1. Skip hosting this year. If you have not been in the best of spirits lately, having guests at your house during this time will only lead to disaster. You can remove the stress of being a perfect hostess by not even considering this responsibility. Tell family members maybe next year.
   
2. Leave the menu to the pros. There are plenty of easy holiday menus from reliable chefs available on the internet. Some even come with a shopping list ready to print for no-stress shopping.
   
3. Do a test run. Try your recipes ahead of time. See how long it really takes you to complete the recipes and make any changes. This way there's no surprises the day of the event. Get the kids in on the fun as honorary taste testers.
   
4. Don't sweat the Christmas list. Every parent dreads going to the store to shop for their child only to find that the item has flown off the shelves. Try shopping online this year, layaway, or just hitting the stores as early in the season as possible.
   
5. Have a backup toy plan. Have kids make a detailed list of items they want plus some backups. When you go shopping on Black Friday, most of the hotter toys will be gone quickly but with similar backup items you may have a chance!
   
6. Keep decorations simple. You only need enough holiday decor to get you in the spirit. Just because you purchased tons of decorations on sale last year does not mean that you have to put all of them up.
   
7. Order holiday cards online from a trusted retailer. Lots of companies are getting into the online card business. Stick to trusted companies that have been around awhile such as Tiny Prints. They keep you posted every step of your order. Check out Tiny Prints Christmas cards and see their great selections this year.
   
8. Just purchase gifts for the children. It is easy to get young children presents but factor in parents too and that can get more stressful. The less names you have to purchase gifts for, the easier holiday shopping will be.
   
9. Get the gift-wrapping option. If you have the money this is a great way to keep from having to wrap them later and worry about the kids walking in on you. Most department stores have this available for shoppers. I have also seen malls will gift wrapping kiosks and places that will wrap for donations.
   
10. Go with the flow. Things will pop up unexpectedly and do not let that discourage you. It may be an unexpected visitor or a burned side dish. Just accept it and keep going. It's just a holiday and will probably be a funny memory next year.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $75 Tiny Prints gift certificate! For more information on how you can participate, click here.