The Best $15 We Spend All Year

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we always go to the Christmas tree lot and pick out our tree. But for me, the season really starts when we hang our wreath on our front door. Every year since Katie was born, we've had a Boy Scout wreath covered in tiny silverplate ornament frames filled with photos of our family.


One year we spent the holiday at our condo in Sun Valley, and instead of putting up a Christmas tree we transported our picture wreath with us and hung it on our door. Just like home.

The kids always help me pick out the perfect wreath, we pick out the perfect ribbon to hang it from, we cover it in white lights, and we pick out the pictures we'll use this year. Then the best part: unpacking the frames and comparing this year's pictures to the previous year's. Each year flies by so quickly and that project is always like pushing the pause button for me. I look at each picture and remember the moment it was taken.

Then all season, no matter how busy or disorganized our days may seem, the simple act of walking through the front door reminds us of the all the happiness and joy we have in our lives. That $15 Boy Scout wreath is the best money we spend all year.

Has Anyone Seen My (fill in the blank)?

My husband and I had a revelation Friday night -- the entire Furber Family social calendar can no longer be housed in JP's head. We had scheduled all of the following:

A sleepover at our house with Jack's friend Conway
Andie's end of the season soccer party
Katie to attend a birthday party

JP had scheduled one of the events, I had scheduled the other, and the soccer party worked its way in somehow. All happened roughly at the same time, and required pickup, delivery or both.

We also have been tracking Jack's Outdoor Education permission slips all over the house -- they've traveled from the kitchen table, to the office, to Jack's room, to Jack's backpack and back to the kitchen table. Always when we need them, they're not in the first place we look, or the second, and usually not the third.

We need a new system that involves a calendar, a to do list for each kid, and a holding pen for all the papers that spend the week in limbo on our kitchen table (and roam around the house so they're not on the table when you need them).

We've decided to make a hard-working, no nonsense command central in our laundry room that includes:

A good old-fashioned Stendig calendar. This design was created in 1966 by Massimo Vignelli and is a classic. No pictures of cats or flowers to distract from our serious task of scheduling.


A chalkboard for each of the Furber family members so we can keep track of our stuff. We bought these magnetic chalkboard tiles from Pottery Barn a few years ago and now have have the perfect use for them.

They're extra useful because you can write notes on them with chalk, or you can stick things to them with magnets. First thing that's going up is Jack's Outdoor Education stuff.

Cannisters like these that stick to the chalkboards and hold things we always seem to need at the last minute: hair bands, barrettes, chapstick, lunch money.
A weather clock so we can keep track of the time and dress ourselves as we walk out the door.


Once our Command Central is all installed our household should run like a well-oiled machine. Or at least we'll be able to find our Outdoor Education permission forms when we need them.

There is a Method to my Madness

In spite of all evidence to the contrary, there is a system of organization that holds the Furber house together, and it's about to be put to the ultimate test. We're looking forward to the arrival of eleven relatives for Thanksgiving. During the week of November 23rd, the occupancy of my house will range anywhere from 0 to 16 people, depending on time and day. This is the week when all of the various organizational and space saving tricks that I employ all year round come together to pay off big. For example:

My giant 120" kitchen table is too big for my family of five most of the year, but will be just the right size for the extended family.

Those Tolix french stacking chairs that I bought on sale in June will now come off the back porch, and sit around my table for the week so there's always room for everyone at the table.


My refrigerator will be filled with cleaned and chopped fruit and vegetables so everyone can help themselves throughout the week. (See post "I Love My Fridge" May 2008)

There's plenty of room for everyone (or nearly everyone) to crash. (See post "Welcome to Casa de los Furbers. Checkout is at Noon." August 2008)

We have lots of tiny bars of soap and tiny bottles of shampoo that we've collected. Perfect for guests. (See post "I Bought My House for the Bathtub." June 2008.)

I can find anything in my linen closet at a moment's notice. (See post "A Linen Closet Expose" May 2008)

I invested last year in Pottery Barn's Caterer's Box dessert plates and wine glasses, which will be put to good use as we blow through three meals worth of dishes each day. That will save us from the temptation of using paper plates and plastic glasses at every meal.


The foundation of my house is mostly white, so when everyone leaves, all I need is some hot water and bottle of bleach to get it all spotless again. (See post "Life in the White House" June 2008)

I expect the week of Thanksgiving to be fun and happy, with very little stress related to the care and keeping of the house. I still wish I had that cement floor with the drain in the middle, though. (See post "Get the Hose!" June 2008)

Is it November Already?

Halloween is over, and now the freight train of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's starts rolling. Most of my girlfriends are appalled to see Christmas in the stores before Thanksgiving is even here. I love it though -- it gets me in the mood to get a head start on all my Holiday chores. With three kids in the house, I've found that planning ahead and staying organized are essential to having a calm and fun Holiday season. I've also found that I spend less money on the little things when I plan ahead. There are a few things I like to do the weekend after Halloween to make the rest of the season much easier. They are:

Put away my Halloween Mugs and get out my Reindeer Mugs. Drinking my coffee out of a Reindeer Mug every morning puts me in a Christmas-y mood.

Get my centerpiece on my dining table all pretty so I don't have to think about it through the rest of the season. This year my leaves, pumpkin candles, and vintage glass jars should hold me over at least through the end of November. (See post "T-6 Weeks to Halloween" on 9/16)

Make about 10 dozen sugar cookies that can go into the freezer so we can pull them out and decorate them whenever the kids need a fun activity. I like to stock some spare reindeer plates in my cupboard, then when the kids are invited to a Christmas party, they can take a reindeer plate full of cookies with them for the hostess.











Stock up on my favorite hostess gift of the season so when we are invited to a party we're ready to rip. My Mom taught me never to show up at someone's house empty handed. However, when left to the last minute, the joy of gift giving can become the nightmare of rifling through your cupboards an hour before the party. This year I think it will be a bottle of wine, and these pretty bottle stoppers:




Plan ahead for the Advent Calendar, which comes out right after Thanksgiving. I've found that it's much easier (and cheaper) to buy all 25 gifts that go into the Advent calendar way ahead and stash them away for later. I can't show you what I'm thinking this year -- as you know, the Furber children are extremely involved with Suburban Zen.

Have the kids draft the first round of their Christmas list. That way they have a little time to add, subtract and narrow it down to their top three contenders before JP and I start our shopping in December.

Orchestrating a holiday season with three kids in the house is not for the faint of heart, but JP and I are pros. Bring it on Santa -- we can handle whatever you've got!