30 Last Minute Christmas Ideas from the Experts- Shopping, Decorating, Gifts and Entertaining
Still haven’t trimmed the tree or wrapped a single present? Never fear. Even if your mind is in low holiday gear, these last minute Christmas ideas from the experts will help you pull off a merry Christmas in no time.
First Things First
Map it out.
To-do lists are all well and good—until you need to-do lists to keep track of your to-do lists. Make a master list that includes everything you have to do. Group tasks according to location so you can do several things in the same afternoon.
Divide and conquer.
When time is short, don’t shop with your husband for the kids’ gifts. Let him head for the mall while you decorate the house. Have your teenager string the outdoor lights; let little ones make or address holiday cards.
Freeze it.
In the week or two before Christmas, MyLinda Butterworth, author of Just 24 Days Till Christmas, doubles her favorite meals and freezes the leftovers. Then, when she’s in a buying or wrapping frenzy the few days before Christmas, she doesn’t fret about making dinner, too.
Let Your Holiday Spirit Shine
Make it sparkle.
Elbow grease is the best way to shine silver. But when you’re in a hurry, says Mark Antebi, owner of Estes-Simmons Silverplating Ltd., line your sink with aluminum foil, fill it with super-hot water, add a cup of baking soda, then dip your silver and wipe it off for instant tarnish removal.
Clean the guest bath.
“That’s the one room where guests will have time to sit down and study it, so clean that before anything else,” advises Linda Cobb, author of Queen of Clean: Royal Guide to Spot and Stain Removal(Pocket Books, 2001).
Erase wrinkles.
If you don’t have time to iron your favorite holiday tablecloth, try this Wisk Laundry Institute alternative: Shake out the tablecloth, use warm water to dampen two bath-sized towels, and pop it all in the dryer along with a dryer sheet on the permanent-press cycle for 30 to 45 minutes including the cool-down period. Remove the tablecloth promptly, shake it vigorously and smooth out on the table.
Assemble a spot kit.
Keep it handy for cleaning up holiday spills that could become stains if not treated immediately. Include white terrycloth towels, a clean toothbrush, dish detergent, ammonia and dry-cleaning solvent.
Fast, Festive Finery
The Christmas trifecta.
Pressed for time? Bob Pranga of Los Angeles, “Dr. Christmas” to the stars, suggests focusing on three simple things: a tree, your mantelpiece and a wreath. Decorate them similarly—red ribbon on them all, for instance.
Raid your cabinets and closet.
“You don’t need to buy anything to decorate for Christmas,” says David R. Zyla, personal design consultant. “I’ve stacked different glass bowls and dishes in a pyramid effect for a centerpiece, filling them with marbles or water and floating candles. Or go for a traditional swag across a huge mirror or the mantel—but use nontraditional items, like a feather boa or paper chains.”
You’ve got mail.
Valerie Parr Hill, QVC’s home-decorating expert, winds a garland or ribbon up a column, tucking Christmas cards in as they arrive. Zyla gathers picture frames from around the house, sets the current photos aside, and fills them with incoming holiday cards. Display them in a group.
Make Shopping a Snap
Give from the heart.
Skip stores altogether and call your favorite charity to make a donation in a gift recipient’s name. To view just a few of the charitable options, visit www.redcross.org, http://www.unicef.org/ and WHO.
Stay put.
Order presents via phone or the Internet. This lets you shop late at night, not just when stores are open. If you do venture out, buy for everyone at one store, such as a book or music retailer, so you’ll stand in fewer lines.
Comparison shop with ease.
At comparison shopping websites like pricegrabber.com, you can determine which DVD player is best for your husband, find the cheapest place to get those earrings, or locate a favorite bottle of wine. Then the website directs you to an online vendor to make your purchase.
Keep in constant communication.
Tag-team shopping with your spouse or kids? Take along your cell phones. Comparison-shop from separate ends of the mall, or locate each other when the shopping is done.
Easy Entertaining
Instant invitations.
If your friends have e-mail addresses, head to evite.com to send fast, festive party invitations free of charge.
Let someone else cook.
Call the local ham store or your grocery’s deli to order a roast turkey, pies, even side dishes or gravy. Save more time by logging on to www.netgrocer.com to get nonperishable groceries shipped to your doorstep.
Keep your menu simple.
“Go for fewer courses, less fuss and more color,” says syndicated food writer Bev Bennett. “Instead of having an appetizer, salad, three vegetable recipes, sweet and mashed potatoes and meat, I have an appetizer that doubles as a salad, a huge platter of roasted vegetables, maybe mashed potatoes, and meat.”
Remember what’s important.
“Don’t be ashamed to use lovely paper plates, napkins, cups, etc.,” says Little Rock, Arkansas, psychotherapist Rebecca Ward, M.S.W. “The important thing is not admiring Aunt Willasteen’s English china; it’s having people together enjoying each other.”
Head Off Holiday Headaches
Double-check the details.
A misprinted street address, the wrong zip code or illegible writing will delay the arrival of your gift. We recommend tucking the shipper’s and recipient’s addresses and phone numbers inside the package, in case outside labels get damaged.
Yes, Virginia, assembly is required.
Do a quick check for missing parts now, not Christmas Eve, while you still have time to make exchanges. Or call the manufacturer’s toll-free number (they may express-mail the part). Beverly DeJulio, PBS’s HandyMa’am says “One year, I was assembling a doll’s stroller at 1:30 Christmas morning, and it was missing a wheel!”
Put stains on hold.
No time to deal with a stain? Dunk the blouse or tablecloth in a pail of cool water and leave it for later. It’ll make stain removal easier when you’re ready.
Keep kids out from underfoot.
Send kids into the yard to gather pinecones or acorns. “My kids get enough to fill an old wicker laundry basket, and then drape the outside with a string of colored Christmas lights and display it in a corner,” Butterworth says.
Perfect Packages
Wrap it fast.
“The quickest way to wrap a present is to gather tissue paper around it, then tie it with lots of curling ribbon,” says Ellen Timberlake of Arlington, Texas, last year’s winner of the Scotch Brand Most Gifted Wrapper contest. When using gift wrap, she puts a pop-up tape dispenser on each wrist so she can grab a piece with whichever hand is free. If you use a store or mall gift-wrap service, “make sure you can drop off your presents and pick them up when they’re finished, or else you’re not really saving time,” Timberlake warns.
Make the most of your paper.
Running low on gift wrap? Before you make a single cut, size up all the gifts to be wrapped. Tackle large gifts first so you don’t waste the biggest sheets of paper on the smallest presents.
Cut from an old cloth.
Use fabric instead of paper on boxes, or even on a plate of baked goods. “Most people have scraps of fabric and leftover ribbon lying around,” says Adeline Ashley, owner of Adeline’s Gift Expressions in Los Angeles. Tie together some twigs and berries for a natural ornament to adorn the package.
Don’t get boxed in.
If you’re running low on boxes, scavenge empty ones from your pantry (cereal or cracker boxes) and closet (shoe and boot boxes). Or forgo the box altogether, especially for odd-shaped gifts. Timberlake once hid an unwrapped fishing pole behind the drapes and led a string from it out to a small wrapped box under the tree. She also favors home-improvement stores for wrapping ideas: An inexpensive flexible dryer vent hose bent to resemble a candy cane became the perfect package for a golf club.
Great Gifts in a Minute
Give yourself.
Create personal gift certificates—babysitting for a neighbor, massages for your husband. For relatives, Renee Peters, associate product manager of Mead Consumer and Office Products, suggests buying several inexpensive picture frames, adding favorite photos and wrapping them up.
Stack ’em high.
Choose any set of stackables, such as inexpensive lidded storage bowls, hat boxes or baby-wipes boxes. Fill them with appropriate goodies, stack, tie with a ribbon, and your gift is ready to give.
Soothe their senses.
For a quick spa treat, Dorothy Morrison, author ofYule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth (Llewellyn Publications, 2000), puts 2 cups of table salt, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, a drop or two of essential oil and a little food coloring into a ziptop plastic bag. Shake it to mix, then pour into a mason jar, and tie a bath sponge or loofah on with a Christmas ribbon.
Order an online gift certificate.
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