Big things first

This holiday season I'm trying to put the "big things" in first and then fit in the "little things." Do you know what I mean? The things that are more important need to get priority, and less important things can be left out. One of the things that means a lot to me is sending Christmas cards ... maybe because we have lived in many different places and have dear friends all around our country and world. We have never lived close to family members, either, so a card means a lot.

If I'm going to go to the expense and effort of sending a card,(It requires some time, thus I am starting early...) I want it to be something meaningful, so I often use a Christmas photo card with snapshots of our family from the year. We've used Shutterfly to print for us, and I used their brown (we are sort of a "brown" family) design that says, "Faith, Hope, Love, Family" with space for a message. Very "us." They have a good selection of designs that reflect our faith. It all came together perfectly, and I was sure to let my teens approve it before I clicked "order." We also found the option for making a photo calendar a great gift for grandparents who are far away. It gives them a frame worthy photo of us every month, so we don't feel so far.

Do you have a great resource that's helping you to make the holidays meaningful in your home?

Is there something important to you during the holidays? "Put it in" to your planning first. ;)