1. Pre-tinsel tension preparation. As soon as you can, take a deep breath and clear your mind prior to the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Do yoga, pray/meditate, go for a long walk, or do whatever will help you quiet your mind and prioritize what things are truly important to you this month. Most importantly, let go of the pressure to be perfect.

2. Have a meeting of merry minds. Sit down with your family a.s.a.p. to set a basic schedule for the month including activities you want to do together, parties, school projects, wish lists, behavior expectations, and a budget. Make a holiday calendar, binder, or “Christmas Command Central” where all invitations, schedules, and lists are posted for the whole family to reference.

3. All Aboard the Season’s Greetings Express. Your holiday cards are staring you in the face on your kitchen counter. Depending on how many you send out annually, this can be a daunting task. Make it a family affair. Set up an assembly line in your living room floor – cards, envelopes, stamps, address books, labels, etc. Make hot cocoa; get some holiday tunes rockin’ and your family rollin’ with individual jobs on the assembly line. Act silly, sing Fa La La at the top of your lungs, and before you know it, YOU’RE FINISHED. The beautiful cards on the next page were designed by Arkansas Children’s Hospital patients and are available for purchase at giving.archildrens.org/holiday cards. All proceeds benefit Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

4. Count Down to Christmas. Often called Advent calendars, these can be found at shops like Hallmark or Cracker Barrel. Your kids will eagerly open the compartment daily to reveal candy, a joke or prize.

5. Crafts, Cookies and Candy, OH MY! Decide early what projects you and your family want to do together. Make adorable snow globes, Nutter Butter Santas, ice cream cone Christmas trees, magnetic mini-muffin pan Advent calendars, and time capsule ornaments.

6. It’s a Wrap. Set up a gift wrapping station. Keep boxes, paper, scissors, tape and tags in an easily accessible location through the duration of gift wrapping. This will keep you organized and eliminate the need to get things out and put them away over and over again each time a gift is purchased.

7. Celebrate Daily. Make every day a special event during the holidays with some of these ideas. Have a Christmas movie marathon. Attend some of the many choices of plays and performances that are included in this issue’s calendar. Study and talk about ways people in other countries celebrate Christmas. Then incorporate a foreign tradition into your own family’s usual celebration. Begin a giant jigsaw puzzle at the beginning of December with the goal as a family to complete it before December 25. Organize family field trips while the kids are out of school. Check out the new Grossology exhibit at Museum of Discovery then look at the decoration and light displays around town including the magnificent presentation at the State Capitol. Begin a family Christmas journal where family members write down their favorite yearly memories. Begin your own Elf on a Shelf or Christmas pickle ornament tradition. The options are endless.