Greetings... It is with great honor that I present to you the SECOND annual 12-Days of Christmas Holiday Organizer. WebTV4Women survived and THRIVED through our first year and putting together the organizer and Holiday Survival Guide Webcast Series was a much anticipated event! Many of our original channel hosts are still with us and we've welcomed a few new ladies to family. We've managed to develop and open the new Members Community too! Have you joined yet? Don't wait, come on in for some GREAT fellowship! This past May, Linda Evans Shepherd, bestselling author, speaker, founder of Right to the Heart Ministries and visionary, became a founding partner in WebTV4Women. Her dedication to bringing a good message to women everywhere and her talent for producing video have been a great blessing to WebTV4Women and all who visit. While the rest of the world is going crazy around us, our ladies are putting forth the inspiration, encouragement, and guidance today's women need to survive and THRIVE. It is with a joy filled heart that I present to you this free gift. May your Christmas be blessed and may your new year be filled with peace, prosperity and joy!
With Love, Michele M. Washam Publisher Founder, WebTV4Women
English Mountain Press & Productions Newport, TN 37821
2009 WebTV4Women Holiday Survival Guide Presented by WebTV4Women Copyright Š 2009 by the WebTV4women channel hosts, broadcasters, special guests, and their respective ministrie. All rights reserved. Under International Copyright Law, no part of this publication may be republished or transmitted by any means - electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording, or otherwise - without written permission from the publisher. Produced in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalog Number Pending International Standard Book Number:
Contents... 2009 Calendars Getting Started Check list Cleaning List Music CD List
Decorating Resources Decoration Inventory Outdoor Decorating Plan Christmas Card List Wish List Party Planner Dear Santa Note
7 8 9 10 12 13
Checklist Gift Giving Budget Master Gift List Gift Shipping Log Online & Mail Order Log Home Made Gifts Sales Log & Tracker
Checklist Master Baking List Ingredient Shopping List
2 4 5 6
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Cookies! Cookies! Cookies! Cookie Resources Online Cookie Types - Sheet Cookie Gifts Mailing List
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Festivity Blueprint Party Shopping List Guest List
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Getting Started
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There is no doubt that the Christmas Holiday Season is a favorite for many. As summer fades to autumn and the leaves begin to change colors the spirit of Christmas and excitement that comes with preparing for this most festive time of the year begins to build. In our home, Thanksgiving Day marks the start of the Holiday festivities. Coming from a large Italian family, tradition plays a vital role in our Holiday preparations. Over the years we’ve come to cherish the true spirit of this season and we strive to make it last as long as we can, thus the reason for launching our Holiday preparations so early. After a hearty turkey dinner, the kids form a team to lug all of our Christmas and winter decorations out of the attic. With boxes piled all over the place we begin to unpack the decorations and reminisce about Christmases gone by. The memories, mixed with the aroma of fresh baked pumpkin pie, fill our home with a warmth and spirit of love that gives us good reason to cherish this special time. Whether you begin your Holiday preparations the day after Thanksgiving or you wait until the first weeks of December, here are some ideas for turning this stressful time into a precious memory and some tips for keeping things organized. From my family to yours, may you be filled with the joy, excitement, desire to give, and love, that defines what this season is truly all about.
Michele Get Started - Checklist Set a pre-decorating cleaning day. Get kids excited by letting them know this is in preparation for Decorating Day! Go online and make a special CD of all of your favorite holiday music. Sing along with the kids as you clean and decorate. You can make a label for your CD for each year i.e. Jones Family Christmas Music 2008 Set a date for decorating. Assign everyone a job and let the kids help get the decorations out of storage. Spend time talking about the origin of heirloom decorations passed down to you. Let small children help by organizing unbreakable decorations i.e. “Put all of the red bulbs in one pile and green in another”. Be PREPARED for little ones to get bored with the activities after a while. Have Christmas movies, coloring pages, etc. handy to keep them occupied so you can complete the tasks with fewer interruptions. Host a Wish List Party for immediate and extended family who you’ll be exchanging gifts with. A finger food buffet, holiday sales flyers and catalogs, pens, and our festive “wish list” sheets will help! Review and update your Christmas card list. Consider making homemade cards with the kids to send to relatives. Start looking for good deals on cards and start sending by December 10th.
4
Cleaning List Room
Dust
Windows
Other Housework To Do... Laundry: Dry Cleaning: Storage, Closets, Drawers: Garage: Other:
5
Floor
Blinds
Misc.
Track
Song
Artist
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Christmas Music Websites: 24 http://christmas-mp3-search-downloads.kohit.net/_/ http://feelslikechristmas.com/ http://www.iTunes.com
6
Found at:
Decorating for Christmas is a special event. It’s a time when the whole family can participate in a project and take pride in the end result. Whether you live in the city or the country, if your space is limited or abundant, a Christmas decorating day or weekend can become a family tradition your kids will look forward to every year. It’s a time to make precious memories and new traditions or honor old ones that can be carried on for generations to come. Whether you are on a limited decorating budget or able to spend freely, we’ve compiled a list of resources and tools to help you make this a truly festive event. Pop in that new Christmas CD you just made and let’s have some fun!
Christmas Resources on the Web www.amazing-christmas-ideas.com
Tips, ideas, themes, More!
www.blessingsofchristmas.com
Tons of Resources
www.allthingschristmas.com/
Everything for Christmas
www.christmas-celebrations.com
Lots of Ideas & Resources
www.christmas-day.org
History of Christmas
www.o-christmas-tree.com
Tree decorating tips
www.forhappyseasons.com
Decorating Tips
www.123christmas-greetings.com
Christmas Greeting Cards
www.holidays.net/christmas/
Christmas resources
www.santaclausonline.com
Santa’s Home Page!
www.northpole.com
Excellent site for kids
www.theholidayspot.com
Decorating, Cooking, more!
www.merry-christmas.com
All Things Christmas
7
Decoration Inventory QTY
QTY
Item
Where it Goes
Item
QTY
8
Item
Outdoor Decoration Plan Use this space to draw a layout of your house and property. Plan which decorations you’ll use outdoors to create a winter wonderland!
9
10
11
The Christmas Wish List Party started by accident in our home on Thanksgiving Day 2004. There are few things more frustrating than standing in the return line after Christmas to return things that are the wrong size, wrong color or just plain wrong altogether. While sitting around our kitchen table we began sharing our gift wishes. I grabbed a piece of paper and pen and started jotting down my family’s wishes and then set out to get them the things they really wanted. The following year, I designed a festive “Wish List”, instructed the kids and my husband that we were going to have company the following weekend and invited family members who would be with us Christmas Day and Christmas Eve. I whipped up a finger food buffet, made hot chocolate, turned on some Christmas music and piled all kinds of Christmas gift books, sales flyers, catalogs and more onto the table. When everyone arrived, I handed out lists and pens and we all sat around the table munching and filling in our lists. The kids crowded around the Toys R’ Us Toy Flyer, adults shared the wishes of their hearts, we ate, drank hot chocolate and had a wonderful time. We shared stories of Christmases gone by, remembered loved ones no longer with us, planned new recipes and created new memories. We’ve been doing it every year since then! Even the teens look forward to the Christmas Wish List Party.
12
13
NOTES:
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NOTES:
15
NOTES:
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Holiday Gift Giving
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GIVING is one of the greatest joys of the Holiday Season. We love to give presents - we love the entire experience from the anticipation of the recipient wondering what's inside while unwrapping to the surprise as the gift is opened. But giving doesn't always mean just a "wrapped package". Every single year we GIVE our family new traditions to carry on, and we carry on our families' old traditions. Do you realize you are GIVING your family and your children their old memories? This year many families face financial limitations. If you are among the "many", keep your expectations of what you can accomplish realistic. Be happy together as a family for the holidays not stressed and conflicted over seasonal worries. What else do you enjoy about the holidays? Looking at the lights and decorations? Sitting by the fireplace? Sitting by the ocean? Sipping a cup of hot chocolate? Listening to holiday music? Baking your favorite holiday recipes? Eating your favorite holiday recipes? Visiting with family or special friends? I like to think about why and what we are celebrating. The greatest gift we have been given and will ever receive. The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Whatever your plans are for this holiday season make Jesus a part of them. Invite Him into your heart and home. He is God's great Gift to you.
Start by creating a Gift list with a projected budget. Also use the Master Budget sheet provided. Baked good baskets make great gifts and save tons of money. Create a gift basket sheet with a list of items and then start looking for cheap baskets, bows, etc. Make homemade gifts for family, neighbors, and co-workers. Check out the numerous online photo albums and consider building an album for out-oftown relatives. Start a family blog and send an invitation to family to participated year round. Start shopping for bargains early. Many stores have great clearance racks and bargain tables. Online shopping and purchases should be completed by dec 10th to avoid extra shipping. Keep track of what you;ve ordered and when it arrived. Packages that are being mailed should be sent out by dec10-15th to avoid being late and to avoid long lines at the post office.
18
Master Budget Sheet Accum Total
Shopping/Gift Budget Projected Budget
$
Amount Spent
$
Over/Under Budget
$
Difference
$
Savings/Overage
$
$
How much did you save or overspend on gift shopping?
Decorations, wrapping paper, cards, etc. Projected Budget
$
Amount Spent
$
Over/Under Budget
$
Difference
$
Savings/Overage
$
$
How much did you save or overspend on Decorations, etc?
Holiday Wardrobe...(party clothes, etc) Projected Budget
$
Amount Spent
$
Over/Under Budget
$
Difference
$
Savings/Overage
$
$
How much did you save or overspend on Wardrobe?
Holiday meals, baking, party supplies, etc. Projected Budget
$
Amount Spent
$
$
Over/Under Budget
Difference
$
Savings/Overage
$
$
How much did you save or overspend on meals, food, etc?
Totals: Projected Budget
$
Amount Spent
$
$
Over/Under Budget
Difference
$
Savings/Overage
$
$
Total amount spent:
19
Master Gift List Gift For:
Item:
Amount: $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
20
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
21
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
Name:
Gift:
Address: City: Date shipped:
State:
Zip:
Cost to ship:
22
Item
For
Website/Cat
23
Date Ord.
Date Rec.
Cost
Homemade Gifts Project Name: Supplies Needed:
Recipients:
Instructions:
Total Cost of Project: 24
Homemade Gifts Project Name: Recipients:
Supplies Needed:
Instructions:
Total Cost of Project: 25
Item on Sale
Store
Cost
26
Rain Check?
NOTES:
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NOTES:
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Growing up in a large Italian family meant that shortly after Thanksgiving Day my grandmother, Lucy, would start preparing for Christmas baking week. The first week of December launched the start of a Christmas cookie baking marathon like nothing you’ve ever seen. This was the beginning of the Holiday festivities in our family and although we didn’t know it then, it would be a time of making memories to be treasured for generations to come. My grandmother passed away several years ago but her spirit is with us every year as we prepare for Christmas baking week in our home. I can still smell the wonderful aromas that drifted from her kitchen all those years ago and using recipes that have been in our family for over 200 years, I am passing these traditions on to my own girls and we’re making memories they can carry forward into their lives and share with generations to come. These days, our kids are distracted by video games, computers, iPods and all that stuff and they really don’t understand the value of carrying on old traditions and making new ones. Have the kids turn off all that noise and join you in a family baking event! Share stories of your holiday’s as a child, what your family did and special memories. If you don’t have special memories to share, it’s never too late to make new traditions and lasting memories for your kids to carry forward.
Holiday Cooking & Baking Checklist Make a master baking list and assign certain baking projects to each day of your baking week. Inventory your baking supplies, check to see if anything has gone bad or needs to be replaced. Make a master shopping list for your baking supplies and a separate shopping list for Holiday Meal planning or parties. Make a list of dishes family and friends will bring to holiday meals or parties. Have a meeting and be sure to let them know how many servings, etc. Order Holiday hams, turkeys, or other specialty food items the first week of December and arrange to pick up at least 2-days before to avoid the last minute rush. Be sure to check out the special recipes in this organizer!
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Master Baking List Items
Qty.
Ingredients
31
Baking Date
Master Baking List Items
Qty.
Ingredients
32
Baking Date
Master Shopping List Baking Qty.
Item
Cost $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Total Spent:
33
X Date
Christmas Cookie Index Christmas Cookies are the heart of holiday baking! Use the Index sheet to keep track of your cookie baking, giving and mailing. Check out the websites below for some amazing Christmas cookie recipes! Use the extra spaces to fill in your favorites.
Website
Description www.christmas-cookies.com www.cookie-recipes.net www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/christmas/ cookie-recipes/cookie_index.htm whatscookingamerica.net/Cookie.htm www.joyofbaking.com/ChristmasCookies.html www.allrecipes.com
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Cookie Sheet Type of Cookie
# Doz.
Ingredients
35
Cookie Mailing Recipients Name
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
36
Date Sent:
Cookie Mailing Recipients Name
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
Recipients Name
Date Sent:
Telephone:
Address: City:
State:
Zip:
37
Date Sent:
Event
Date
Menu: Appetizers: Helper:
Qty. Ingredients:
Soup: Helper:
Qty. Ingredients:
Salads: Helper:
Qty. Ingredients:
Main Dish: Helper:
Qty. Ingredients:
Side Dish 1: Helper:
Qty. Ingredients:
Side Dish 2: Helper:
Qty. Ingredients:
Side Dish 3: Helper:
Qty. Ingredients:
Dessert: Helper:
Qty. Ingredients:
Beverages:
Qty.
Notes:
38
How Many?
Master Shopping List Festivity/Party/Dinner Qty.
Item
Cost $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Total Spent:
39
X Date
Guest List Name:
Telephone
Confirm Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Y
N
Total Attending: 40
# Attend.
NOTES:
41
NOTES:
42
WebTV4Women.tv 2009 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Organizer The greatest women in Christian ministry team up to help you stay organized this Christmas! Join us online at WebTV4Women.tv starting November 28, 2008 for 12-days of messages to help you survive the hectic holidays.
The 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Organizer is a compilation of organizational tools and heartfelt gifts from the most faith filled, inspirational ladies in ministry today.
It is our gift to you!
From All of Us, to all of you!
English Mount Press & Productions Newport, TN 37821