You know the scene from I Love Lucy when Lucy and Ethel work at a chocolate candy factory? At the beginning, things are good. They are packaging the candies, and their confidence blossoms to almost arrogance.
But, as the conveyor belt speeds up, things go awry. They can’t manage the number of candies zooming past them. In sheer desperation, they begin stuffing candies anywhere and everywhere…in their hats, down their shirts, in their mouths.
I love that scene! It’s hilarious!
And, I relate to it.
I often feel like Lucy and Ethel during the holiday season. Early November, I’m good. I have a few gifts purchased and have added some holiday events to my phone calendar (with alerts!). I’m struttin’ around like I’ve got everything under control.
By Thanksgiving, though, I am just stuffin’ candies anywhere and everywhere. It's gotten ugly, and I am just hanging on for dear life.
Do you relate? I sure hope I'm not the only person to live in such a fashion!
The intent of this post is to help alleviate some of the stress we typically feel these coming months. We want to ENJOY THE HOLIDAY SEASON, not just survive it.
Tip 1: Start now.
It’s no secret that rushing around causes us to be sloppy in our actions and hasty in our decisions.
Plus, the act of procrastinating is stressful…a constant loop running in the back of our minds to do something but then telling ourselves that we’ll do it later. The deadline looms, and all the while, we’ve made no progress in meeting it. Ugh!
So start early; start now making holiday preparations if you haven’t.
Let Red Land Cotton help.
We’re great in the gift department! (The cooking is on you, even though we make some mean desserts around here!)
For the picky ones in your life, we offer gift certificates online. They are emailed straight to you so you can send them to your special person. Easy peasy! We also have physical gift cards in our shop! These can be used in person or online.
We also offer tea towels and dish towels (coming soon) that make wonderful hostess gifts. Our tea towels feature delightful sayings that extend Southern charm to the kitchens of the lucky recipients.
These two kinds of towels came about because we can’t stand waste. We knew in the process of making our luxury linens that scraps would be left behind. Tossing these scraps didn’t seem right. After all, these "leftovers" are some of the best fabric in the world.
So…from the scraps come beauty and usefulness and Southern charm. We're good with that.
Tip 2: Exercise, even when your schedule is hectic.
It is during these crazy times we need to exercise the most. It is a great stress reliever and helps to fight the dreaded 5-pound fluff that creeps on this time of year. (Seven-pound fluffiness if you count pre-Halloween candy through New Year's parties!)
Talk about stressful!
So, I will encourage you to continue your exercise routine during the holiday season. Those good chemicals running through your body put everything else in perspective. The gift list is not as long after a run. The meal prep is not as daunting after a walk. And, you can tackle the decorations after the weight-lifting class you just dominated!
Let Red Land Cotton help.
Well, Y'all, we can’t do the exercise for you. But, we can help you afterward.
We’ve got towels that will make the post-exercise shower wonderful. Look, we understand that most people never consider their towels. That is until they’ve used an exceptional one. And that’s what we make at Red Land Cotton!
Ours are the only 2-ply American made towels on the market. We are beyond proud of that! Check out our selection here.
Tip 3: Get your beauty sleep.
I know some of you are rolling your eyes. When do I have time to sleep?!
Well, make time! (I am screaming at myself here, too.)
I won’t list all the negative effects of sleep deprivation, but some have severe effects on your mental and physical health.
So, make sleep a priority this holiday season so you’ll be less stressed and more merry.
Let Red Land Cotton help.
We can’t make you go to bed or to sleep. But we can, at least, make you long for your comfy bed. And that’s a step in the right direction!
Don’t take our word for it, though. Read our customer reviews at the bottom of the page. If these people convince you (along with our humble bragging inserted throughout this post), check out our sheet sets and duvet covers to select something for yourself or for a loved one.
Because...good sleep equals less stress.
Tip 4: Buy quality over quantity.
I am not sure how to approach this next topic without stepping on toes. So, please forgive my bluntness, and also know that I’m preaching to myself here.
Here goes. (Big breath.) Many of us set spending limits for the gifts we purchase for family and friends. For example, if we spend $50 on one friend, we feel obliged to spend $50 on our other friend. To fulfill the $50 self-imposed “requirement,” we end up “assembling” a gift that we are almost too embarrassed to give. (We give it any way because, well, we are out of time. See Tip 1.)
As we present the gift, we rationalize in our head the giraffe key-chain light because she loves giraffes and the dog umbrella hat because her dog once shivered in the rain.
Sound familiar? Or, am I the only one to “assemble” some far from stellar gifts over the years?!
To lessen your stress this holiday season, stop the madness. Drop the self-imposed spending matches and gift sizes. (You know the ole--I better buy her more stuff. Her gift doesn’t look as big as the other ones.)
Instead, embrace buying quality over quantity. Purchase a thoughtful, quality gift for your friend or loved one. Then, move on to the next person on your list. Your friend will thank you too. I mean, where is she supposed to store the dog umbrella hat?!
Let Red Land Cotton help.
We offer quality products, which make perfect gifts!
Brutal honesty here, we know our prices don’t match discount or department store prices. Our goal from the beginning was to make all American, luxury linens and towels. And we do! Our goal was NOT to make the cheapest product we could.
Luxury goods cost more but are usually (and in our case—always) worth the money.
You can buy our towels and linens with pride, knowing you purchased quality items.
And, you can save yourself a lot of time choosing between the mini fondue machine, the travel-size nail kit or the cat sweater to "finish off" your friend's gift. ;)
In All Seriousness...
We are proud of our products. We have spent generations, three to be exact, honing our farming skills and cultivating our land in northern Alabama. We grow and gin our own cotton and use American mills to finish our products.
We've got blood, sweat and tears invested in these linens and towels. We've poured our hearts and souls into this company.
We feel confident our hard work isn't in vain. We think you'll love our linens and towels.
And, we think they'll make great gifts too.