With Christmas Eve only 10 days away, today is a good time to take an unvarnished look at your Christmas preparations.  What have you accomplished?  What is left to finish?  Do you have enough time to complete everything on your list?

It's very important to take an honest look at these questions.  If you haven't finished a crafting project in 3 months, are you really going to finish it in the next 10 days? Do you really have the time available to make 18 kinds of cookies? 

If the tasks exceed the time available, it's time to scale back.  Perhaps purchased gifts can substitute for the crafts.  You can make only the 2 or 3 kinds of cookies you like best.  Fancy wrappings can be replaced with gift bags and colorful tissue.  You can ask more lightly-burdened friends or family members to take on additional tasks.

Whatever you choose, please remeber: a you ready to celebrate and spend time with loved ones is far more important than any decoration, gift, or cookie.  Really.