by lisa@lisacanning.ca | Dec 8, 2016 | Lifestyle Design
This year we are keeping things really simple for Christmas. Mainly, it is out of necessity as I am incredibly pregnant with baby #6 (36 weeks!!!). But it is also out of principle. I just want to enjoy the holidays, and not be stressed in the preparations for them! So if you're like me, and want to enjoy the holidays more than stress over them, here are my essential ingredients to a simple and stress free Christmas!
1. Decorate with the basics in an afternoon
In years past, I have put a lot of pressure around a "decorating day". And while I love traditions, I just found it got overwhelming. People fought over who got to put what decoration up, I always ran out of those little hooks you need for the ornaments, and in the end I was always more spent than excited. So especially where small kids are involved, I suggest you limit the decorating to a few hours on an afternoon. Put up the main things: tree, lights, tree skirt, a garland, a few stockings, and that is it. And then call it a day. You'll be happy as the house has a little Christmas in it, but not so exhausted that you can't enjoy it.
This year, I am obsessed with my new feather tree from Bouclair- I love the texture and white contrast in my living room!
2. Add the ornaments slowly over time
We have a family tradition of keeping things simple during Advent, the weeks leading up to Christmas, and then adding all the colour and fun on Christmas Eve. This also has strategic merit- with toddlers in my house, ornaments don't stand a chance. But I did find these adorable pom-pom and bell combo garlands from HomeSense which the kids kinda went crazy over. They also make for a versatile ornament- even if they get pulled off the tree by little "helpers", they look beautiful even when just pooled on the floor in a heap.
The point of this tip is just to add things as you find time to- or as you pick up trinkets at the store. No pressure to do it all in one hurrah.
3. Re-use fall planters
I was a little skeptical of how these would turn out, but I love the result. Again, out of convenience, I didn't want to spend time or money on brand new planters. When I realized my fall cabbages matched the purple ribbon I quickly tied around my faux fur wreath (picked up at HomeSense while shopping for a client), I decided to see if I could make them feel "holiday" with greens cut from my garden and the birch logs that have been sitting on my porch since last Christmas (eep)!!! I love the result, and love that it didn't cost me a single cent. I don't think this would work with every fall flower out there, but you can bet these will be on repeat next year on my porch!
4. Throw some battery operated garlands in a vessel for an instant holiday centrepiece
I picked up this garland at Bouclair pretty inexpensively because I knew it would work somewhere in my house. I literally just put them in a candy dish I have (these would also look super cute in a cloche) and called it a day! If I have time I might go out and grab another one to fill the dish to the brim- I love how this sparkles and shines!
5. Embrace the chaos- especially around holiday pictures
We do our best to take a family photo for our Christmas card every year. And every year, I vow I will never do it again (just kidding…)! As the image above and this energetic photo of my daughter exemplifies, getting 7 family members to look at a camera at the same time is somewhat chaotic, to say the least. If these photos could talk, you would hear that 3 children had literal melt downs in rapid succession. So when one kid finally calmed down, the next one was upset about a totally new thing. In my younger years as a parent I would get so stressed about everyone looking / wearing the right thing and would have really limited (as in no) patience for this kind of thing. Now, I just embrace it and know that Photoshop works wonders and when that fails, oh well. Sometimes the images off the cutting room floor are better than the more staged ones.
For some practical tips around family photos, I suggest you all wear outfits that coordinate somewhat, and if you can swing it, give kids 2 choices in what they wear (but limit their options to the ones in your colour palette). And not going to lie, we bribe with candy. #noshame
If you're feeling overwhelmed and have no idea where to begin in your holiday prep- download my Last Minute Planning Guide for a Stress-Free Holiday! Totally free for you : )
Cheers to a beautiful time of year,
Lisa
by lisa@lisacanning.ca | Dec 26, 2015 | Lifestyle Design
From my family to yours, a very Merry Christmas!!!! I hope your celebrations have been amazing. We are still partying on and feeling quite indulgent.
Speaking of indulgent, we had the lovely opportunity to celebrate my mom's birthday at my house just before Christmas and I seized the opportunity to embrace magnolia leaves and greenery goodness. It was so quick and simple to throw together to create a polished table using the greens as a runner.
I wanted to make this party a really special celebration but was kinda strapped for time- my cast from my cellulitis saga came off not long before this party, so I had to make prep really efficient. I picked up the greens and magnolia leaves from Loblaw's (at half off I may add!) and everything else was stuff I already owned- except for these adorable white candlesticks from Hudson's Bay on clearance for $3. It might be because of the cast situation forcing me to take it easy, but this is one of the first holidays in as long as I can remember where I have not been too stressed out or overwhelmed to enjoy it. Because being too stressed out to enjoy precious moments like these would be such a shame. And enjoy we did! 
And we are still enjoying- Christmas Eve all the colour came out and we've been having a great time at home.
A big part of decorating for the holidays for me is to mark that there is something really special going on, to invoke some wonder and some awe, and to celebrate the reason for all the hooplah. And that reason of course is the birth of a tiny little infant who would change the world- and my life- forever.
A very Merry Christmas to you all!!!
by lisa@lisacanning.ca | Dec 23, 2014 | Lifestyle Design
First of all- congrats to Maggie who won my Scotch Gift Wrap Giveaway! Thanks to all who entered via commenting, Twitter and Facebook. I so appreciate you!
Now on to the topic of simplicity at Christmas. Aren't kids at Christmas the best? This is my daughter full of Christmas joy in front of our finally finished fireplace. Our house is still not 100% done for many different reasons but I am pretty happy to have a fireplace to put my Christmas tree in front of. It's so peaceful to look at.
Contrary to this feeling almost every year of my adulthood Christmas has felt manic. And every year, I have sworn that the next year would be different. Less stressful, more prayerful, less running around and more enjoying the people I love. Inspired by Karen's Christmas Pledge I created my own last minute version in hopes to keep myself organized and less manic. And yet every year I have failed.
If I am being honest what had me the most manic was the PRESSURE. Of feeling like I had to buy the perfect presents, pressure to be everywhere and see everyone, pressure to create perfect Christmas memories for my children. I realize much of this pressure has been self imposed. So this year, we chose to respond differently.
We intentionally removed ourselves from 2 Kris Kringle gift exchanges. We committed to going to only one house on Christmas Day. We are going to a cottage with limited wifi for a chunk of time after Christmas. We are making last minute, non-pressured plans over the holidays. And I have not felt guilty that my tree just went up and that all my shopping basically took place in one day and it was yesterday.
The removal of this pressure and expectation has lifted a veil for me. I feel like I can actually enter into this season without feeling so completely behind and so tired I fall asleep at Christmas mass. I feel like I can actually see, and this is what I so desperately want to stare at:
I hope this season, however you are spending it, is full of joy, peace, wonder and awe. A very Merry Christmas to you my dear readers, for whom I am so thankful for.
Image taken by my husband at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal at the nativity museum showcasing nativity's from around the world.
by lisa@lisacanning.ca | Dec 3, 2014 | Lifestyle Design
The whole notion of simplification and making life easier when possible has really been on my mind. With the number of kids that I have and the juggling act running a business can be- I need simplicity wherever possible. I can attest to how making my kids' lunches the night before has dramatically changed the stress level of our mornings- so I am going to employ a similar approach to holiday prep.
Who's with me- who wants to simplify the holiday hustle, manage the manic rush of parties and presents and hooplah and hullabaloo? Do you want to actually enjoy your house, your loved ones, your cooking this year? Then look no further. Print this, save this to your phone, put this on the fridge, and enjoy simplified holiday prep. Big shout out to Karen who created the Christmas Pledge, which has you prepared by Dec 1- I am not that organized, but her pledge completely inspired me to have some strategy rather than feel completely disheveled, even if I only start on December 1.
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