Tips to Surviving the Holidays with Guests and Remain Organized

Last year during the holidays I had 16 days in a row with guests so I think I can give you a few tips on how to survive and keep your holidays organized.  During the holidays most guests are family, so following these tips will be simple and keep your organized. 

The first tip is to plan out a menu including all 3 meals starting with the first meal your guests will have after they arrive.  Knowing what you will have to eat makes your life so much easier and reduces the amount of stress by 99%.   Before your guests arrive find out what their normal breakfasts might contain and do not feel the need to make a fancy breakfast every morning.  I believe most guests would prefer to have breakfast when they want and to have items they normally eat.   Asking a guest to help out a meal time will also keep you organized and make your guests feel useful. 

The second tip is to continue your routine as much as possible including tasks such as exercising and walking the dog.  Your exercise will also help reduce the stress during the holidays.    Make sure you include your guests in some of your routines as appropriate.  If you have a busy day, ask someone to help with some of the routines and maybe walk your dog, or empty the dishwasher.

The last tip to keep you organized during the holidays is to keep a list of tasks to be completed during the day.  This will help keep your day organized and keep you from forgetting something important that needs to be completed.  Before your guests arrive, write down tasks you will need to do each day such as changing beds between guests, grocery shopping, cleaning, and laundry.  Knowing what you need to do each day will keep your day and life organized. 

The holidays can be stressful and make you feel out of control and in chaos, but if you follow this few tips, you can survive and stay organized.