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"I&amp;#039;m trying to be a minimalist these days when it comes to the holidays. I make one-column lists, put up a wreath and a just few lights, buy gifts online and through catalogs so I don&amp;#039;t have to mail anything, and go to someone else&amp;#039;s house for the big dinners. But usually as the holiday season progresses, I launch into overdrive and let sensory bombardment overtake me. So I was very impressed when I recently visited a friend who celebrates the holidays in a BIG way but manages to stay sane from Thanksgiving through Christmas. She has a &amp;quot;Holiday Notebook.&amp;quot; Inside she has sections for gift lists and addresses, recipes to try, recipes she&amp;#039;s tried and everyone loved, crafts and decorations she&amp;#039;s made and wants to make, past menus and guest lists. Because she keeps this book throughout the year, she doesn&amp;#039;t have to rush around at the last minute looking for the recipe for sweet potatoes that she cooked last year that everyone loved. It&amp;#039;s in the book. She never gives anyone the same gift twice\u2014like I did last year\u2014because she knows what she sent them for the last few years. It&amp;#039;s in the book. She even keeps invitations so she never forgets whom to reciprocate for holiday parties. It&amp;#039;s in the book.  I may be a little late, but I just went out and bought a loose-leaf notebook with some plastic sheet protectors. I&amp;#039;m making by own notebook this year so when I get frazzled, I&amp;#039;ll know all I have to do is just look in the book. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a40514/getting-ready-for-the-holidays-6990/>