'Green' is the new GIFT!

Everybody's going GREEN this year, and no wonder! We've all had lots of good examples about why we need to save the Earth instead of spending all our time, energy and dollars consuming everything in sight. Well, if you can do some environmental good while you're gifting this year, why not do it?

Make this the year that you commit to giving only gifts that can be consumed or recycled! Okay, I hear you saying 'No way! I'm not the mother nature, earth shoe type.' Well, listen on, my multi-tasking friends.

- This year instead of wine glasses, give a bottle of wine or a vintage Champagne. Drink a toast and then recycle the bottle!

- Instead of those high-end steak knives, how about some Choice filet mignons? A gourmet treat and nothing left over to go in the landfill!

- Does your giftee have company over the holidays? How about a loaf of your best home made cranberry orange bread, wrapped in a useable-over-and-over-again cute kitchen towel.

You get the idea.
But consumable gifting doesn't just have to be eating and drinking:

- Give a growing gift. Instead of sending a cut flower arrangement, send some living, breathing plants or blooming bulbs. (I love paper whites; when they come up they smell like Spring is just around the corner.)

- And lest I sound a little too basic, find out what your giftee REALLY needs. If her old umbrella is already three sheets to the wind, find a gorgeous one she can use every time the drops start falling. It's good to give if it's a needed replacement for something that gets frequent use.

I've been thinking about it this way. If it can be eaten, used up, passed on, or recycled - it's a good gift! Hey, it may be only one small step, but as the saying goes, little things mean a lot!

Thin is IN!

We went to pick out our Christmas tree tonight. For the last few years, we've pre-ordered from the local high school baseball team. They travel to a tree farm to pick out the trees and go cut them with their dads the weekend before Thanksgiving. It's a great plan. We get a great hand-picked tree and they make money!

This year, though, we went a week later than usual to pick up our tree - a seven-footer - and lo, and behold (as they say this time of year) there were only 8 of that size left to choose from. The one with the best and straight-est top (very important to seat the Angel properly) was rather narrower than our usual choice. Hmmm, I thought, will this work? Overall perfection of shape won out over width, and I proceeded to the mom-staffed check-out.

"Good thing we came tonight," I offered. "You guys are almost out of trees! Good for you!"
"Find one you liked?" my friend Laurie asked.
"Yep, but a little skinnier than usual.
"That's the good news," she shot back. "Less tree to decorate!"

WOW! The light bulb went off. This year, my multi-tasking mind is thinking, we'll just choose the best-of-the-best of our (seems like hundreds) of ornaments and keep it sleek and slenderly beautiful.

Our tannenbaum's branches will be full, and her silhouette slim and elegant. And it will take half the time to decorate (and take down!) Hear that, Santa, at our house this year, thin is in!

Be a good Scout this Christmas!

Most of us will spend the weekend doing all those things we can't quite get around to during the week. And on top of everything else, party follows party. Now where is that cute hostess gift I bought?

Take a look at your calendar. By now, you probably know whose parties you'll attend, whose guest you (and your family) will be. Do yourself a favor and borrow that classic Scouting motto and BE PREPARED! Don't rush around hoping you have a bottle of wine or some yummy treat to take and say 'thanks for hosting us.'

Make a trip as soon as you can to your favorite source and get all your hostess goodies NOW. Then go home, wrap, sack, bow and tag each one of them so they are ready to walk out the door when you are! Better yet, let the shop do the multi-tasking for you. Choose a place that does cute wrap and bow, and abracadabra! You're finished.


Some of our favorites?
- a single gorgeous tree ornament
- fun cocktail napkins with a clever spreader
- a bottle of wine with a twist; add a seasonal wine cork
- handmade toffee, candy or snacks; my favorite is anything chocolate
you get the idea...

I can hear you breathing a sigh of relief now, and it's only December 6th!

Food, but wait, there's more!

Okay, since we're talking food here - holiday goodies and such, how about REALLY multi-tasking?
I know you have a favorite specialty - you know the dish, appetizer or dessert that EVERYONE always asks for. Yes?

Well, when you're making it for the holidays, do ahead for yourself but also make more for - get this now - GIFTS! Now I don't know about you, but if someone gave me a tray of home made appetizers ready to pop in the oven for guests - or a jar of wonderful, hot soup that could become an instant meal on a cold day - or a pan of their specialty lasagne - I'd be in heaven!

It's kind of a back to the future sort of thing. Just what my mom and the gals in the neighborhood used to do. (Remember Spiced Tea?) LOL Let's just update it for our tastes - and make it easy (ier) for each other!

Ready ladies? All together now: Cook once, freeze twice, AND share a gift with your favorite Multi-Tasking gal!

Food, Glorious Food!

If the holidays has your tastebuds tickling, but you're thinking 'when, oh when, will I EVER find time to bake, cook, frost (insert your favorite food pastime)' - well, despair no more. I have discovered that with a teeny tiny bit of planning (very miniscule, I promise) you can actually make the cooking you ARE doing totally Multi-Task for you!

Take a look at your favorites, and I think you'll find as I did that anytime you're cooking, you can double up (or even go for triples.) Get those freezer containers ready, girls, and in the next week or two, you can double dip on any thing you make so that you have an extra one, or several dozen at the ready when company hits town.

While I try to do this all year round, it's never more important than now. Here are a few things I've stashed, ready to go the minute I have no time to cook:

- White chicken chili, tortilla soup and good old fashioned vegetable!
- Our favorite mini chicken puff pastry appetizers, several hot crab dips and even my husband's all time best - Classic Artichoke Parmesan spread
- Desserts? I'll be baking this week and popping in a couple of pound cakes and even a set of mini chocolate lava cakes
- and the list goes on!

Need some ideas? Hit recipezaar.com, or pick up a copy of one of my favorites, Diane Davis, the Diva of Do-Ahead. She's got it all together!

And while you're at it, maybe you can team up with a girlfriend and swap some of your specialties. Way better than take-out. But more on that later...

Bon appetit and bon appetite!

Thanks for the memories!

Okay, it's happened. I've been hit - with my first gift of the season, that is. So nice and yet so lethal. LOL Just kidding about the deadly part. But if you get a gift or go to party, there's that instant obligation to say 'Thanks' to the giver or hostess.

If you're like me, the LAST thing you want hanging over your head in the New Year is that oh-so-long list of notes you know you need to write, to properly tell each and every one how special they made you feel. And yet, you know you should. So what's a Multi-Tasking Woman to do?

Well, try this. Next time you're out, find the cutest box of holiday Thank You's you can get your hands on. Take them home and while you're watching Charlie Brown, put your return address and a stamp on each one. Then, stash them in an easy to retrieve from spot (for me, it's my purse) and when you're gifted, you'll be ready!

I just pull one out when I'm sitting in line or sipping that Starbucks and write my heartfelt thanks to who (whom?) ever's been kind enough to remember me! It's quick, easy and timely. And guess, what? The after Christmas list is short and manageable!

Oh, and PS, don't forget to use your notes to tell your friends how much you appreciate them and all they do. No gift required for that one!

Take 5....

I don't know about you, but for me, reality is setting in big time! What did I think? That Christmas would magically make itself happen? LOL

The cold, hard facts of cards, gifts, food, and fun are looming large right now. My multi-tasking has shifted into turbo, as I'm making my list and checking it twice - about every hour or so! What's a woman to do?

Take 5. That's right. If you don't pace yourself, you'll be down for the count. Before you know it, everyone else will be merry and bright and you'll be hoping for an Rx at the local doc in the box on Christmas Eve. So plan now!

Every day, every single day from now till December 25th, be sure that you set aside at least 5 minutes for YOU. 5 minutes 5 times a day would be better, but hey, let's start with just 5. What to do in that 5 minutes? Whatever YOU like. A nice hot, list-checking-free, cup of cocoa. A few moments of carol (and kid) free silence. Time to walk through your favorite shop just to soak up the season. Whatever rejuvenates YOU.

Got to run now. I hear a heavenly piece of Godiva and an easy chair calling my name. Time to Take 5!

I'm Theme-ing for a (simple) Christmas

Okay, picking just one store and shopping ONLY there a little too drastic for you? Well, try choosing a theme for your gifts this year to make shopping an easy part of your Multi-Tasking life. Need some ideas to get you started? Let's think about it.

- How about SPORTS? Everything from tickets to your favorite team to new work-out clothes. Balls, bats, yoga mats. Even a pedometer for Grand Dad. Everybody likes to move it, move it. Choose all your gifts around a sports theme and you'll be the hometown hero!

- Sports too active for you? Celebrate the cerebral parts of all of us and choose a BOOK for EVERY person on your list. (Hey, you can do all that at your ONE store!) :-) Cookbooks, spy stories, murder mysteries, bodice-heaving romances, and my all time Christmas favorite - the REAL Dickens' Christmas Carol.

- How about TREATS as a theme? Choose something for everyone on your list that you know they'd NEVER, EVER buy for themselves. Godiva Chocolates for the gourmet palate (they buy and give them to everybody else.) An extra good year of Champagne or Chardonnay. A bottle of perfume, NOT cologne. A gift certificate for a hot stone massage. What's your secret pleasure? Give someone an extra special indulgence they usually deny themselves and watch their eyes light up!

Get the picture? Let your mind run free and you'll find your own themes running wild in your imagination. Theme-ing makes gift-giving fun... and a whole lot easier!

Tell us your ideas!

Don't shop till you drop!

Want an easy way to take your holiday shopping from 'too many to choose' from to 'the best of the bunch'? It's simple. Narrow your focus. That's right. If you want to keep your shopping simple, don't run from shop to store, from mall to main street, STOP. Take a deep breath and try this.

Choose one or two of your favorite sources - you know those spots that have the things you think are neat and clever - and do ALL your shopping there! Yes, you heard me right. Do ALL your shopping in just those places.

It sounds so simple. Will that really work, you're asking? Well, it will if you choose places that have some universal appeal. My top 3 favorites are:

• a good bookstore- not just for books, but calendars, neat gifts, stationery, magazines, you name it!
  
• the gourmet grocery/wine shop - hey, everybody eats! And most drink a bit, as well.
  
• a 'has it all' retailer with style - like Target
  

Then head out, with list in hand, and start your shopping. No cheating. Remember, just one (or maybe two) stores. Believe me, it works! I've done it, and everybody from Grandad to our Garbage Man is happy with their gifts - and I'm happy with my one-stop, low-stress shopping.

You can get creative and even go with a theme, but more on that tomorrow!

See, I told you it was easy.

The Countdown begins!

That's right. Although it seems that the leftover Turkey has just left the building, it's just 25 all-too-short days till the Big One! But don't worry your pretty little Multi-Tasking head about it, because we are going to make it through this together, and have a blast doing it!

Okay, are you with me on this?

When we were little, we had an Advent calendar, lovingly crafted by my mom. Every night, the four of us kids would place an ornament on the tree and then be treated to some yummy bit of chocolate in that day's little pocket. A wonderful tradition and a treat of a way to count down to the holidays.

Only now do I realize what it must have taken to find and fill those pockets with nearly 100 pieces of chocolate - all different! The time my mom spent to make those days leading up to Christmas special and fun. Me, I'm lucky if I can remember to change the number on our 'Santa comes in ___ days' chalk board! How did she do it all?

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I read a cute book called "On Strike for Christmas." In it, a group of gals decide to go on 'strike' from doing everything themselves for everyone else one holiday season after another, and decide to leave the making of Christmas to their husbands. (You're getting the picture, right?)

I won't give away all the details in case you want to read this little piece of holiday reflection for yourselves, but let me tell you what I came away with. Bottom line? Christmas DID get done. Maybe not the way the gals were used to, but happen it did! The husbands (and kids!) learned just how hard it really was to create the kind of holidays they all loved. And the girls? Well, let's just say that when they gave up a little 'control,' they ultimately ended up with a lot more help.

Who does Christmas at your house? How does it happen? Is it you, You, YOU? If you find yourself with that Grinch-y feeling sneaking around the corners of your heart as you look ahead to the next 24 days, stop and spend a minute with me. I'm determined to 'do' Christmas this year in a way that's fun for me, too! What does that mean? What will it look like? Well, I'm guessing that it will require me to loosen my own grip a bit on the holiday steering wheel and ASK for some help - and involvement - then be willing to LOVE THE RESULT - no matter how different it may look!

Because ultimately, isn't that what Christmas - or whatever holiday you celebrate - is really about? Sharing. Being together. Enjoying the time together with family and friends. Hold on to your hat, Martha, because this year, Christmas at my house is going to be a family affair!

Stay tuned for more because you don't have to do it alone! Join me on the ever-changing journey to December 25th and let's see what small changes we can make that will give us BIG SMILES when Santa arrives!