For a fast, fun and festive centerpiece this holiday, take glass ornament balls that match your decor, and place them in a glass bowl. Place small candles around the glass bowl so the flames will dance off the mirrored glass!
For years, the women in our family (and extended family) have been exchanging ornaments with each other on Thanksgiving Day. Originally theses were homemade, though throughout the years we've "customized" them by purchasing just about anything we see throughout the year that reflects "us." It's simple to turn a small trinket into an ornament and personalize it with a glue gun and a glitter pen. Taking out our ornaments each year brings back MANY, MANY fond Thanksgiving memories.
I take an empty tissue box and put Christmas shopping receipts in it. This keeps all my receipts in one place, and if the box falls, everything stays inside. If something has to be returned, I have the receipt.
If you can'f find enough time to do your daily stuff, try making a list that presents your availible hours in a day. Mark out hours that you have specific things to do like classes, jobs, dinner, lunch & etc. Then take a look at your list and you'll see that you have some hours left between two event. They are your extra times. So try to have less dead time between your events and your extra times per day will sum up incredibly!
I take a day a few weeks before Christmas and make all my ccokie dough. I put them in sealable storage bags and put them in the fridge. As I have time through out the coming weeks I bake cookies, even if it is only 1 or 2 trays at a time. I freeze the cookies when they are done. My cookies are done in time for Christmas without much time taken up making them.
I never use lables for presents any more. Instead, I use one theme of paper for each person. My youngest grandson loves Thomas the Train so all of his presents are wrapped in Thomas. That way, there is no more confusion when it is time to open the presents & we can not find the label or the name. Believe me, the child knows which one is his or hers.
As you buy presents make sure to wrap each one and place a name tag on it. Use them to decorate your house before you give them away.
When I receive Christmas cards I save the return address from the sender. When I mail them a Christmas card, I use their address label.