Nenette Alejandria Mayor writes about her sweet life with her 2 adorable, silly kids at Life Candy and has been known to send risque yet festive devices to unsuspecting relatives.

You know the saying: “It isn’t all about the presents.” The 6-year-old in me would call that a big fat lie and demand that Santa have my Barbie Camper toy under the tree as previously agreed upon.

My mini-me has a rather extreme opinion, but I must admit that the Holidays just wouldn’t be the same without a box to open on Christmas morning. Especially if that box is international in origin. I have family scattered all over the globe, and getting a box of chocolates from my aunt in Seattle or a carved wooden trinket from my godfather in The Philippines is always such a treat.

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By Helen Jane from HJ Entertains

So your Mother-In-Law (or Mom) calls and says she’ll be there in 30. You’re expected to be company ready, but you’re most certainly not. What’s the bare minimum you can you do to make your guests feel welcome (and maintain your sanity)?

1. Set a timer for 5 minutes and straighten the bathroom that guests will be using. Make sure the towels are straight, the tub toys are safely hidden behind the shower curtain and the mirror and counter tops are free from toothpaste splatters. This takes far less time than you think it will.

2. Get the drinks ready. Either heat up the kettle for tea, get the coffee pot ready for brewing or simply put some water in a pitcher and tuck in the fridge so it is chilled for your guests. Having a beverage ready for your guests can help your guests feel warmer and fuzzier.

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Laura is a wife and mother to three great kids, lives in Alberta, Canada and is an addict of all things organizing, especially containers. She is addicted to the high that comes with living a life of order and simplicity and is always looking for her next “fix”. You can find her blogging regularly and sharing her passion over at I’m an Organizing Junkie, and her organizing book, Clutter Rehab: 101 Organizing Tips & Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It!, will hit bookstore shelves in December 2010.

This post isn’t so much about how to organize and contain your kid’s toys before Christmas but rather how to get your kids to part with their toys before new ones invade their space. Think it’s impossible? Are you ready to just grab a garbage bag and head on in to their rooms while their at school to get it done yourself. Not quite so fast. My experience has taught me that the only thing that teaches your children is not to trust you. Let me assure you that the more you involve your children in the process of organizing (and purging!) the more they’ll acquire the necessary skills to make it an ongoing habit that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

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By Gwen from Left Coast Mama

This year my eldest son started kindergarten, and along with everything else this has created an enormous amount of paper coming home crumpled in his backpack. Even though I am a teacher by trade, I have been away long enough that I had forgotten how much paper comes home almost every day. How do you deal with the amount of paper that comes home from school?

I have a place near the front door where my son is to put his backpack everyday. I admit this is a work in progress, though he is getting better. Once we have everyone in the house, I take a look in the bag and take out his snack dishes for him to bring upstairs while I take out the paper. I need to have a place where I put the things that need to be signed, gone over, and sent back to school. I also need a place to put the worksheets that my son brings home to show us, so that his dad actually gets a chance to see them before they are recycled.

I have toyed with many ideas including file folders, a couple of baskets and I have come to the conclusion that a couple of binders with pockets is the best solution for our family. I like this system for a few reasons.

• One of the binders becomes a scrapbook for my son’s art with small or odd shaped pieces going into clear plastic binder sleeves.
• The other binder keeps scholastic book orders, field trip forms and a record of all notices sent home. I think that when my youngest is also in school the binders will be a lifesaver so that nothing gets lost in the shuffle and we also have a place for his artwork.

Once you have these two places carving out a few minutes each night or every couple of nights to go through the paper, put dates in your calendar, and fill out what you need is in order.

One other thing that I really suggest, and made my life much easier as a teacher, is to put important paperwork and any form that also requires money in a small ziplock bag with your child’s name. Even when your child is older and more responsible, the ziplock helps to keep things together and out of the mess of their backpacks.

Are there any ideas that you find work for you?

By Linda from All & Sundry

I never in a million years thought I’d have anything to do with homeschooling, but, well, you know what they say: never say never again. (Bond. James Bond.)

We decided our oldest son wasn’t quite ready for kindergarten this year (he turned five on the cutoff date), and he’s been in daycare/preschool since he was an infant. When I started working from home this September and no longer needed to rely on daily childcare, I decided-after a LOT of hemming and hawing-that we’d try doing school at home for a year.

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By Britt Reints of Miss Britt

When I was asked to write a post about remembering birthdays and other important dates, I have to admit that I laughed. Hard. You see, I am kind of notorious among my loved ones for forgetting birthdays. Thank God my husband’s birthday is on the 4th of July or I’d likely be doing “please forgive me for forgetting your birthday again” favors for the rest of my life.

Of course, the problem, I realize, is not that I forget birthdays. I know when my best friend’s birthday is; it’s December 17th, exactly one month before mine. The real problem that needs to be solved is remembering to recognize these important dates on the actual day they occur. Realizing, for example, that it is December 17th ON December 17th. Even better? Remembering that these dates are coming and being prepared when they arrive.

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By Shauna Glenn, author of Relative Insanity

You know how these days we’re all busy…Too busy to shower…Too busy to shave…Too busy to eat sitting down…Too busy to pee…

Really, I could be here all day. You get the point.

Truth be told though, we do it to ourselves. We extend our reach until there’s nothing more to give; we say “yes” when we should say “no;” and we’re always first to sign up for whatever some overachieving volunteer leader needs us to do. And then we wonder why we’re exhausted and drunk by four in the afternoon every day.
OK maybe you’re not drunk, but I am.

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By Kerrianne of Kerrianne.org

So, you’re going to a party! You’ve received an invitation, happily accepted, and are choosing just the right shoes to wear with just the right dress. Maybe it’s the type of party wherein you’re arriving with a gift for a little one, an expectant mother, or a bride-to-be.

What you might not remember in all the hustle and bustle of pre-party planning is that there is someone else to potentially gift in this equation.

Parties take planning, provisions, invitations. In short, they cost money, and time, and while your presence and shining personality is no doubt a great gift in and of itself, remembering your hostess (or host) with a thoughtful and material “thank you” is beyond classy, and lets your hostess (or host) know that you appreciate everything they’ve done to make the party a great one. (This is especially true if said party is being thrown for you.)

OK, OK, so now that we know hostess gifts are grand, what sorts of things should you be giving?

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By Kelly from Don Mills Diva

I am a pretty typical working mom balancing a pretty demanding job and a really demanding pre-schooler and you know what I don’t need?

I don’t need one more article telling me that if I just treat myself to a nightly bubble bath, my time-crunched schedule will magically seem manageable.

I agree that leisurely bubble baths are relaxing and perhaps even necessary once in a while, but encouraging working moms to indulge does not constitute useful advice about how to successfully make the most of our time.

If you’re like me, what you would really appreciate are a few practical tips that can help shave minutes off your daily routine.

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From Well-Heeled

1. Bury your head in the sand. Given the doom and gloom of the news lately, it’s hard to blame anyone who wants to turn off the TV and just tune out the news for the next 12 months. But while hibernation works for a bear, it won’t work in this bear market. Now is not the time to be blissfully ignorant of what’s going on. Right now IS the time to stick to the boring basics of personal finance: get out of high-interest debt, refrain from taking on new debt, and start, or add to, your emergency fund.

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