This is a Hammer
Low-stress holidays: scale back, organize and delegate
By SAMANTHA MAZZOTTA

Q: I am so tired of putting up tons of lights and decorations all around my house each holiday season! But I feel like I have to do it to put my family in good spirits and to help the neighborhood look festive. By the time Christmas rolls around I'm exhausted from decorating, parties, cooking and baking and wrapping gifts, and then I have to take everything down. Do you have any tips for making the decorating process a little less painful each year? - Had It in Little Rock

A: I've got three tips for you that may help improve your holiday experience: scale back, organize and delegate.

First, why keep up with everyone else? If your yard doesn't have the most awesome holiday decorations in the neighborhood, it's really not that big of a deal. In fact, most of my neighbors say they prefer a neatly kept yard to bunch of gaudy decorations. So this year, consider scaling back your decorating and keeping get-togethers casual. A simple wreath on the door or mailbox

will do. If you must have lights and stringing them along the eaves is frustrating, check out some of the outdoor lighting options that have sprung up recently, such as pre-shaped patterns that stand in the yard, or mesh light webs that can be

quickly slipped over quickly slipped over hedges or topiaries.

Second, organizing tasks throughout the month will help immensely. Schedule times for decorating, wrapping, shopping and cooking. Place the items you will need in an area where they are easily accessed (such as grouping all ornaments and assorted tools in a large box in the garage). List anything that is missing or needs to be purchased so you can buy it all in one shopping trip.

Lastly, the holidays are a time to be together with family, so use them to the fullest! Assign many of the tasks you normally do yourself to others. This includes children, who love to help decorate, wrap gifts and ice cookies. And keep it fun. So what if a bow is crooked, a present is lumpy, or the lawn decorations aren't perfect? The little glitches are the things you'll remember fondly years down the road.

Home Tip

Save the cardboard tubes after the wrapping paper is gone - they can be used to hold and store strings of Christmas lights after the holidays.

Send questions or homerepair tips to homeguru2000@ hotmail.com, or write This Is a Hammer, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475.

(c) 2006 King Features Synd., Inc.