It's November 30, and like many of you, I've started looking ahead to Christmas.  There have been years I've dreaded it, postponed it, procrastinated it - and really didn't find myself enjoying the holiday season.  Once upon a time, I worked for a company which ended it's year on 12/31...so you can imagine how joyful those holiday seasons were for me. Not much.  I'm at a season of my life where I can take some stock, realize that I am part of the problem, and make some course corrections.  I'll report back in January to see how this goes.This isn't a typical 5 tips post, where I share with you my  best advice on the holidays...it's more of I'm switching things up and I'll let you know how it works after posts.  But I have talked to a lot of girlfriends, and these are things that bother many of us. So...Thing 1 - this year, the decorations are up. Part of that is that the calendar gives us more time post Thanksgiving, but it's also a concerted effort to do a bit everyday until the boxes are out of my dining room.  We have lived here a long time, and we've collected a ton of Christmas things...might as well get them out and up to enjoy them.  This year, with a granddaughter in the picture (and a creeping grandson), we've had to move some things up and out of the way. My Santa collection now goes part way up my stairs...and they look great there.Gift wrapping is not something that I particularly enjoy, and it IS something that I typically procrastinate until cars are in the driveway.  My sons tend to be this way, and I hate to admit it, but I know which parent they get this from.  The good news is that as they are now older...gift cards tend to be so much easier to wrap than packages.And whoever invented gift bags is a saint in my opinion.I have a lot of gaps in my Christmas movie knowledge, and this is the year I make time to enjoy this part of Christmas...I keep hearing about these movie marathons, and I have made time to enjoy It's a Wonderful Life before.  Truthfully, we're more a Christmas vacation kind of family, but I'm always looking for recommendations for good Christmas movies.  I'd love it if you leave me a comment below about that.  And what's the controversy about Die Hard? Oh, how many times have I fallen into THIS trap over the years...I have a closet full of T shirts on this one. Between the fabrics in the shops, the magazines at the store, and even the blogs and posts on Facebook, this bites me every darn year. I'm the mom who was stitching my oldest son's Christmas stocking as we were on the way to Christmas eve celebrations...and this beast still comes out every year.  I have two  very doable projects to finish (and their scheduled in my calendar next week)...stay tuned for that.I've seen this phrased many ways...smell the roses, live in the moment, pick a sentiment. It's so very true.  I hate to say it, but Martha isn't stopping by to inspect my house - or yours. So enjoy the chaos, the music, the mayhem. This year's Christmas is going to be a memory soon enough.Oh, and if this was a 6 tips post...I'd say buy the wine now.  It makes great hostess gifts.