolate, biscuits, sweets etc. At the last minute I add a nice piece of cheese and some crackers. It has made my life so much easier and also means that they have a less expensive January, and who doesn't need that?
Hi 👋 we take our daughter out to lunch and she loves it because we get to see her and chat with her. We also give our son a gift card to a dinner place. My husband and I give to a charity because we have enough. ❤have a wonderful day ☺️
Each person in the family makes a list of suggestions for presents. If they "don't know" which happens often! I make a "surprise box" of things like toiletries, makeup, perfume or their favourite foodie things or suchlike.
My mum used to say "its a posh roast dinner."😂 She didn't get stressed (or appear to!?)she always said that family is what matters, and she was right x We reuse decorations from grandma-no coordinating tree here😂 secret santa between the adults-much easier! And always remember that No is a complete sentence!!!
Great tips as always but definitely the most important is minding yourself. It’s the best present you can give to yourself. Just like Jovie, relaxing and letting the world go by 😂 Experiences are a good gift too e.g. cinema. Have a great week. Mary, Joes wife 🙇♀️👏👍💪🙏💐🐕🦺
I love your videos and this one is no exception 🥰 I do want to give my own humble scrap of feedback, with love, to just say I far far prefer your regular thumbnails. Maybe it's because I'm an artist so I kinda have a chip on my shoulder about AI "art" and the impact it's having on my fellow artist friends, but the uncanney valley of AI gens just gives me such a visceral reaction. I felt bad saying anything because obviously that's not the focus of the video, I just figured I'd mention it because I was so turned off that I almost didn't click on the video at all. Just my 2 cents, most folks probably don't mind, and in any case, I appreciate the holiday tips!!
I totally get it. I’m actually running an A/B experiment at the moment. One of the thumbnails is my regular style and then I’m testing AI. It’s more out of sheer curiosity than anything. Some people will see the regular one and some people will see an AI one. And then TH-cam will judge which is working best. So far it’s the regular one. 😁
@@HowToGYST I was also going to say something, but I thought I'd check the comments first to see if anyone else had mentioned it. It's good that you were only experimenting! I'd honestly stick with real thumbnails. AI turns a lot of people away, especially if we're in a creative field. I'm a writer, so I feel the same way about AI "art." Tbh, when I first saw the AI thumbnail, I thought someone (or a bot) might have hacked your account or that they might have set up a copycat account. You definitely want to make sure people know it's the real you! Anyway, I'm glad the real thumbnails are winning out! 😊
Today I decided to book a hotel down the street for my parents for the christmas days, it will be a win win for everybody - or at least for me.😅 I could send the kids there aswell in the morning for the breakfast buffet. 😅
@ Thanks! I am cutting up recipes and putting them into one big huge spiral book. Fingers cross that this will help me because I've had a pile of recipes that I constantly have to search through..... And I'm watching your decluttering playlist. Your video reminded me of something on a to-purchase for our upcoming 2 to 3 month trip. A ton of underwear! I hope not to be doing much or any laundry during that time. :)
I broke my leg last month and as a result, my house isn't how I would like it anyway. So decorating my house feels like a lot of mental and physical energy. So I've decided not to put my tree up this year and only select a few decorations which are easy to put up. I'm not expecting many visitors, so who am I decorating for.
I'm with you . I don't enjoy buying gifts . I now do gift cards exclusively. I figure they will enjoy that as much as some gift i pick out seeing as how miserable i am at shopping ! Haha
To stop feeling stressed i don't follow influencers who sell the perfect decor, or you need to this ect. For gift we only buy for kids now. We are honest and let each other know we didn't like something. That's why we got together and choose christmas for the kids at home or go on a vacation for a weekend only. Communication is key to reduce stress
I love my in laws but 30 years of bday. mothers/fathers day and Christmas gifts has me totally burnt out and stressed. Oh and my hubby is NO help! My hubby and I have never had our kids, now 19 and 22 ever get us gifts. We all save and go on vacation together.
I’m not hosting Christmas dinner at my house this year. We are having the party at my mom’s. It’s a bigger house and my sister can help. I usually do it myself at my house. It does simplify things quite a bit! Do you get to go home for Christmas this year?
"no one will remember your napkins but they will remember how stressed out and SNAPPY you were" Ma'am, you're not invited to dinner if you're going to be telling people how I was in the kitchen! Rude!
When I turned 50, I asked everyone in my family who was accustomed to giving gifts to me at Christmas not to give me anything. I requested that they each write down on a C'mas card a way they would like to spend time with me in the following year and I would do the same for them. Some people got pretty creative and I was able to have my "gift" of time and experience with them to look forward in the coming weeks. Within five years, everyone had come around to my way of thinking and no longer my family no longer exchanges physical gifts but the promises of having a good time together. Only the young children get traditional gifts. I cannot tell you how much this has relieved the stress and tension of the season, and I can highly recommend it.
I only buy presents people can eat, drink or do. No stuff that becomes clutter.
Wonderful!
What an awesome tip! Thank you!
Brilliant!
My favorite type of gifts to receive are consumables, for exactly this reason.
@@VT-uj5mu I've ordered 47 pounds of cheese from our milk plant! Yummmmm. Everyone is getting cheese!
I lost my mum this year and would do anything to have another Christmas with her so don’t worry about the small stuff just enjoy your time together xx
❤️
🙏 🕊 ❤
I'm so terribly sorry for your loss. Grief definitely puts things in perspective.
I agree and I'm sorry for your loss. My second year without mum this year.
❤ I hope you can remember all the good Christmases ... Puts things into perspective.
I was really ill on xmas day last year, ended up in urgent care. Fortunately nothing serious but it really did for me 'spoil the day'. But my kids were amazing. We had xmas lunch in the evening, watched films etc.
Does Jovi like opening presents? My dog gets so excited. When she was a puppy she opened some of my daughters. 😂 But she takes turns with the kids and is so intentional at opening it. It's cute.
One of my fondest memories of Christmas here in Ireland was the Christmas Eve storm in 1997 when the electricity went off. Our extended family of about 15 people (and that was before children started to arrive) always go to my unmarried aunts house (a very conscientious retired teacher). It's an old house with open fires that smoke badly for the first hour they're lit, creating a wonderful smoky aroma in each room. I was only married a year and living in a mobile home. My aunt awoke early Christmas morning to the sound of her burgler alarm screeching. She refused to call the repair man out on Christmas Day (even though she was covered for it). My father threatened to shoot it off the wall if she didn't (in fairness we couldnt sit through that noise all day 😅. Eventually the man had to come begrudgingly and fix it. We then had the problem of dinner so we rounded up anyone who had a gas cooker and cooked dinner everywhere and brought it to her house. We had a brilliant day of talk and laughter (my aunt and father were civil to each other) and all the young people got drunk by candlelight on my homemade Baileys. A perfectly imperfect Christmas 🎄🌟⛄⭐
Great video.
I find in the UK that there’s too much emphasis on the perfect Christmas dinner. I hate it when some people brag on Facebook about making everything from scratch. There’s nothing wrong with shop bought pigs in blankets or Oxo cubes etc.
I buy myself a frozen chicken dinner & have it either Christmas or Boxing Day.
Short version: Just be like Jovie and roll around on the bed and relax! LOL 😄
😂 Correct!
To hell with what everyone else says - do what you and your immediate family want for the holidays. Everyone has permission to celebrate (or not, even) the way they chose.
Absolutely
I usually spend Christmas Day with family. Great. BUT I literally only see that family once a year, so I have very little idea of their tastes. For the first few years I struggled, then I hit on a similar idea to the tip above. I found a good quality brand of food and started buying little items to fill a gift basket...nice tea, coffee, hot chocolate, biscuits, sweets etc. At the last minute I add a nice piece of cheese and some crackers. It has made my life so much easier and also means that they have a less expensive January, and who doesn't need that?
Wonderful! Love this! 👏
Hi 👋 we take our daughter out to lunch and she loves it because we get to see her and chat with her. We also give our son a gift card to a dinner place. My husband and I give to a charity because we have enough. ❤have a wonderful day ☺️
I'm letting go of excess decorating and trying to make everything perfect.
Great ideas. Thanks
Arse deep 😂😂😂 Love your humour 👌🙏Thank You 🥰
I am Jovie… I thrive in the cold! Love cozy season!
Each person in the family makes a list of suggestions for presents. If they "don't know" which happens often! I make a "surprise box" of things like toiletries, makeup, perfume or their favourite foodie things or suchlike.
Will try to channel my inner Jovie ❤
I think we could all stand to take a little leaf out of her book. 😂
8:06 🥰😂 Jovie is faaaarrrr too comfy! ❤️😴
I love your dog. She is always so chill. BTW I enjoyed your video, too. 😀
"Indecision and people pleaser". Hit the nail on the head!
I love the Amazon hack
My mum used to say "its a posh roast dinner."😂 She didn't get stressed (or appear to!?)she always said that family is what matters, and she was right x
We reuse decorations from grandma-no coordinating tree here😂 secret santa between the adults-much easier! And always remember that No is a complete sentence!!!
Love the shirt 💜
Loved this video from the first second to the last.
Great tips as always but definitely the most important is minding yourself. It’s the best present you can give to yourself. Just like Jovie, relaxing and letting the world go by 😂 Experiences are a good gift too e.g. cinema. Have a great week. Mary, Joes wife 🙇♀️👏👍💪🙏💐🐕🦺
Great gift hacks!!
I love your videos and this one is no exception 🥰 I do want to give my own humble scrap of feedback, with love, to just say I far far prefer your regular thumbnails. Maybe it's because I'm an artist so I kinda have a chip on my shoulder about AI "art" and the impact it's having on my fellow artist friends, but the uncanney valley of AI gens just gives me such a visceral reaction. I felt bad saying anything because obviously that's not the focus of the video, I just figured I'd mention it because I was so turned off that I almost didn't click on the video at all. Just my 2 cents, most folks probably don't mind, and in any case, I appreciate the holiday tips!!
I totally get it. I’m actually running an A/B experiment at the moment. One of the thumbnails is my regular style and then I’m testing AI. It’s more out of sheer curiosity than anything. Some people will see the regular one and some people will see an AI one. And then TH-cam will judge which is working best. So far it’s the regular one. 😁
@@HowToGYST I was also going to say something, but I thought I'd check the comments first to see if anyone else had mentioned it. It's good that you were only experimenting! I'd honestly stick with real thumbnails. AI turns a lot of people away, especially if we're in a creative field. I'm a writer, so I feel the same way about AI "art." Tbh, when I first saw the AI thumbnail, I thought someone (or a bot) might have hacked your account or that they might have set up a copycat account. You definitely want to make sure people know it's the real you! Anyway, I'm glad the real thumbnails are winning out! 😊
Christmas is in summer for me. I like to spend the day in the pool. Easy.
Today I decided to book a hotel down the street for my parents for the christmas days, it will be a win win for everybody - or at least for me.😅 I could send the kids there aswell in the morning for the breakfast buffet. 😅
And take advantage of room service! Bliss!
lets do this 🎉
💃 Happy Thanksgiving!
@ Thanks! I am cutting up recipes and putting them into one big huge spiral book. Fingers cross that this will help me because I've had a pile of recipes that I constantly have to search through..... And I'm watching your decluttering playlist. Your video reminded me of something on a to-purchase for our upcoming 2 to 3 month trip. A ton of underwear! I hope not to be doing much or any laundry during that time. :)
@ Happy Thanksgiving! I am enjoying my day off. And the weather is nice.
Thanks for this Laura. Brilliant advice 😄🎅
Good ideas! Thanks! 😊
I broke my leg last month and as a result, my house isn't how I would like it anyway. So decorating my house feels like a lot of mental and physical energy. So I've decided not to put my tree up this year and only select a few decorations which are easy to put up. I'm not expecting many visitors, so who am I decorating for.
❤ that shirt. I hope you have a great holiday season ❤
I'm with you . I don't enjoy buying gifts . I now do gift cards exclusively. I figure they will enjoy that as much as some gift i pick out seeing as how miserable i am at shopping ! Haha
To stop feeling stressed i don't follow influencers who sell the perfect decor, or you need to this ect. For gift we only buy for kids now. We are honest and let each other know we didn't like something. That's why we got together and choose christmas for the kids at home or go on a vacation for a weekend only. Communication is key to reduce stress
I love my in laws but 30 years of bday. mothers/fathers day and Christmas gifts has me totally burnt out and stressed. Oh and my hubby is NO help! My hubby and I have never had our kids, now 19 and 22 ever get us gifts. We all save and go on vacation together.
Between birthdays and Christmas and Mother's/Father's Day... It's never-ending. 😰
@@HowToGYST Thank you for understanding my frustration!
💛
💖
Korn? wow, never would have guessed lol
I’m not hosting Christmas dinner at my house this year. We are having the party at my mom’s. It’s a bigger house and my sister can help. I usually do it myself at my house. It does simplify things quite a bit! Do you get to go home for Christmas this year?
I have declined every holiday invite aside from family (whom I actually enjoy being with.) Go me!
Nollaig shona!
"no one will remember your napkins but they will remember how stressed out and SNAPPY you were"
Ma'am, you're not invited to dinner if you're going to be telling people how I was in the kitchen! Rude!
Who are you following??? 😂 I do not have anyone I follow that even would show their matching pyjamas. I doubt they have matching pyjamas at all!!!! 😂😘
Faking their festivities 😂😢