4 Holiday Gatherings that are Fun and Productive

Can a holiday gathering serve two purposes?  Why yes it can.  I used to  do everything as a one off, but learned that if I could create productive and fun parties, we’d enjoy each other’s company and keep our Santa’s Helper duties in check.

Ok, so…yesterday, you had a full plate—and no, I don’t mean Thanksgiving dinner.  You were supposed to have decorated your home, set up a calendar and gift organizer, started the gift purchasing process and sent out Christmas cards.  Read that post here.

Now we are planning a few great get togethers, all of which are designed to further both your Merry Making Plans (MMP) and up your MMS (Merry Making Score). Yes. We we are keeping score:  How much high quality Merry Making can we create in a six week time frame, get everything done on time and still feel and look great doing it.  As always, I’m here to help.

Here are four great get-togethers that serve two purposes.  You and your friends get important tasks done and have fun at the same time.  Genius, right?  

1. Tree trimming party.  So much fun and such a great way to get your tree and home decorated with the help of others.  We have our “tree trimming party” the day after Thanksgiving.  I make sure I call ours a tree trimming party and add a few bonuses in, like Christmas music, tasty snacks and we watch a Christmas movie when we are finished.  Some years, we even wear matching stocking caps. So much fun.
2. Cookie baking/treat making get together.  This serves two purposes.  First, it brings friends and family together, and second, you get an important chore out of the way.  You can do this any number of ways, but in the end, you come away with a whole bunch of treats.  These treats or cookies will be used throughout the holiday season as gifts, and for holiday entertaining, so having a variety is a good thing.  You can call it a cookie baking party, cookie exchange, or a  cookie contest.   Each guest brings enough to share a dozen cookies with the other guests.
3. Gift wrapping party.  This is a super fun get together—everyone comes together to wrap gifts.  You set up a bunch of card tables, stock with tape and scissors, each guest brings gifts and their favorite trimmings.  You put on a little holiday music, serve a little bubbly and when all is finished, hopefully everyone will have their packages wrapped and ready to put under their trees. 
4. Girls spa party.  This is a great get together idea when you and your fellow Merry Makers need a break.  You can host it at home and hire a masseuse, set up a mani/pedi station and  have an esthetician on hand.  You can DIY it or just get a bunch of friends together and visit a spa together.  I’ve done a little of all of the above, and if you haven’t given it a shot, you should.  Now, you may notice that this party doesn’t appear to complete an additional chore, but in fact it does.  Running yourself to a frazzle, which I’ve done a time or two doesn’t help anyone.  I’ve learned the hard way to build in down time.

Let’s make this holiday season the best, ladies, and be careful out there.