VS 
The Beatles sang “Here Comes the Sun” but everyone else is saying, Here Come the Holidays!
Women with ADHD are about to get punched in the stomach, what with all the preparations that are involved this time of year- gift shopping, cooking (and prerequisite cleaning, de-cluttering), entertaining and more.
Don’t let your mantra be, “What would Martha Do?” because Martha has no clue what it’s like for us to get through, let alone, enjoy the holidays. So in the spirit of things, I give you the:
Terry vs Martha: Holiday Throw Down!
Martha: Hand cut 125 ivory notecards, personalize them with your handwritten holiday invitation and address eloquently, using hot wax monogrammed seals.
Terry Says: Keep it down to less than 15 people, buy pre-printed cards or better yet, send an eVite.
Martha: Prepare your table with a freshly ironed silk tablecloth, handwritten placards, polished silver cutlery wrapped in delicately folded napkins. Decorate with dried flowers bunched in festive ribbon.
Terry Says: Grab all the chairs you can find, push them around the kitchen table. If you don’t have enough plates and cutlery, go with plastic. Michaels is running a great sale on holiday items.
Martha: Always start at least two weeks before Christmas, planning your meal.
Terry Says: The night before your guests come, make sure you have what you need in the fridge.
Martha’s Menu:
Appetizer
White Crudites with Buttermilk Dip,
Oysters with Mignonette Gelee
Potato Pancakes with Pink Applesauce and Creme Fraiche
Pickled Lady Apples
Soup
Creamy Winter Squash Soup with Herbed Crostini
Beverage
Martha’s Classic Eggnog
Dessert
White Cake with Mincemeat Filling and Glaceed Fruit
Walnut Cookies
Almond-Orange Cookies
Cranberry and Pistachio Rochers
Terry’s Menu:
Boston Market Take-out: (find one closest to you at http://m.bostonmarket.com/boston-market/find/ )
Roast Turkey, gravy on the side
Stuffing
Green bean Casserole
Cornbread
Apple pie
Martha: Don’t forget the thank-you notes!
Terry Says: What are thank you notes?
And the Throw Down winner is……..
Martha for elegance
Terry for ADD-friendly
Vote for your favorite! Just post your choice in the comment selection below.
I very much enjoyed this article, Terry, and yet it offers more than entertainment. Your “Holiday Thrown-Down” advice could help nearly ALL women—but especially those challenged with ADHD.
Thank you for providing such a great article with very practical AND do-able tips for the holidays! Thanks also for ALL you do throughout the entire year to help many with ADHD!
Happy Holidays, Terry!
Joan Brennan
Thanks, Joan and I’ve always appreciated your kind words and support. Happy Holidays to you, too! 🙂
Ha, this all reminded me of the surprise 50th anniversary party I put on for my parents, with help from their friends. No invitations, just phone calls and emails; purchased a pre-paid light meal at a lodge; not as fancy as my dream event, but got it done, and great turnout. Thanks for the advice!
Sonia, good for you! You’re a step ahead of me. Glad your party worked out well for you.
Terry,
It’s obvious you won the Throw-Down! (Very funny btw- my husband got a kick out if it as I read to him). People without ADD are befuddled by the seemingly easy-to-do Marthaesque meals, decorations & decor. Your ideas are awesome & the great thing is they truly ARE easy to pull off! Thx 🙂
Thanks for your vote, Alana! And tell your hubby thanks for enjoying it, too. We do have to find ways to make these things work *for* us. 🙂
Ha Haaaaaaa! I love the contrast between Martha Stewart and you. I absolutely love your solutions. I am planning to get side dishes at Trader Joe’s for Christmas dinner.
By the way, how many assistants and helpers do you think Martha Stewart has?? I seriously doubt she does all that stuff by herself. And if she does, she probably has domestic help to free up her time.
Inge, I’m glad you’re getting assistance from Trader Joe. He’s a good friend to all ; )
And you’re right- Martha has tons of help. I’m sure SHE’S not washing dishes, etc.
I guess I’m a modified-Martha – I try to keep things simplified, but often get carried away.
I’m all about being green (aka lazy) so eVite is a personal favorite. And I may not plan the menu two weeks in advance, but I do manage to get it organized a few days beforehand.
So I guess my vote is somewhere in the middle – do what you can, don’t stress about the rest.
Lollie, sounds like you’ve got things figured out- good for you! eVite is great, isn’t it?
Martha has a huge advantage…..a well paid staff to get her party started. A house of teen boys don’t appreciate that kind of deligation. I thought of a simple and possibly fun way to take care of the cursed gift giving problem….on-line grab bags! ( $15 for $45 worth of glorious STUFF!) Everyone is spent on the same AND I can’t be blamed for the wrong thing since even I don’t know what it is. But then…what if, what if. I’d love to know if, and where, anyone’s had a positive experience doing something this quirky and off-the-wall.
Ok, Stephanie, PLEASE share where you get online grab bags! What a cool idea!!
Terry, once again you’ve hit it out of the park. When we try to live up to a Martha Stewart expectation we fail. Thanks for getting real.
Thanks, Dana. And thanks for all YOU do in the field!
Great ideas, Terry! And, I like Stephanie’s idea, too.
My family started a Christmas giving tradition many years ago that can either be your primary gift, or a small, additional gift. My sister didn’t really intend to start a family custom when she wrapped and presented something she owned (but wasn’t using), and gave it to me because she thought I would like/use it. I was thrilled, and thus the “incidental” gift was born! It’s a lot more than re-gifting, since by unwritten rule, the item will either: be useful to, is wanted by, will fit, or has other (sometimes humorous) special intent for the receiver. Some of my favorite gifts have been “incidentals”, and in some ways, it also helps the gift giver de-clutter, since they’re removing unused items from their home!
I still laugh every time I think about receiving an almost new pair of tennies that were really too small for my sister, but fit me perfectly, and the coffee mug ffrom my brother with a slogan that had special meaning for me. And, although our incidental gifts tend to be “additional” gifts due to their scale, I can think of many times when a gift of a “pre-owned” bicycle, microwave oven, set of books, dishes, television or even an older car would make someone far happier than something brand new they didn’t really need! If holiday spending is a problem, but you have unneeded items your family members can use, or would cherish, it’s a win-win. We always wrap our incidental gifts, and promote the idea that the giver should feel every bit as generous as they would if the gift had been purchased. In many cases, because the family member is parting with an item they purchased for themselves, or even something prevously “handed down” from a relative long ago, the gift is highly prized.
Just a thought – it’s a great success in my family, and you can make it more personal by defining your own rules, sentiments, and even the name you call it.
Amen!!! So thrilled to see somebody else get honest about making gifts out of what can’t be used in your own home. My family has been doing that for generations. Yes, partly because of money. But mostly because of love. Re-giving of things is also very special. My Gramma knitted winter socks for all of us in the 70’s. Good heavy ones to wear over your regular socks inside the boots, perfect for going sledding, doing chores and just in general surviving Minnesota winters. Two years ago for Christmas my Dad gave me a pair of his. Mine were just fine so last year I gave my youngest brother the socks for Christmas. His reaction was better than any kid getting a favorite toy!
We’re also a family of hunters, gardeners, fisherman and trappers. So it’s normal to get something from my Dad’s smokehouse, my garden or my brother’s garden. Garage sales are where Mom and I did a lot of gift hunting. Most of the time it’s where we’d find the quality and unusual things necessary for fixing something on the farm.
So for all the people that feel pressured into shopping at stores…stop it already! I use the blessing of ADHD to be creative about what treasures I find throughout the year. People hate it when I tell them that I started wrapping some Christmas presents in October.
Being a scrapbooker helps a great deal as well.
You have my vote Terry! Thanks for a great post.
Thanks, Kim!
I love this
Thanks, Teri! Happy (I hope) holidays!