Well, one thing you could cross off is ribboning gifts. Gift wrapping (or, even easier, gift bagging) is enough!

And divide the clean everything into discrete tasks (like, clean bathroom, clear off dining room table, etc.) and see what you are up for tackling now that might make your life less stressy.

Ok, go get Thessaly. Meanwhile we`ll sort out. Definitely agree with the gift bags suggestion. It`s way faster, still pretty, and reusable. They come in all sizes.
 
Peapod: do you have a neighbor you could go in together with? If not, stocking stuffers/groceries can be one trip.
 
Cleaning: two possible approaches. One, set a timer and do small discrete tasks. Doesn`t matter what, just that for fifteen minutes you worked on it and you know you`re making progress. Two, chose a space. Clean that space, then defend it. I like to do the dining room table because it`s easy to see it`s clear, and then I can just pick up whatever random thing lands there.
 
For example, right now I am working on my bedroom. It`s not the most important thing right now, because guests won`t be in there, except maybe for coats. But it will help my state of mind to know it`s clean. And then I can step in there during the day to breathe and relax for a moment. If stuff being messy is stressing you out, take a few minutes, and straighten. Then go back to the more urgent task.

Just got back from the oral surgeon. One more wisdom tooth gone. Biting on gauze now, which I hate. (I think I hate the gauze part more than the surgery part. They numb me enough that I can't feel the surgery, but I can feel the gauze and it's all wrong and ick and want it out.)

I'm glad you got it taken care of before it got bad, Hil.

sj, I'm sorry you are feeling overwhelmed. It's one of the sucky parts of the holiday season - so much to do. My sister cut back on things like cards and presents to extended family. When she called to tell me not to expect it, she said "It's just not fun for me, and the Christmas is supposed to be fun." I told her I completely understood. But please to send pics of her family at some point in the year when it wasn't stressful, because I still want them.

My mom just tried to order Chinese food. I thought I could eat chow fun noodles with sesame sauce. The Chinese place has no more chow fun noodles. How does a Chinese restaurant run out of noodles?

and the Christmas is supposed to be fun."

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ORLY!?!?!?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ORLY!?!?!?

Well, she's the one who decided to have four kids. Don't ask me why she thinks she supposed to have fun.

Hil, quick recovery~ma to you.

Well, one thing you could cross off is ribboning gifts. Gift wrapping (or, even easier, gift bagging) is enough!

I can cut back on the ribboning, but I can't really cut it out entirely. It's sort of expected of me since I worked at a gift shop years ago. Plus, I already spent money on the ribbon.

sj, I'm sorry you are feeling overwhelmed. It's one of the sucky parts of the holiday season - so much to do. My sister cut back on things like cards and presents to extended family. When she called to tell me not to expect it, she said "It's just not fun for me, and the Christmas is supposed to be fun." I told her I completely understood. But please to send pics of her family at some point in the year when it wasn't stressful, because I still want them.

Thanks, WS.

I can cut back on the ribboning, but I can't really cut it out entirely. It's sort of expected of me since I worked at a gift shop years ago.

I don't understand this. I don't mean that in a snotty way; I just mean -- so what if you worked at a gift shop years ago? So what if you worked at a gift shop today? Because we're your friends, we're thinking about what you can do to save yourself stress, not what other people are expecting you to do out of the niceness of your unbelievably nice, generous heart. t edit Which is why I said "so what?" -- ribbons just don't seem as important as some of the other Christmas things you mentioned, no matter if you were Martha Stewart. Even *she* needs a break sometimes.

Pretty ribbons are nice, but (1) packages get opened pretty dang quickly; (2) I'd give the hairy eyeball to anyone who expected a specific *gift,* let alone a specific type of wrapping/decoration; and (3) [which should have been #1, since it's the most important] you're trying to eliminate some stress, and honestly, the ribbons seem to be one of the easiest things to put aside.

Plus, I already spent money on the ribbon.

It'll be there next year.

Teppy, logically you are completely right.